Tokyo Electrified
东京电激
Japan’s semiconductor toolmakers are booming
日本的半导体设备制造商生意兴隆
How long will it last?
这种情况能持续多久？
CORPORATE JAPAN, long snubbed by investors, has been the source of much attention lately. That is especially so for the country’s manufacturers of chipmaking tools. On February 13th Tokyo Electron’s share price jumped by 13% after it reported higher profits than expected for the final quarter of last year, pushing its market value above $100bn, roughly ten times what it was worth a decade ago. It is now Japan’s fourth-most-valuable company, trouncing better-known peers such as Mitsubishi, Nintendo and SoftBank Group.
长期以来一直被投资者冷落的日本企业近来备受关注，尤其是芯片设备制造商。2月13日，就在东京电子公布了高于预期的去年第四季度利润后，其股价暴涨了13%，市值也因此超过1000亿美元，大约是十年前的十倍。如今东京电子已成为日本价值第四高的公司，超越了三菱、任天堂和软银集团等名气更大的日本企业。
- snub 冷落；怠慢
- trounce 表示“大胜、击溃、彻底打败、轻松战胜”，常作正式用语使用，侧重指以大比分或巨大的优势轻松完胜竞争对手（参见：小词详解 | trounce）
- peer 主要表示“同龄人、同辈人”或“身份地位相同的人”（参见：小词详解 | peer）
Tokyo Electron is the largest among a crowd of Japanese purveyors of chipmaking tools for which business has been booming. The combined market capitalisation of the five most valuable—Tokyo Electron, Advantest, DISCO, Lasertec and SCREEN Holdings—has doubled, in dollar terms, over the past year (see chart). These companies, which suffered from a post-pandemic slump in sales of electronics that caused chipmakers to slash investments, are now on the up. The Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan, an industry body, expects a 27% increase in sales of machinery this year and a further 10% rise in 2025, more than reversing the fall of 19% in 2023.
日本众多芯片设备供应商近来生意红火，东京电子是其中最大的一家。价值前五大公司——包括东京电子、爱德万测试、迪思科、Lasertec和斯库林集团——以美元计的总市值在过去一年中翻了一番（见图表）。新冠疫情过后，电子产品销量骤降，导致芯片制造商大幅削减投资，令这些公司受挫，但现在它们正在企稳向好。行业组织日本半导体制造装置协会预计，今年半导体设备的销售额将增长27%，2025年将再增长10%，轻松扭转2023年下降19%的局面。
- purveyor 提供者；供应商；供应公司
- slump （价格、价值、数量等）骤降，猛跌，锐减
- slash 大幅度削减；大大降低
- reverse 颠倒；彻底转变；使完全相反
