“Apple is likely driving the 14-nanometer ramp at Globalfoundries, but is not a guaranteed customer, in our view,” Pacific Crest Securities’ Weston Twigg and Daniel Baksht write via Barron’s.
“We believe that Globalfoundries [owned by entities associated with the government of Abu Dhabi] is pushing hard to ramp 14 nanometer capacity in an effort to meet production plans for the Apple A9 chip,” Twigg and Baksht write. “However, we would be surprised if Globalfoundries can achieve required production and yield targets in time to intercept the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus refresh in September. This suggests that Samsung [of South Korea] will support most, if not all, of the 14 nm production for Apple initially. Still, Globalfoundries insisted that the 14 nm ramp will continue regardless of any near-term customer decisions, and that it expects to have enough demand to support its 14 nm production capacity when fully ramped.”
“We visited Globalfoundries’ Fab 8 in Malta, N.Y., on Wednesday. We observed a very crowded and active campus,” Twigg and Baksht write. “There is clearly a lot of activity underway, with equipment move-ins and the 14 nm process ramp-up being the focus.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, it causes Samsung some pain ASAP.