The global semiconductor industry experienced a structural recovery in 2025, primarily driven by sustained demand for AI computing power. According to SEMI data, worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales reached $135.1 billion, a 15% increase from 2024, setting a new historical high for the third consecutive year. Within this industry expansion centered on AI computing, data centers, and advanced processes, the Chinese market's role was particularly prominent. Mainland China remained the largest single market for semiconductor equipment for the fifth straight year, with a market size of $49.31 billion in 2025, accounting for 36.5% of the global share. Concurrently, under the national strategy for supply chain self-sufficiency, the localization process in China's semiconductor industry is advancing from large-scale breakthroughs in complete equipment systems towards core components at the uppermost part of the supply chain. By the end of 2025, the overall localization rate for domestic semiconductor components remained below 10%. Core components like electrostatic chucks and high-end valves had a localization rate under 1%, while mid-range components such as RF power sources reached only 1%-5%, representing the most critical bottleneck areas in the current semiconductor supply chain.
As the 2025 financial reporting season concluded, listed semiconductor component companies on the A-share market successively released their annual operational results. Against the dual backdrop of industry cyclical fluctuations and accelerated localization, corporate performances showed significant divergence. Among them, Pioneer Jingke, Jingyi Equipment, and Zhengfan Technology, each deeply entrenched in the three core sub-sectors of precision metal structural parts, semiconductor temperature control systems, and process medium systems respectively, cover essential supporting segments for semiconductor equipment and wafer fab production lines. Their 2025 financial performances and operational trends serve as a microcosm of the current state of development in the A-share semiconductor components sector.
**Performance Divergence and Operational Logic of Three Sub-Sector Leaders** Pioneer Jingke, Jingyi Equipment, and Zhengfan Technology operate in different semiconductor component segments, with significant variations in their downstream customer structures and degree of linkage to industry cycles, resulting in distinctly different performance outcomes in 2025, forming a pattern of "high growth, stable growth, and deep adjustment."
**Pioneer Jingke: Core Supplier for Etching Equipment Faces Profit Pressure Amid Steady Revenue Growth** Pioneer Jingke is a specialized and innovative "little giant" in China's semiconductor precision metal components field. Its core products include edge rings, focus rings, and showerheads—key precision parts for etching and thin-film deposition equipment. As a core supporting enterprise for leading domestic etching equipment manufacturers, its products directly determine the uniformity and stability of etching processes. The 2025 annual report showed the company achieved total operating revenue of 1.238 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.98%, demonstrating steady growth despite industry cyclical fluctuations. By business segment, semiconductor operations generated revenue of 1.194 billion yuan, up 8.97% year-on-year, accounting for a dominant 96.49% of total revenue and serving as the absolute core pillar of income. Revenue from core product process components was 894 million yuan, increasing 9.16% year-on-year, with a high gross margin maintained at 32.60%, making it the primary contributor to gross profit.
The core driver of steady revenue growth stems from the continued deepening of semiconductor equipment localization. In recent years, the localization rate of domestic etching equipment has rapidly increased, with leading equipment manufacturers like AMEC and NAURA continuously expanding their market share, directly driving demand for supporting upstream core components. Leveraging years of technical积累, Pioneer Jingke has achieved large-scale mass production of high-precision metal components. Its products are compatible with mainstream domestic etching equipment platforms, deeply tied to leading domestic equipment manufacturers, with core customer orders continuing to scale, providing crucial support for navigating the cycle.
Contrasting with steady revenue growth, the company's net profit attributable to shareholders was 189 million yuan in 2025, a decrease of 11.71% year-on-year, indicating a scenario of revenue growth without corresponding profit growth. The annual report identified three core reasons for the profit decline: First, the company undertook moderate capacity expansion to meet market demand; new capacity is in a ramp-up phase, with fixed asset utilization not yet fully optimized, leading to a significant increase in the proportion of manufacturing overheads. Second, to meet the supporting needs of advanced process equipment, the company continuously increased R&D investment, with annual R&D expenses reaching 71.3771 million yuan, up 11.38% year-on-year; the R&D expense ratio rose to 5.77%, and this rigidly growing R&D expenditure eroded profits. Third, the proportion of new structural components increased but did not achieve economies of scale, resulting in lower production efficiency. This caused the gross margin for structural components to fall by 11.40 percentage points year-on-year, further compressing overall profit margins.
