STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -STMicroelectronics posted a better-than-expected second-quarter revenue on Thursday, as the Franco-Italian chipmaker benefited from strong demand for its chips used in smartphones to cars, and forecast an upbeat current quarter.
The company forecast third-quarter sales of $3.2 billion, higher than market estimates of $3.08 billion.
A wave of orders swept the semiconductor industry to cause a global shortage that stopped production lines at several automakers, propelling production capacity at STMicro’s plants.
The company, whose customers include Apple and Tesla, increased its investment plan again for the year to $2.1 billion, from $1.28 billion in 2020.
STM, which competes with NXP Semiconductors, Analog Devices, and Texas Instruments, makes a range of chips that are widely used in mobiles, cars, 5G equipment and other electronic gadgets.
The Geneva-based company’s quarterly net revenue rose to $2.99 billion from $2.09 billion a year earlier, beating analysts’ estimates of $2.89 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, European Technology & Telecoms Correspondent, based in Stockholm, Editing by Helena Soderpalm and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
