China's AI Chip Supply Chain Firms Forecast Q3 Earnings Surge: Yuanjie Sees Up to 660% Profit Growth, MetaX Turns Profitable

As the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom intersects with China's semiconductor self-sufficiency push, several Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed chip supply chain companies released unaudited third-quarter earnings previews around October 16, indicating dramatic profit growth. Yuanjie Semiconductor Technology, a maker of laser chips for optical communications, expects its quarterly net profit to reach between 403 million and 453 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 579% to 660%. The company cited strong data center demand driving shipments and helping maintain high margins.

Graphics processing unit (GPU) designer MetaX also turned profitable in the first nine months, estimating a net profit of 587 million to 717 million yuan, primarily due to increasing orders. This performance holds even when excluding non-recurring gains. Hygon Information, which provides processors for both general computing and AI workloads, projected revenue growth of 50% to 64% for the first three quarters, attributing this to rising demand for high-end chips as customers increasingly choose domestic alternatives over foreign suppliers.

However, not all growth is purely operational. Storage giant Longsys Electronics forecast a nine-month net profit of 14 billion to 14.9 billion yuan, roughly 20 times the previous year's figure. Yet, Longsys noted that price increases for DRAM and NAND flash storage slowed in the third quarter, meaning the price boost contributed less to profits than before. A Morgan Stanley report on Sunday predicted that while memory prices could remain firm through 2027, the boom might cool if supply catches up or customer purchases slow down, even without weaker AI demand.