Six major chip companies gather at the Morgan Stanley Conference: What key signals have they released?

As the leading global financial and technology event to kick off the year, the Morgan Stanley TMT (Technology, Media & Telecommunications) Conference attracted many semiconductor companies, including several analog and embedded chip suppliers such as TI, ADI, ST, NXP, Microchip, and Onsemi. This conference not only serves as a core window to convey strategic signals and disclose business dynamics, but also as a key platform for connecting with capital, gaining industry insight, and seizing cooperation opportunities.

Since last year, thanks to the development of AI, memory and processor sectors have grown significantly. Currently, the semiconductor industry is at a critical transition from stability to recovery. Power and embedded solutions are also benefiting from AI development, with these companies serving as typical representatives in these areas.

In fact, whether in terms of strategic disclosures from semiconductor companies or discussions of hot industry topics, there is a high degree of focus on three high-growth sectors: automotive, industrial, and AI data centers, highlighting industry consensus.

Texas Instruments: Six-year investment cycle concludes, three main tracks locked in for growth

TI CEO Haviv Ilan revealed that the company’s six-year investment cycle has concluded. Markets have been resegmented, with a new data center segment added, now forming five major business units. Among them, industrial, automotive, and data centers contribute 75% of business revenue and are the main resource focus areas.

The acquisition of Silicon Labs is TI's most important strategic move in nearly 20 years. As a high-quality mixed-signal asset, its wireless connectivity business is a strong match with TI’s core tracks, improving the product map instead of supplementing capacity.  

The industrial sector accounts for 35%-40% of TI's total addressable market and is currently 25% below its peak. In Q4 2025, it is expected to see nearly 20% year-on-year growth, with growth signals covering traditional industrial automation, medical, and other fields. The automotive business has achieved a 12-year CAGR of 12% thanks to continued upgrades in automotive electronic content, with further growth potential for the next 5-10 years. Data centers are a newly added core track, currently accounting for 10%-11% of revenue, growing 70% year-on-year, focusing on high power density demands, and leveraging gallium nitride (GaN) technology deployed 15 years ago to meet the high power and efficiency requirements of data centers. More customized products will be launched in the future.

In MCU business, TI insists on in-house manufacturing. Two years ago, all 65nm embedded flash MCUs transitioned to internal production, and TI is now actively moving forward with 28nm processes.

ADI: Multi-engine synergistic growth, solution-based value enhancement

ADI Executive Vice President and CFO Richard Puccio stated that the company has outperformed seasonal patterns for nine consecutive quarters, primarily due to specialty growth engines and the dual support of cyclical recovery. This has established a synergistic growth structure across its industrial, communications, automotive, and consumer business segments.

Industrial is the core pillar, with strong demand in automatic test equipment (ATE), aerospace, and defense. ADI is moving from being a component provider to delivering modules and complete solutions, enhancing product added value. Segments such as factory automation, energy, and medical equipment have entered recovery, but revenues are still 20% lower than historical peaks, leaving ample room for future growth.

In communications, data center-related business accounts for two-thirds, with three consecutive quarters of 50% year-on-year growth since the second half of 2025, split equally between power and optical products. For power products, vertical power supply solutions reduce power loss by 30% compared to traditional schemes. In optics, 1.6T pluggable optical modules have already been delivered, 3.2 Tbps products are under orderly development, and wired segments have become businesses with profit margins above the company average.

The automotive business has hit new records for two consecutive years, focusing on high-performance battery management and automotive communications. The China market accounts for one-third of global automotive revenue, and by 2026, L2+ ADAS penetration is expected to reach 30%, driving continued increases in product content. The consumer business has undergone diversified transformation, covering wearables, gaming platforms, and has grown for more than six consecutive quarters.

In Q1 2026, ADI will launch large-scale price adjustments to pass on cost pressures, recover capacity, and reinvest in R&D, with positive customer feedback. The $1 billion synergy target from the Maxim acquisition is proceeding as planned and is expected to be met in 2027. The long-term strategy is to move further up the value chain by integrating software, digital, and AI capabilities to provide complete solutions, with the average selling price of products doubling over the past decade.

