Silicon Becomes New Gold: Semiconductor Wafer Market Surges 11.5% in One Quarter

Combined revenue of the ten largest semiconductor wafer producers hit a record $534.9 billion in the second quarter of 2026, marking an 11.5% increase over the previous period. According to TrendForce, this growth was driven by a shortage of AI and high-performance computing (HPC) chips, demand for accompanying components such as power discrete ICs and PMICs, and early procurement of parts for laptops, PCs, and televisions.

TSMC maintained its market leadership with a 72.5% share. The company's revenue rose 12.1% to $402 billion, supported by full capacity utilization of its 3nm, 4nm, and 5nm lines for AI server GPUs/XPUs, preparations for new iPhone launches, and initial revenue from 2nm process orders. These factors increased both shipment volumes and average selling prices (ASP).

Samsung Foundry ranked second with revenue of $3.26 billion, a 1.8% increase attributed to new HBM Base Die orders and price hikes for processes 5nm and below. Despite this, Samsung's market share dropped to 5.9% as competitors grew faster.

SMIC moved into third place with a 5.4% market share and a 20% revenue increase, totaling over $3 billion. Growth was fueled by consumer electronics components, server networking orders, and higher prices for contract production of Nor and NAND Flash due to a general memory shortage.

Other key market participants reported the following:

• UMC (4th place): Revenue reached $2.18 billion (+12.7%) with a 3.9% market share, driven by server FPGA orders and recovered utilization of 8-inch lines.
• HuaHong Group (6th place): Revenue exceeded $1.27 billion (+3.5%), supported by AI PMIC orders, higher ASP, and new capacity from its subsidiary HHGrace.
• Nexchip (9th place): Revenue grew 6.4% to $447 million as DDIC orders returned after previously being displaced from other plants.

Market trends show an increasing reliance on AI infrastructure and a reduction in available capacity for mature processes as resources are shifted toward high-tech orders.