Israeli chipmaker Tower beats revenue estimates on demand from automakers

Tower Semiconductor

26/07/2023 13:01

July 26 (Reuters) - Contract chipmaker Tower
Semiconductor  TSEM.O  topped second-quarter revenue estimates
on Wednesday on the back of solid demand from the automotive
industry, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 12.7%.
    The company - which caters to "fabless" firms that design
chips but outsource manufacturing - is set to be bought by Intel
 INTC.O  under a $5.4 billion deal that was announced last year.
    Demand from the automotive industry has emerged as a bright
spot for the chip industry at a time other clients are cutting
back on orders, as carmakers had faced a severe semiconductor
shortage over the past two years and their supply chains have
only started normalizing in 2023. 
    Israel-based Tower provides customers with analog and
mixed-signal semiconductors, mainly for the automotive and
consumer industries.
    Its revenue came in at $357 million for the quarter ended
June 30, higher than the $354.53 million expected by analysts,
according to Refinitiv data.
    Tower reported net income per share of 46 cents, falling
slightly short of analysts' estimates of 49 cents per share.
    During the quarter, the company repaid $10 million of its
debt, as compared with $27 million in the first quarter of 2023.

 (Reporting by Tanya Jain and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing
by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Tanya.Jain@thomsonreuters.com;))