Last year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) achieved the top spot in semiconductor sales worldwide for the first time. On Feb. 6, Taiwan News reported that TSMC, established in 1987, has become the leading semiconductor sales company for the first time.
According to TriOrient Investments, TSMC’s revenue was about US$69.3 billion last year. This surpasses both Intel and Samsung Electronics in sales. In terms of semiconductor operating profits, TSMC led with US$8.16 billion, followed by Intel at US$2.59 billion and Samsung Electronics at US$1.86 billion.
TSMC’s success is attributed to the increased demand for foundry services (contracted system semiconductor production). In the third quarter of 2023, the sales of the global top 10 foundry companies slightly increased compared to the previous quarter. The combined sales of the top 10 foundry companies in the third quarter were US$28.286 billion, a 7.9% increase from the second quarter, driven by a surge in orders for smartphone and laptop components.
Market research firm TrendForce from Taiwan analyzed that the high-cost 3-nanometer manufacturing processes of TSMC and Samsung Electronics significantly influenced the sales increase. TSMC’s sales in the third quarter of last year were US$17.249 billion, a 10.2% increase from the previous quarter. Samsung Electronics saw a 14.1% increase to US$3.69 billion in the same period.
In the third quarter of last year, TSMC’s foundry market share was 57.9%, ranking first. It was followed by Samsung Electronics with a 12.4% share, GlobalFoundries at 6.2%, UMC at 6%, and SMIC at 5.4%. Research by semiconductor market research firms showed that in 2022 TSMC had 532 customers, with the top 10 customers accounting for 68% of its annual sales. Its largest customers include Apple and Nvidia.