Maybe Apple and a supplier -- Lam Research...
Maybe Smoke, maybe some fire, there is going to be a ton of old foundry equipment ready to make batteries...
Apple Likely Driving Globalfoundries Expansion
Globalfoundries may be pushing hard to ramp 14 nanometer capacity to meet production plans for the Apple A9 chip.
pple is likely driving the 14-nanometer ramp at Globalfoundries, but is not a guaranteed customer, in our view.
We believe that Globalfoundries [owned by entities associated with the government of Abu Dhabi[/b]] is pushing hard to ramp 14 nanometer (nm) capacity in an effort to meet production plans for the Apple (ticker: AAPL ) A9 chip. 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. There is clearly a lot of activity underway, with equipment move-ins and the 14 nm process ramp-up being the focus. We expect equipment installations to increase over the next two quarters, which should benefit Nanometrics ( NANO ), Lam Research ( LRCX ), Applied Materials ( AMAT ), KLA-Tencor ( KLAC ) and ASML Holding ( ASML ). We would be buyers of Nanometrics on foundry share gains, including at Globalfoundries, and buyers of Lam Research and Applied Materials related to general market-expansion trends and attractive valuation.
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