How to read the semiconductor supply chain from public data

Start with what the company says it sells

Every U.S. filer breaks revenue into segments in its own SEC filings — the annual Form 10-K and quarterly 10-Q. That is the most reliable public basis for sorting a company into the part of the chip chain it actually operates in — design, manufacturing equipment, foundry, memory, or packaging — rather than inferring it from a market label. Foreign chipmakers file analogous reports (such as Form 20-F, or filings with EDINET in Japan and DART in Korea).

Source: SEC EDGAR — segment revenue and business description.

Follow the physical inputs

Chips, wafers, and the tools that make them cross borders, and each ocean shipment is recorded on a customs manifest. Aggregated by product code (HS code) and country, import and export records show whether physical inputs into the industry are accelerating or slowing. Because these records are created when cargo actually moves, they are independent of any company statement or press release.

Source: U.S. Customs manifests · UN Comtrade, by HS code.

Map the dependencies

Two public layers show where a chain is concentrated. Disclosed supplier and customer relationships reveal who depends on whom. And the industry leans on a short list of critical minerals — the U.S. Geological Survey designates materials such as gallium, germanium, and rare earth elements as economically important and supply-constrained, with production concentrated in a few countries. When supply of a material is concentrated, the industries that consume it inherit that concentration risk.

Source: SEC-disclosed supplier lists · USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries.

Watch the forward intent

Patents are filed before products ship. Grouping patent activity by assignee and technology area shows where a company is pointing its research — advanced packaging, gallium-nitride power, or memory density — often earlier than any of the layers above reflect it.

Source: USPTO PatentsView — assignee, technology class, filing date.

What the record cannot tell you

• It is not a forecast, a price target, or a buy, sell, or hold signal — it is the public record, organized.
• A shipment confirms that cargo moved; it does not, by itself, explain why.
• Coverage is thinner for software-heavy firms that leave little physical trail.

The point. Each layer is a public fact placed next to the others — the record, not a rating or a tip. You read the industry, and the judgment stays yours.