The shortage of semiconductors during a boom in electric vehicle sales could help raise profits at a handful of chip makers, according to Bank of America. The investment bank said shares of U.S.-listed European chip maker STMicroelectronics and Japan’s Renesas Electronics could rise by more than 75% over the next year on that trend. Although global automotive sales are expected to rise by just 3-4% over the next two years, the transition to EV cars means chip sales are set to grow by 7-9% year after year for the next two years, the Wall Street bank said. The higher growth rate is due to the fact that battery electric vehicles contain twice as many chips, valued at more than $1,000 per car, compared to gasoline-powered vehicles with about $600 worth of chips, the bank said. “We are structurally bullish on the auto theme with secular trends across digitization/advanced driver assist systems and EV adoption,” the analysts said in a note to clients on Dec. 6. Germany’s Infineon is the largest chip manufacturer for the automotive industry and is expected to earn $7.5 billion next year from sales to the sector. Bank of America analysts think the company maintains a “leading position” in the market with its low-cost manufacturing. As a result, it expects shares of the company to rise by more than 40% to $46 for its U.S. listing. The diversified and fragmented nature of the market also means Qualcomm , with just 2% of the market share in the automotive sector, is likely to benefit from the trend. The company said auto revenues grew 44% in 2021 due to chip sales for in-car connectivity devices. However, Bank of America analysts warn that Qualcomm’s exposure to the smartphone market will be the primary driver of the stock’s performance in the near future. Other chip stocks set to benefit from the trend to EV vehicles include U.S.-based companies Marvell , Microchip , Nvidia and Ambarella , Wolfspeed , and Onsemi , as well as European semiconductor manufacturers NXP and Soitec . — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
