Taiwan's chip foundry UMC posted its best month ever for sales, but it pushed back on reports predicting a huge profit jump next year — good news for the company, with a caution flag on the hype.

• UMC's September sales set a record and have now grown seven months in a row, with third-quarter sales the second-highest ever.
• The company issued a formal notice saying media reports of 21% sales growth and more than doubled profit in 2026 are speculation it won't comment on.
• Demand is strong for power management chips, sensors and microcontrollers, and older 8-inch chip production is recovering, with factory use climbing toward 85%.
• Chip prices are improving, and both AI and non-AI demand are rising at the same time.
• Elsewhere in Taiwan: Micron's union voted to strike, the Taiwan index sits just under the 50,000 mark, and satellite, chip-packaging and plastics stocks are drawing heavy buying.

Outlook: UMC's momentum looks set to carry into the fourth quarter on better pricing and fuller factories, but official numbers, not forecasts, will settle the 2026 story.