Despite short-term profit pressure, the company's operational quality improved significantly. Net cash flow from operating activities reached 197 million yuan in 2025, a substantial increase of 87.84% year-on-year, primarily due to sales revenue growth and improved collection of receivables, alongside strengthened working capital management. This strong cash flow performance provides ample funding assurance for subsequent continued R&D investment and capacity expansion.
**Jingyi Equipment: Domestic Leader in Temperature Control Systems Shows Profit Resilience Behind High Growth** Jingyi Equipment is the absolute leader in domestic semiconductor temperature control systems. Its core products include Chiller temperature control units for wafer fab production lines and temperature control modules for semiconductor equipment. It is one of the few domestic enterprises capable of mass-producing high-end semiconductor temperature control equipment. Its products cover the entire semiconductor manufacturing process, including etching, deposition, lithography, and cleaning, holding a 39% market share in the domestic semiconductor temperature control equipment sector, ranking first in the industry. The 2025 annual report revealed the company achieved operating revenue of 1.426 billion yuan, a significant increase of 38.95% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 148 million yuan, a slight decrease of 3.26% year-on-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders after deducting non-recurring items was 115 million yuan, a minor decline of 0.47%. Against the backdrop of nearly 40% revenue growth, profitability remained largely stable, demonstrating strong operational resilience.
The explosive revenue growth was driven by two main factors. On one hand, the ongoing expansion of domestic mature process wafer fabs created substantial, essential demand for temperature control system support. Temperature control systems are standard equipment for wafer fab lines, with each production line requiring dozens of Chiller units to maintain the high-precision temperature environment of ±0.1°C necessary for semiconductor manufacturing. The continuous construction of domestic mature process production lines directly drove order scaling for the company's products. On the other hand, the localization process for temperature control systems accelerated significantly. Previously dominated long-term by Japanese and American leaders, the domestic semiconductor temperature control market has seen Jingyi Equipment achieve large-scale substitution of foreign products in recent years, thanks to stable product performance, localized service, and supply chain advantages. Its products have been successfully introduced into several mainstream domestic wafer fabs, with market share continuously increasing, forming the core momentum for revenue growth.
Jingyi Equipment's core value lies in its sustained focus on key auxiliary equipment areas like specialized semiconductor temperature control, exhaust gas treatment, and wafer handling, breaking decades-long foreign technological monopolies. The company's products achieve high-precision temperature control capability of ±0.1°C, fully compatible with requirements across all process steps like etching, deposition, lithography, and cleaning. It is one of the few local temperature control equipment manufacturers capable of entering the core production lines of 12-inch wafer fabs, indicating significant remaining potential for further localization.
It is noteworthy that Jingyi Equipment's high revenue growth did not fully translate to the net profit level. Items like accounts receivable and inventory may experience significant fluctuations during rapid expansion phases. Subsequent observation is needed regarding revenue quality, collection efficiency, and whether technological iteration can keep pace to support medium to long-term profit growth.
**Zhengfan Technology: Leader in Process Medium Systems Sees Double-Digit Decline in Revenue and Profit, Diversification Strategy Faces Challenges** Zhengfan Technology is a leading domestic company in semiconductor process medium systems. Its core products include Gas Box process medium delivery systems, and high-purity special gas and chemical delivery systems. It is a core supporting enterprise for wafer fabs and semiconductor equipment manufacturers, while also covering businesses in pan-semiconductor fields like photovoltaics and flat panels, making it the most diversified of the three companies. The 2025 annual report showed the company achieved operating revenue of 4.916 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.11% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 136 million yuan, a sharp decline of 74.17% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders after deducting non-recurring items was 80 million yuan, down 83.60% year-on-year. The performance showed a significant deep adjustment, forming a stark contrast with the other two companies.
The core reason for the substantial decline in revenue and profit was pressure on downstream demand due to semiconductor industry cyclical fluctuations. Zhengfan Technology's core business is highly tied to wafer fab capital expenditure. Its process medium systems are a core prerequisite for wafer fab line construction, with order and delivery timing directly dependent on fab expansion progress. In 2025, affected by adjustments in the memory industry cycle, capital expenditure pacing slowed for some leading domestic memory manufacturers, delaying production line construction progress, which directly led to lower-than-expected order deliveries and a decline in operating revenue for the company. Simultaneously, within its pan-semiconductor business, the photovoltaic industry experienced severe overcapacity and price wars in 2025, leading to a significant contraction in industry capital expenditure, which also notably dragged down the company's revenue.