NXP: Software-defined vehicles drive growth, edge AI activates new industrial momentum

NXP CEO Rafael Sotomayor and CFO Bill Betz revealed that the company’s core strategy of pushing intelligent systems to the edge remains unchanged. All core businesses are achieving year-on-year growth, and the industry is returning to a healthy state of shipping based on end demand, with automotive supply chain inventory now below the manufacturing cycle.

Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) is the core growth engine for NXP's automotive business. The sector is still at an early stage of transformation, with the company integrating electronic control units (ECU) via high-performance computing platforms to meet both zonal control and central computing needs. Thanks to investments in 5nm processes made 6-7 years ago, NXP is the world’s only company with multiple automotive-grade 5nm processors, tailored to SDV's needs for high computing power and high security. Revenue from this line grew from $500 million in 2021 to over $1 billion in 2024, with expectations to double to $2 billion by 2027 and achieve high double-digit growth in the second half of 2025.

The China market is an important growth pole for NXP’s automotive business. Recent new regulations on vehicle safety and reliability are driving the market toward compliance, aligning with NXP’s strengths in product safety and IP accumulation. The company has built a complete supply chain rooted in China, cooperating with SMIC, TSMC, etc., for wafer manufacturing, while its own packaging and testing plant in Tianjin addresses customer supply chain concerns. In automotive, the share of growth engines will rise from 39% in 2024 to 43% in 2025, and is expected to break 50% by 2027. 

In industry, NXP replicates its automotive know-how by introducing processor+connectivity+security+power management+analog as total system solutions to meet upgrades toward software-defined systems. Edge AI (physical AI) aligns with industry’s low-latency, high-security needs, with surging platform demand from customers. Energy Storage Systems (ESS) have become a new key track, and the company provides full-chain solutions covering storage, charging, bi-directional charging/discharging management, benefiting from increased grid load balancing and data center demand.

Onsemi: Industry in stable phase, SiC and AI data centers create new opportunity

Onsemi President and CEO Hassane El-Khoury said the company is currently in the stable stage of recovery, with order-to-shipment ratios improving compared to 90 days ago, though it has not yet entered a restocking cycle. Key indicators are trending positive.

Automotive business is the core growth driver, with revenue growing 70% from 2019 to 2025 and a five-year CAGR of 9%-10%, mainly thanks to electrification, SDV, and zonal architecture. The addition of 10BASE-T1S Ethernet, smart FETs, and other products has enriched the product matrix.

The industrial business has gradually recovered, set to achieve its first year-on-year growth in nearly three years in Q4 2025, with medical, aerospace and defense sectors remaining strong, while other segments steadily recover.

In silicon carbide (SiC), Onsemi has a unique position thanks to vertical integration. Demand for SiC JFET in high-voltage power supply units for AI data centers is surging, emerging as a new growth catalyst. The firm is the only one globally able to deliver 1,200V GaN on GaN products. As a partner of Nvidia's 800V platform, Onsemi sees huge future growth potential in AI data centers, with next-gen 800V, 1MW rack services targeted to reach $105,000. Additionally, the company’s 65nm BCD-based Treo analog/mixed-signal process platform fits high-gross-margin sectors and is already used in automotive Ethernet, medical equipment, and other sectors.

Microchip: Strategic transformation shows results, breakthrough growth in high-value business

Microchip Senior Vice President and CFO J. Bjornholt and COO Richard Simoncic disclosed that all nine initiatives in the company's 2025 strategic plan have been implemented. The focus was on restoring customer relationships, optimizing organization, and targeting products, effectively reversing prior operational shortcomings.

The company has rebuilt its model for customer cooperation, accelerated product launches and response time, and completed organizational restructuring by consolidating all product lines into five pillars to break down business silos and enhance efficiency. They plan to optimize disclosure, with more detailed reporting for high-growth areas such as PCIe and FPGA. 

Core growth sectors delivered strong performance: PCIe Gen 6 saw breakthroughs with the launch of the world's first 3nm PCIe Gen 6 switch, securing four design wins. A matching retimer will launch in 1-2 months, and the aim is to deliver Gen 7 products and reclaim market leadership within a year. Data center deployment includes a complete solution of connectivity, security, power, and timing. In FPGAs, a new development kit launching in 2026 will lower the barrier for customer adoption.

