Macronix expands layout of 3D NAND and eMMC Wu Minqiu: NOR will no longer expand production

Macronix Chairman Wu Minqiu. (Provided by Macronix)

Memory manufacturer Macronix (2337) held a press conference today (27th). Chairman Wu Minqiu said that Macronix started supplying eMMC more than a year ago, and the related business has "grown at an alarming rate." Faced with the simultaneous increase in demand in various application fields and limited existing production capacity, new production capacity in the future will be concentrated on products such as NAND and eMMC. In particular, 3D NAND-related production capacity will increase significantly. NOR will no longer expand production and instead focus on niche markets with long-term development value.

Macronix's NAND Flash related products accounted for 47% of its revenue in the third quarter, with revenue increasing by 39% quarterly and 768% annually. NOR Flash revenue accounted for 46%, with revenue increasing by 21% quarterly and 158% annually. Wu Minqiu pointed out that in addition to the original SLC NAND products, eMMC has also become a new growth driver, driving the product portfolio from being concentrated on NOR Flash in the past to gradually shifting to the parallel development of NOR and NAND.

Wu Minqiu said that the current demand for all product lines is quite strong, but the overall production capacity is limited, and resources must be reallocated. Some production capacity has been transferred from NOR to NAND related products. He emphasized that the demand for NOR in different application fields continues to grow, but it is limited by total production capacity and must choose between different customers and application markets.

In terms of NOR products, Wu Minqiu said that customer demand for high-density products continues to increase, and data center NOR demand is developing towards high capacities such as 512Mb and 2Gb. Macronix 3D NOR has also made new design progress, and the problems encountered in the past have been solved. There is an opportunity to launch 2Gb and 10Gb products in the next 1 to 2 years.

Wu Minqiu pointed out that NOR will focus on the data center, space communications, automotive and medical markets. Among them, the demand for data centers remains high, and customers continue to hope that Macronix will provide more products. Space communications-related demand also continues to increase, and industry players have come to seek cooperation many times.

Macronix continues to increase its efforts to expand production capacity. At the beginning of this year, it planned to invest 22 billion yuan. Subsequently, the board of directors approved an investment of 15.8 billion yuan, and the total investment in the two phases was 37.8 billion yuan. Macronix said that the first-stage equipment has gradually entered the factory, and mass production is expected to begin in the second half of 2027. Subsequent additional investment equipment may not enter the factory until the second half or the end of 2027, and the relevant output may fall in 2028.