Smith & Nephew plc vs United Microelectronics Corp — how do they compare? Smith & Nephew plc trades at $29.69 (market cap $12.54B), while United Microelectronics Corp trades at $19.42 (market cap $47.81B). The key difference: United Microelectronics Corp is far larger — about 3.8× Smith & Nephew plc's market cap, and Smith & Nephew plc pays the higher dividend (2.65%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| SNN | UMC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $12.54B | $47.81B |
Sector | Health | Technology |
52-Week High | $38.70 | $28.02 |
52-Week Low | $28.73 | $6.58 |
Enterprise Value | $15.57B | $44.93B |
Dividend Yield | 2.65% | 2.12% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Smith & Nephew (SNN) trades at $30.08, down 0.1% with bearish technical signals. The company reported mixed Q2 2026 results with revenue growth below expectations, leading to a reduced full-year outlook. Fundamentals show strong profitability with 10.1% net margin and improving cash flow trends, though recent earnings misses have tempered sentiment.
Outlook remains cautious with analyst consensus at Hold (65% of coverage). Near-term risks include U.S. orthopedics weakness and competitive pressures, offset by robotics innovation and value-based care expansion. The stock offers stable fundamentals but faces execution challenges in key markets.
UMC trades at $18.79, up 0.37% today, with a bearish technical signal. Recent earnings beats and strong July 2026 sales growth of 18.98% year-over-year highlight operational momentum. The company is expanding capacity in Singapore and Taiwan to meet AI-driven demand, supported by a robust balance sheet with $115.24 billion in cash. However, net income margin has declined from 32.1% in 2022 to 16.99% in 2025, posing a concern.
The outlook is mixed; expansion initiatives and AI tailwinds offer growth potential, but margin compression and a bearish technical stance present risks. Analyst consensus is cautious with 53.33% hold ratings. Key catalysts include Q3 2026 earnings and fab expansion progress, while competitive pressures and macroeconomic volatility remain headwinds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Smith & Nephew designs, manufactures, and markets orthopedic devices, sports medicine and arthroscopic technologies, and wound-care solutions. Roughly 42% of the U.K.-based firm's revenue comes from orthopedic products, and another 30% is sports medicine and ENT. The remaining 28% of revenue is from the advanced wound therapy segment. Roughly half of Smith & Nephew's total revenue comes from the United States, just over 30% is from other developed markets, and emerging markets account for the remainder.
Read more on SNN →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 →