In industrial and automotive connectivity, products are used in industrial control, humanoid robotics, and other scenarios, with mass adoption expected from end of 2026. The China strategy hinges on technical advantages and IP protection to handle local competition. The company focuses on edge AI software and algorithms, releasing a universal accelerator and developing a SaaS model platform to cut customer usage costs.

On capacity, internal fab underutilization remains a long-term issue to be addressed. Going forward, the plan is to consume capacity internally through standard MCUs, analog, and other own-product lines.

STMicroelectronics: Multi-segment recovery, AI and automotive as core engines

ST CEO Jean-Marc Chery said the company will achieve above-seasonal growth in the first half of 2026, with further strengthening in the second half, relying on the synergistic efforts of AI data centers, automotive, and industrial as the three main tracks.

AI data centers are now the fastest-growing track, with 380-390 products already included in data center BOMs. Thanks to AWS collaboration and accelerated optical module demand, related revenue is expected to surpass $1 billion in 2026 and grow substantially further in 2027. The company supplies 12-inch silicon photonics technology, laser driver ICs, etc. The lead time for MCU deliveries is increasing, with optical module business starting in Q2 and ramping up in the second half.

The automotive sector is expected to achieve mid-to-high single-digit growth in 2026, with regional differentiation: EV-related business grows in the Americas, steady recovery in Europe, stability in Asia-Pacific, and concerns over NEV profitability and exports in China.

In the industrial sector, power device demand is surging due to AI data centers and energy segments. Smart industrial growth is robust in China and Asia-Pacific, while Europe's market bottomed out in Q1 and inventory levels have normalized. Substantial growth is expected in the consumer industrial sector in the second half. Consumer electronics has been affected by memory shortages but should see low single-digit growth in 2026.  

Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite communications are seeing growing demand. After acquiring NXP's MEMS unit, ST's MEMS segment will rejoin the $1 billion club, opening new paths in smart sensing, physical AI, and other sectors.

Industrial, automotive, and data centers as the core market focus—logic behind the consensus

At this Morgan Stanley conference, all six companies are focusing their core layout on industrial, automotive, and data centers. The consensus lies in these three sectors’ common features: rigid demand, growth certainty, and high added value. This is the key reason why the market continues to focus on these areas.

According to EEWorld, the automotive sector has become the focus, mainly due to the long-term growth momentum brought by industry transformation. With the proliferation of SDV, higher ADAS penetration, and continued growth of NEV sales, the electronic content of vehicles is surging, driving explosive demand for semiconductor products with high computing power, high safety, and high reliability, from automotive-grade processors and power devices to sensors. The global automotive industry is irreversibly transitioning to electrification and intelligence. Both strategic upgrades by overseas automakers and regulatory compliance and capacity expansions in China are providing sustained and stable growth opportunities for semiconductor enterprises, helping them weather industry cycles and supporting the continued high growth of their automotive business.

The industrial focus is due to both its recovery resilience and transformation opportunity. After industry adjustments, the sector is recovering, with stable demand for factory automation, energy, medical equipment, etc. At the same time, the industry is upgrading from hardware-defined to software-defined, with emerging demands like edge AI (physical AI) and energy storage systems driving explosive demand for semiconductor SoC solutions. Semiconductor products are the backbone for industrial intelligence and energy efficiency, solving low-latency, high-security core requirements in industrial settings while enabling higher productivity through technology empowerment. Given the ample recovery prospects for industry, this becomes a key direction for businesses to explore new growth engines, closely aligning with the strategic focus of the six companies in strengthening their industrial layouts.

Meanwhile, the explosive growth of data centers, particularly AI data centers, has made them the most watched emerging sector. With the rapid rise of generative AI and cloud computing, hyperscale data center capital expenditure is expanding globally, driving exponential demand for high power density and high transmission efficiency semiconductor products, spanning power devices, optical modules, MCUs, and more. Industry data show that AI-driven infrastructure demand in data centers is soaring, directly boosting revenue growth for related semiconductor products.