TSMC Surpasses 60% Market Share... Samsung Foundry Drops to 12% Range

TrendForce Announces Q1 Market Share Statistics of Top 10 Foundry Companies

The first-quarter sales of the world's top 10 foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) companies decreased by 18.6% compared to the previous quarter. While Taiwan's TSMC, the number one player, exceeded a 60% market share, Samsung Electronics' share fell to the 12% range.

Market research firm TrendForce announced on the 12th that the combined first-quarter sales of the top 10 foundry companies recorded $27.33 billion, down 18.6% from the previous quarter.

TrendForce explained that this result was due to reduced demand amid a downturn in the semiconductor industry and the off-season effect. They interpreted that both the utilization rates and shipment volumes of the top 10 companies decreased, leading to a decline in sales.

Since the extent of sales decline varied by company, there were changes in rankings. GlobalFoundries of the United States, which was 4th in the previous quarter, overtook Taiwan's UMC to rank 3rd. Israel's Tower Semiconductor, previously 8th, surpassed Taiwan's PSMC to rise to 7th place.

The gap between the top two companies, Taiwan's TSMC and Samsung Electronics, widened further. TSMC's first-quarter sales fell 16.2% from the previous quarter to $16.735 billion, but its market share increased by 1.6 percentage points to 60.1%. Samsung Electronics' sales plunged 36.1% to $3.446 billion, with its market share dropping 3.4 percentage points to 12.4%.

TrendForce stated, "TSMC's utilization rates for 7 and 6 nanometer (nm; 1 nm = one billionth of a meter) and 5 and 4 nm processes fell by more than 20% due to weakened demand for laptops and smartphones." They also explained, "Samsung Electronics experienced a decline in first-quarter sales as the utilization rates of both 8-inch and 12-inch wafers decreased."

Although sales decline is expected to continue in the second quarter as in the first, the rate of decrease may ease. TrendForce expects both TSMC and Samsung Electronics to slow the pace of sales decline in the second quarter. In Samsung Electronics' case, "the introduction of new 3 nm products is expected to contribute to second-quarter sales," they explained.