Analog chip categories are complex and the industry periodicity is weak. Analog chip refers to the integrated circuit composed of analog circuits such as capacitors, resistors and transistors, which is integrated to process analog signals. Compared with digital chips, it pays more attention to stability and cost, and the manufacturing process is mostly concentrated below 28nm. According to the subdivision function, it can be further divided into many categories, such as linear devices (such as amplifiers, analog switches, comparators, etc.), signal interfaces, data conversion, power management devices, etc. each category has different series according to the performance requirements of terminal products, which is almost ubiquitous in today’s electronic products. Due to the complexity of product categories and downstream application fields, analog chips are less affected by the boom fluctuation of a single industry, and can better resist the risk of industry cycle fluctuation in the downward period of the industry.
The market scale of aiot and automotive electronic drive analog chips has expanded. Analog chips can be divided into power management chips and signal chain chips. The latter can be further divided into linear products represented by amplifiers and comparators, converter products represented by ADC and DAC, and various interface products. Due to its long life cycle and scattered application scenarios, analog chips are driven by downstream drivers such as aiot and automotive electronics, and the market scale is expanding steadily. 1) Aiot: aiot is an effective channel for the intelligent upgrading of traditional industries. In the 5g era, the number of intelligent terminal connections is blowout, which is expected to drive the synchronous growth of the number of analog chip categories such as charging management chips, DC / DC converters, charging protection chips, amplifiers and comparators; 2) Automotive electronics: the “three modernizations” of automobiles have been continuously promoted, the value of vehicle specification semiconductors has continued to increase, and the growth rate of semiconductor industry with motor vehicle specification is higher than that of vehicle sales. With the continuous development of new energy chips, the penetration of automotive analog chips is expected to further improve.
European and American enterprises dominate, and domestic alternatives have broad prospects. In terms of industry structure, due to the complexity of analog chip categories, there are no absolutely dominant enterprises at present, and the industry concentration is low. After years of development, European and American enterprises have occupied a leading position in the field of integrated circuit technology and analog technology. Compared with leading enterprises in Europe and the United States, the vast majority of Chinese analog integrated circuit manufacturers started late, with relatively low R & D investment, and their products are mainly medium and low-end chips, facing fierce price competition, which also leaves great growth space for Chinese analog chip enterprises. In recent years, with the accumulation of technology and policy support, some Chinese companies have made some breakthroughs in high-end products and gradually broke the monopoly of foreign manufacturers to meet the urgent demand of “autonomy, security and controllability” of chips. With the continuous promotion of domestic substitution, Chinese analog integrated circuit enterprises are expected to usher in a golden period of development.
Investment strategy: analog chip is a bridge connecting the digital world and the physical world. The downstream varieties are complex and are less affected by the prosperity of a single industry. Compared with digital chip, analog chip can withstand the cyclical fluctuations of the industry. At present, European and American enterprises occupy a leading position in the industry, and the self-sufficiency rate of Chinese manufacturers is low. Under the tide of core shortage, the import process of Chinese manufacturers is expected to accelerate. It is suggested to pay attention to enterprises such as Sg Micro Corp(300661) ( Sg Micro Corp(300661) ), 3Peak Incorporated(688536) ( 3Peak Incorporated(688536) ) and Shanghai Awinic Technology Co.Ltd(688798) ( Shanghai Awinic Technology Co.Ltd(688798) ).
Risk tip: downstream demand is not as expected, industry competition intensifies, etc.
