TSMC's global market share hits new high of 70.2% in Q2

Taipei, Sept. 6 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) saw its share of the global pure-play wafer foundry market rise to a record 70.2 percent in the second quarter of this year, driven by higher shipments and average selling prices (ASP), according to Taipei-based market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp.

In a research report, TrendForce said TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-June period, up 18.5 percent from a quarter earlier, boosted by international smartphone brands launching new products and strong demand for artificial intelligence applications.

TSMC's market share rose from 67.6 percent in the first quarter, widening its lead over rivals, the data showed.

Samsung Electronics Co.'s Samsung Foundry ranked second with a 7.3 percent share in the second quarter, down from 7.7 percent in the first, though its sales still grew 9.2 percent quarter-on-quarter to US$3.16 billion on demand for smartphones and Nintendo's Switch 2, TrendForce said.

China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) placed third with US$2.21 billion in sales, or a 5.1 percent share, ahead of Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. with US$1.90 billion, or 4.4 percent, and U.S.-based GlobalFoundries Inc. with US$1.69 billion, or 3.9 percent.

Huahong Group of China came sixth with US$1.06 billion, or 2.5 percent, followed by Taiwan's Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. (US$379 million, 0.9 percent), Israel's Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (US$372 million, 0.9 percent), China's NexChip Co. (US$363 million, 0.8 percent), and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (US$345 million, 0.8 percent).

TrendForce said the top 10 contract chipmakers generated US$41.72 billion in aggregate sales in the second quarter, up 14.6 percent from the first quarter and accounting for 97 percent of global revenue, unchanged from the previous quarter.

Looking ahead, the advisory firm said pure-play foundries are expected to see sales rise further in the third quarter as peak season boosts demand for both advanced and mature processes, with capacity utilization likely to improve.