Taiwan's second-largest contract chipmaker, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), said Wednesday that its joint 12nm chip program with Intel Corp. (INTC) is still on track. Certification work is already underway at Intel's Arizona facility, and mass production is expected to begin in 2027. The update helped push UMC shares to a fresh 52-week high in premarket trading.
President Jason Wang said the company maintained stable operations in 2025 despite weak global demand and geopolitical uncertainty, according to Focus Taiwan. Revenue from its 22nm, 28nm and specialty process businesses reached record levels. United Microelectronics reported 2025 revenue of 237.6 billion New Taiwan dollars, up 2.3% year over year, while net profit fell 11.6% to 41.7 billion New Taiwan dollars. The company also highlighted continued investment in AI, automotive, 5G and advanced packaging technologies.
Chief Financial Officer Chitung Liu said United Microelectronics plans selective price increases in the second half of 2026 due to rising production costs, including capacity expansion in Singapore.
United Microelectronics Technical Analysis
UMC is in a steep uptrend across timeframes, up 172.35% over the last 12 months, and it's now trading well above every major moving average — about 49.3% above the 20-day SMA and 155.6% above the 200-day SMA. That kind of separation typically signals strong trend control by buyers, but it also increases the odds of sharp pullbacks if momentum cools.
RSI is the cleanest momentum read right now: at 90.09, it's deep in overbought territory, which tells traders the move is stretched and vulnerable to mean reversion even if the primary trend stays bullish. In other words, the trend is up, but the "easy" part of the move may be behind the stock in the near term.
From a structure standpoint, the 20-day SMA remains above the 50-day SMA (bullish), and the longer-term trend backdrop is also constructive with the 50-day SMA above the 200-day SMA (a golden-cross setup).
Historically, UMC's RSI first pushed into overbought territory in May, and the stock has continued to grind higher rather than immediately reversing — so the key risk is less "trend break" and more "fast air pocket" if buyers step back.
- Key Resistance: $23.62 — price is pressing into fresh highs above the prior 52-week high of $21.52, putting the stock in breakout territory
- Key Support: $15.76 — the 20-day SMA is the nearest clearly defined trend support after the recent vertical run
Price Action
UMC Price Action: United Microelectronics shares were up 11.34% at $23.47 during premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to market data.
