iShares MSCI South Africa ETF vs United Microelectronics Corp — how do they compare? iShares MSCI South Africa ETF trades at $68.43, while United Microelectronics Corp trades at $19.4 (market cap $47.81B). The key difference: United Microelectronics Corp pays a 2.12% dividend while iShares MSCI South Africa ETF pays none, and United Microelectronics Corp is trading nearer its 52-week high, iShares MSCI South Africa ETF nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| EZA | UMC | |
|---|---|---|
Sector | Broad Market / Factor | Technology |
52-Week High | $81.60 | $28.02 |
52-Week Low | $56.57 | $6.58 |
Market Cap | — | $47.81B |
Enterprise Value | — | $44.93B |
Dividend Yield | — | 2.12% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
EZA trades at $68.43, down 1.86% with technical indicators showing mixed signals. The stock maintains bullish moving averages but faces overbought conditions with RSI readings above 70. Recent dividend declaration of $1.43 for H1-2026 provides income appeal, though fundamental metrics remain undisclosed in current data.
South African market exposure presents both opportunity and risk given current macroeconomic pressures on financials and commodities. The ETF's heavy weighting in gold, banking, and platinum group metals faces headwinds from global reflation trends, requiring careful monitoring of constituent performance.
UMC trades at $19.50, up 3.78% today, with neutral technical signals and strong fundamental performance. The company has consistently beaten earnings estimates in recent quarters, with Q2 2026 EPS of $0.54 significantly exceeding the $0.16 expectation. Recent announcements include fab expansions in Singapore and Taiwan to meet AI-driven demand, supported by growing silicon photonics production. Valuation metrics show a P/E of 18.55 and P/S of 6.02, with robust profitability margins including 32.75% net income margin.
Outlook remains positive with projected revenue growth to $250.7B in 2026 and net income rebound to $82.1B. Key risks include semiconductor cycle volatility and execution challenges from capacity expansion. Analyst consensus shows mixed sentiment with 26.7% buy ratings versus 20% sell recommendations, suggesting cautious optimism amid expansion initiatives.
Trailing returns across standard periods
EZA is a country-specific ETF that tracks the South African equity market. It provides exposure to large and mid-cap companies across key sectors like materials and financials, with top holdings such as AngloGold Ashanti and Naspers.
Read more on EZA →Founded in 1980, United Microelectronics is the world's third-largest dedicated chip foundry, with 7% market share in 2021, according to Gartner, after TSMC and GlobalFoundries. UMC's headquarters are in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and it operates 12 fabs in Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan and Singapore, with additional sales offices in Europe, the U.S. and South Korea. UMC features a diverse customer base including Texas Instruments, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Xilinx and Realtek, supplying a wide range of products applied in communications, display, memory, automotive and more. UMC employs about 20,000 people.
Read more on UMC →