Showa Denko integrated with Showa Denko Materials, formerly Hitachi Chemical, in January 2023 and now operates as the Resonac Group. Resonac Holdings is the listed holding company, while Resonac Corporation is the operating company.
Resonac is a diversified chemicals company and a major semiconductor materials supplier. Its portfolio includes back-end materials for AI semiconductors, front-end process materials, and SiC epitaxial wafers. This article explains the transition from Showa Denko, the company’s semiconductor materials, its SiC business, competitors, and latest 2026 results.
Resonac (formerly Showa Denko): Company overview
| Listed company | Resonac Holdings Corporation |
|---|---|
| Operating company | Resonac Corporation |
| Former companies | Showa Denko K.K. and Showa Denko Materials Co., Ltd. |
| Headquarters | 1-9-1 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
| President and CEO | Hidehito Takahashi |
| Stock exchange | Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market |
| Securities code | 4004 |
| Consolidated employees | 23,936 as of December 31, 2024 |
| Core businesses | Semiconductor and Electronic Materials, Mobility, Innovation Enabling Materials, and Chemicals |
The name “Resonac” combines “resonate” with the first letter of “chemistry.” It expresses the company’s approach to solving challenges through co-creation with semiconductor manufacturers, equipment companies, and other partners.
How Showa Denko became Resonac
- 1939: Showa Denko was established through the merger of Nihon Electrical Industries and Showa Fertilizers
- 2020: Showa Denko acquired Hitachi Chemical
- October 2020: Hitachi Chemical changed its name to Showa Denko Materials
- January 2023: Showa Denko and Showa Denko Materials integrated and launched the Resonac Group
- Today: Resonac Holdings handles group strategy and the public listing, while Resonac Corporation operates the businesses
The integration combined the former Showa Denko’s technologies in SiC, electronic materials, and chemicals with the former Hitachi Chemical’s strength in semiconductor back-end materials. It is no longer accurate to describe Showa Denko Materials as a separate subsidiary.
Source: Resonac announcement of the new corporate name
A broad portfolio from front-end to back-end materials
Resonac’s distinguishing feature is a product portfolio spanning semiconductor front-end processes, back-end processes, and device-related materials. Its back-end products are particularly important for advanced packaging, which is becoming increasingly critical for high-performance AI semiconductors.
| Area | Products and technologies | Main uses |
|---|---|---|
| Front-end materials | High-purity gases, CMP materials, and other functional materials | Deposition, etching, cleaning, and wafer planarization |
| Back-end materials | Encapsulants, die-bonding materials, copper-clad laminates, and photosensitive materials | Semiconductor packages, substrates, chip interconnection, and protection |
| Device Solutions | SiC epitaxial wafers and hard-disk media | Power semiconductors and data-center storage |
In the first quarter of 2026, higher sales for advanced semiconductors, including AI applications, pushed back-end semiconductor materials revenue to a quarterly record. Semiconductor and Electronic Materials delivered higher revenue and profit even as total company revenue declined year over year.
SiC epitaxial wafer business
Silicon carbide is a wide-bandgap semiconductor suited to higher voltages, higher operating temperatures, and faster switching than conventional silicon. Resonac develops and manufactures SiC epitaxial wafers, a principal material used to fabricate SiC power devices.
- Main applications: electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, renewable energy, and industrial equipment
- Principal production and development location: Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
- Technology priorities: lower defects, higher quality, 200 mm capability, and improved productivity
- 2024: Agreed with Soitec to jointly develop 200 mm bonded SiC substrates
In the first quarter of 2026, Device Solutions benefited from solid data-center demand for hard-disk media, but customer inventory adjustments affected SiC epitaxial wafers. Investors should consider not only long-term SiC growth prospects but also short-term demand fluctuations and price competition.
Companies active in the SiC materials market include Wolfspeed (formerly Cree), the ROHM Group, and STMicroelectronics.
AI semiconductors and advanced packaging
Advanced packaging, which connects multiple chips and memory devices at high density, is critical for AI semiconductors. Resonac is strengthening a development system that evaluates combinations of materials with customers and equipment manufacturers instead of selling each material in isolation.
- JOINT3: A consortium for developing next-generation semiconductor packaging
- Packaging Solution Center: A Kawasaki facility for evaluating combinations of back-end materials
- High-purity HF gas: Production is scheduled to begin at the Tokuyama Plant in 2026, creating a two-site domestic production system with Kawasaki
High-purity hydrogen fluoride gas is used in semiconductor circuit etching. Resonac is expanding supply to address growing demand from advanced processes such as cryogenic etching.
Latest results for the first quarter of 2026
| Metric | Q1 2026 | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | ¥307.89 billion | Down 4.1% |
| Total core operating profit | ¥33.62 billion | Up 126.4% |
| Profit attributable to owners of the parent | ¥15.28 billion | Up 74.6% |
| Semiconductor and Electronic Materials revenue | ¥134.7 billion | Up 21% |
| Semiconductor and Electronic Materials core operating profit | ¥34.0 billion | Up 74% |
Back-end semiconductor materials revenue rose 38% year over year to ¥70.9 billion and drove the segment’s growth. Resonac raised its first-half outlook for Semiconductor and Electronic Materials in response to strong AI-related demand.
Resonac’s strengths and challenges
| Strengths | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Broad material portfolio from front-end through back-end processes | Semiconductor cycles and customer inventory fluctuations |
| Strong competitive position in advanced packaging materials for AI | Price competition and demand adjustments in SiC |
| Co-development with customers and equipment manufacturers | Continued business portfolio reform |
| Combined technologies of the former Showa Denko and Hitachi Chemical | Returns on major investments and stable profitability |
Summary
Related company profiles
- Showa Denko integrated with Showa Denko Materials and became Resonac in 2023
- The listed company is Resonac Holdings, with securities code 4004
- The portfolio spans front-end materials, back-end materials, and SiC epitaxial wafers
- AI-related back-end materials drove growth in the first quarter of 2026
- Key issues include SiC demand adjustments, price competition, and continued portfolio reform
Resonac combines the former Showa Denko’s diversified chemical technologies with the former Hitachi Chemical’s back-end materials and is positioning semiconductor materials for the AI era as a central growth business. Important factors to watch are growth in advanced packaging materials, recovery in SiC epitaxial wafer demand, and the profitability of the Semiconductor and Electronic Materials segment.
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