Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. is scheduled to report second-quarter results on Thursday. Here is what you need to know:

NET PROFIT: China's largest contract chip maker's net profit likely more than doubled from a year earlier to $283.1 million, according to a Visible Alpha poll of 12 analysts. Both stronger revenue and lower operating expenses likely boosted the bottom line.

REVENUE: Revenue for the quarter was likely $2.86 billion, up 29% from a year earlier and 14% from the previous quarter. That would align with SMIC's guidance of 14% to 16% sequential revenue growth.

SMIC's Hong Kong-listed shares surged 76% in the second quarter as global semiconductor and hardware stocks rallied, driven by an artificial-intelligence spending boom. Following Huawei Technologies' new chip design approach, hopes have also risen that Chinese semiconductor makers can close the technological gap with their U.S. counterparts, further supporting Chinese chip-making stocks. However, SMIC's stock has given back some of the gains as the market focus shifted to AI monetization, losing 26% quarter to date.

WHAT TO WATCH:

--SMIC said it was "more optimistic" about its business this year, after reporting resilient first-quarter results. Co-Chief Executive Zhao Haijun said in May that the company had negotiated higher prices with clients for products in short supply, and that the AI boom had boosted demand for other supporting chips, such as SMIC's power-management chips. Investors will pay attention to management's latest comments on the AI spending spree and its impact on SMIC's business.

--SMIC's aggressive capacity expansion makes depreciation the biggest weight on its bottom line and cash flow. Although management expects 2026 depreciation costs to rise 30%, DBS analyst Jim Au noted that the chip manufacturer's high utilization and diversified product mix should increasingly offset this pressure.

-- As China's most advanced chip foundry, SMIC plays a central role in Beijing's push to become technologically self-sufficient as it looks to overcome U.S. curbs on access to the advanced semiconductors needed for AI. Research firm TrendForce expects China's high-end AI chip shipments to increase more than 83% in 2026 while persistent geopolitical headwinds continue to stifle foreign suppliers.