Demand for wafer fabrication equipment has been lackluster. (Photo courtesy of Tokyo Electron)
TOKYO — Seven out of the nine top chipmaking equipment manufacturers are likely to log a sales decline in the current quarter as client companies rein in capacity investment in the face of a worsening semiconductor market.
But despite the downbeat forecast, their stock prices have been on the rise, reflecting investor hopes for generative artificial intelligence and the bottoming out of the market.