Beyond the fundamental factor of revenue decline, three core amplifying factors contributed to the sharp profit drop. First, the comprehensive gross margin contracted significantly. Affected by intensified industry competition, declining product prices, and rising raw material costs, the annual comprehensive gross margin fell by 5.20 percentage points year-on-year to 20.99%, and the net profit margin dropped by 7.18 percentage points to 2.79%, indicating a significant deterioration in profitability. Second, rigid pressure on the expense side became more prominent. Despite the revenue decline, the company maintained rigid growth in R&D investment to advance high-end product development and localization breakthroughs. Additionally, selling expenses reached 97.9094 million yuan, up 19.41% year-on-year, indicating expanded market investment despite falling revenue, continuously diluting the already pressured net profit margin. Third, increased provisions for asset impairment losses. Due to order delays from downstream customers, inventory levels rose, leading to increased provisions for inventory write-downs. Furthermore, extended payment terms from downstream customers increased accounts receivable, resulting in higher credit impairment losses, further dragging down net profit performance.
Despite the short-term deep adjustment in performance, the company's core technical barriers and leading position remain intact. The annual report indicated that revenue from its process-critical systems business reached 2.836 billion yuan for the year, increasing its share of total revenue to 57.69%, remaining the largest revenue source. Revenue from semiconductor equipment components accounted for 17.41%. Together, these two segments contributed over 70% of revenue, indicating further concentration of the revenue structure towards core semiconductor businesses.
**Conclusion** Although the three companies belong to different sub-sectors and showed significant divergence in their 2025 performance, their results reflect common characteristics and core contradictions within the current A-share semiconductor components industry. The essence of the performance divergence lies in differences in sector attributes and downstream demand structure. Jingyi Equipment's downstream involves essential supporting equipment for wafer fab lines; the ongoing expansion of mature process fabs brought certain demand growth, enabling high revenue growth. Pioneer Jingke's downstream consists of complete semiconductor equipment manufacturers; the continued deepening of equipment localization drove demand for supporting core components, resulting in steady revenue growth. Zhengfan Technology's business was most affected by adjustments in industries like photovoltaics, leading to a significant revenue decline. This divergence essentially reflects the differing pace of cyclical transmission across various segments of the semiconductor supply chain.
The prevalent situation of "revenue growth without profit growth" was a common challenge faced by the industry in 2025. Even Jingyi Equipment, with its high revenue growth, and Pioneer Jingke, with its steady growth, experienced declines in net profit, while Zhengfan Technology saw a substantial profit contraction. Behind this lie four common pressures currently facing the semiconductor components industry: First, the rigid growth in R&D investment. As localization enters a deeper phase, companies must continuously increase R&D spending to break through high-end core technologies and meet advanced process requirements, making sustained R&D expenses a core factor eroding profits. Second, persistent cost-side pressures. High-end raw materials and core components still heavily rely on imports; exchange rate fluctuations and overseas supply chain restrictions keep procurement costs high, compressing profit margins. Third, intensifying industry competition. With rising enthusiasm for localization, numerous enterprises have entered the semiconductor components sector, leading to intensified homogenized competition and ongoing price wars in mid-to-low-end products, putting pressure on overall industry gross margins. Fourth, the strong bargaining power of downstream customers. Wafer fabs and leading equipment manufacturers dominate the supply chain, continuously lengthening payment terms for upstream component suppliers. Expanding accounts receivable not only creates cash flow pressure but also increases the risk of bad debt provisions, further impacting corporate profitability.
Despite clear policy support and a solid logic for localization, the transition from "usable" to "high-performing," and the leap from component validation to批量出货 still face practical constraints like capacity ramp-up, profitability model refinement, and customer penetration. Companies face different challenges depending on their position in the supply chain and stage of development. The core challenge for every local component enterprise is to determine how to capture the market增量 brought by the release of AI computing demand while simultaneously enhancing their own product technology barriers, optimizing cost structures and profitability models, and truly achieving the leap from "substitution" to "leadership" in the process of increasing localization rates.
Comments