The gap between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics in the foundry market further widened in Q3 and Q4 of this year. While Samsung Electronics maintained its position as the second-largest player in the market, it was the only company among the world’s top 10 foundries to see a decline in revenue compared to the previous quarter.
According to market research firm TrendForce, on Friday, TSMC’s foundry market share for Q3 and Q4 reached 64.9%, up 2.6 percentage points from the second quarter. In contrast, Samsung’s share dropped from 11.5% to 9.3%, a decline of 2.2 percentage points over the same period.
The gap between the two companies expanded from 50.8 percentage points in Q2 to 55.6 percentage points in Q3.
TrendForce explained, “The simultaneous launch of flagship smartphone products, AI GPUs, and new PC CPUs drove an increase in TSMC’s capacity utilization and wafer shipments,” adding, “Samsung faced intensified competition from Chinese peers in the mature processes, which led to price concessions, resulting in a revenue decline and a decrease in market share.”
The total revenue of the world’s top 10 foundry companies reached $34.869 billion, a 9.1% increase from the previous quarter’s $31.962 billion. However, Samsung’s revenue fell 12.4% from $3.833 billion to $3.357 billion. In contrast, TSMC’s revenue for Q3 and Q4 increased by 13.0% to $23.527 billion from the previous quarter.
Chinese foundry companies are also making significant progress. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) secured the third position with a 6.0% market share, benefiting from product mix optimization and the launch of an additional 12-inch capacity, resulting in increased shipments. SMIC’s revenue surpassed $2.171 billion, exceeding the $2 billion mark.
