Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has reinforced its position as the global leader in the pure-play wafer foundry market by increasing its market share to 67.6% in the first quarter of 2025. This latest data comes from a report by Taipei-based research firm TrendForce Corp, as cited by Focus Taiwan.
TSMC’s Market Share Rises Despite Revenue Dip
TSMC reported a 5% decline in revenue quarter-on-quarter, falling to USD 25.52 billion. This drop is largely attributed to seasonal slowdowns common in the semiconductor sector, which affect production cycles and client orders.
Despite the revenue dip, TSMC’s market share edged up from 67.1% in the previous quarter, signaling sustained demand for its advanced chip manufacturing capabilities.
TrendForce credits this strong performance primarily to growing requirements for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) chips, which continue to drive demand across various industries such as cloud computing, data centers, and consumer electronics.
Additionally, TrendForce noted that clients have been accelerating their orders to hedge against uncertainties caused by ongoing U.S. tariff policies targeting Chinese tech firms. This risk mitigation has further helped TSMC maintain its stronghold.
Samsung Electronics’ Market Share and Revenue Slip
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, TSMC’s nearest competitor in the foundry business, saw its market share decline from 8.1% to 7.7% in the first quarter. Samsung’s foundry sales also fell by 11.3% to USD 2.89 billion during this period.
The increasing gap between TSMC and Samsung highlights the growing dominance of TSMC, which benefits from a broad client base and advanced semiconductor fabrication technologies, particularly in cutting-edge process nodes.
Other Key Players in the Global Foundry Market
China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) retained its third-place ranking with a 6.0% market share. Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) followed at 4.7%, while U.S.-based GlobalFoundries accounted for 4.2%.
The top 10 list also includes China’s Huahong Group (2.7%), Taiwan’s Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. (1.0%), and Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, China’s NexChip, and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., each holding approximately 0.9% of the market share.
Top 10 Foundries Capture Nearly Entire Market Revenue
TrendForce’s report revealed that the top 10 foundries together generated USD 36.40 billion in sales during the first quarter. This represents nearly 97% of the global pure-play wafer foundry market, up from 96% in the previous quarter.
Although overall revenue among these top players fell by 5.4%, the semiconductor foundry market remains highly concentrated among a few dominant companies, with TSMC leading by a significant margin.
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