Amkor expands US packaging plans

Amkor told investors on April 27 that its Arizona advanced-packaging project is still on schedule, with Phase 1 targeted for completion in 2027 and production in early 2028. (morningstar.com) (amkormarcomexternal.blob.core.windows.net) Packaging is the step after a chip is manufactured, when the silicon die is connected, protected and prepared to move power and data. Amkor is one of the world’s largest outsourced packaging and test companies, so this Arizona plant is aimed at a part of the supply chain the U.S. has largely left overseas. (ir.amkor.com) (manufacturingdive.com) The company’s first-quarter results gave the clearest update: record revenue of $1.685 billion, earnings per share of $0.33, and full-year 2026 capital spending of about $2.5 billion to $3.0 billion. Management said Arizona construction is consuming cash now while the factory is still years from volume output. (morningstar.com) (panabee.com) On the earnings call, Amkor said the Arizona ramp is expected to dilute operating margin by 1 to 2 percentage points starting in 2027. Management also said expansion after the initial ramp is planned in 2028 as the site scales. (fool.com) That matters because advanced packaging has become a bottleneck for artificial-intelligence and high-performance chips. A processor can be finished at a wafer fab, but it still needs packaging to connect memory, move heat and fit into a server or phone. (manufacturingdive.com) (ir.amkor.com) Amkor’s Arizona campus was first pitched as a $2 billion project, then expanded in October 2025 to $7 billion across two phases. The company said the site would eventually include more than 750,000 square feet of cleanroom space and up to 3,000 jobs. (amkor.com) (amkormarcomexternal.blob.core.windows.net) The Arizona facility sits in Peoria and is meant to complement Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s wafer fabs in the state. Amkor has said Apple will be the first and largest customer when the campus opens, and Nvidia has also been named as a customer. (amkor.com) (manufacturingdive.com) The near-term catch is timing. Amkor said foundation work for Phase 1 is complete and steel construction is underway, but meaningful U.S. output from the site still depends on finishing the building, installing tools and ramping customer programs over several years. (fool.com) (amkormarcomexternal.blob.core.windows.net) So the update is not that U.S. packaging constraints have disappeared. It is that Amkor is spending heavily now to build domestic capacity that its customers, including Apple and Nvidia, are expected to use starting in 2028. (fool.com) (manufacturingdive.com)