Semiconductor WFE Billings Grow 9% QoQ in Q322

According to SEMI, global semiconductor equipment billings for Q3 2022 amounted to $28.75 billion, an all time record high, up 9% sequentially and 7% higher than the prior year period.

“Semiconductor equipment revenue growth in the third quarter remained in line with positive forecasts for 2022,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. “The 9% quarter-over-quarter increase in equipment spending for Q3 reflects the semiconductor industry’s determination to bolster fab capacity to support long-term growth and technology innovation.”

Of particular note was the strong QoQ increase in China’s equipment spending, rising 9.1% sequentially from $6.56 billion to $7.78. Clearly, Chinese customers were spending big ahead of anticipated US trade sanctions on the broader semiconductor industry.

The quarterly chart looks a bit unusual in Q1 2021 in that revenues fell sequentially. Normally, this signals a downturn in the offing, but this was not the case here. The sequential decline was due to supply chain issues caused by the unprecedented demand spike driven by the pandemic. The backlog that could not be fulfilled in Q1 was eventually delivered in the second and third quarters, driving their sequential increases. However, we now expect the situation to change meaningfully for the worse in the current quarter. Why?