South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) posted a significantly stronger operating profit in the second quarter of 2025, ending a streak of six consecutive quarters of losses and highlighting improved company fundamentals. Operating income rose 152% year-over-year to KRW492.2 billion (approx. US$355 million), despite a 9.7% decrease in revenue to KRW5.56 trillion. Data from financial platform FnGuide showed that LGES’s sales were 2.9% below analysts’ consensus estimates, while its operating profit surpassed forecasts by 56.3%.

In the escalating US-China tensions, China’s aggressive drive to boost domestic semiconductor production—coupled with a sweeping “trade-in” subsidy program—has led to a surge of orders flowing to South Korean 8-inch wafer foundries, creating an unexpected boon for the nation’s mature chip manufacturing sector.

Dr. Chen-Hua Douglas Yu, Vice President of Pathfinding for System Integration and the sole TSMC Distinguished Fellow, officially retired on July 8, 2025, closing a chapter in one of the most illustrious engineering legacies in Taiwan’s semiconductor history. Revered as the “Final Knight” among TSMC’s famed “Six Knights of R&D,” Yu’s pioneering contributions were instrumental in propelling TSMC to its global leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.