Which history? The last 20 years have been extraordinarily lucrative in semiconductors. All eras aren't the same and today's semiconductor business - which is heavily consolidated and gigantic - is not similar to the distant past.
A normal operating profit margin for the semiconductor business is 15-30%. No healthy semiconductor business today is routinely operating at sub 5% operating income margins.
2% profit isn't a banner year, that's a bad year for any relevant semiconductor company of the last quarter century.
Intel, Taiwan Semi, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, ASML, Analog Devices, LAM, KLA, Broadcom, NXP, ON Semi
Take a look at their operating profit margins. Nobody in that sector with a normal to healthy business is operating anywhere close to a 2% profit. Nearly all the majors more routinely operate with abnormally fat profit margins compared to other types of business.
ASML has a 30%+ operating income margin.
Nvidia has historically been around 15-25% operating income margin, and are now approaching 50%.
The average operating income margin for Intel over the past 25 years is closer to 20-25%.
Taiwan Semi is at 40-45% operating income margin.
Qualcomm is at 20%.
Texas Instruments is over 40%.
Analog Devices is at 30%.
Applied Materials is at 30%. KLA is at 35-40%. LAM is at 25-30%.
Broadcom is at 40%.
NXP is at 20-30%.
ON is at 20-30%.
These are normal margins today for semis. And you could cut them in half and they're still drastically above the low single digit area.