Global top 10 foundries Q4 revenue up 7.9%
The latest TrendForce report reveals a notable 7.9% jump in 4Q23 revenue for the world’s top ten semiconductor foundries, reaching USD 30.49 billion.
This growth is mainly – according to TrendForce – driven by the ongoing demand for smartphone components, such as mid and low-end smartphone APs and peripheral PMICs. The launch season for Apple's newest smartphones also had a substantial impact, driving shipments of the A17 chipset and associated peripheral ICs such as OLED DDIs, CIS, and PMIC. TSMC's premium 3nm process significantly increased its revenue contribution, increasing its worldwide market share beyond 60% this quarter.
TrendForce notes that 2023 was a challenging year for foundries, with high inventory levels throughout the supply chain, a weak global economy, and a gradual, but slow, recovery in the Chinese market. These factors resulted in a negative cycle in the sector, with the top 10 foundries witnessing a 13.6% annual drop in revenue to USD 111.54 billion. Nevertheless, 2024 offers a more promising view, with AI-driven demand expected to increase yearly revenue by 12% to USD 125.24 billion. TSMC, which benefits from consistent advanced process orders, is expected to outperform the industry average in terms of growth.
Top 5 foundries expand market share to 88.8% as TSMC claims over 60% alone
| Ranking | Company | Revenue | Market share | |||
| 4Q23 | 3Q23 | QoQ | 4Q23 | 3Q23 | ||
| 1 | TSMC | 19,660 | 17,249 | 14.0% | 61.2% | 57.9% |
| 2 | Samsung | 3,619 | 3,960 | -1.9% | 11.3% | 12.4% |
| 3 | GlobalFoundries | 1,854 | 1,852 | 0.1% | 5.8% | 6.2% |
| 4 | UMC | 1,727 | 1,801 | -4.1% | 5.4% | 6.0% |
| 5 | SMIC | 1,678 | 1,620 | 3.6% | 5.2% | 5.4% |
| 6 | Huahong Group | 657 | 766 | -14.2% | 2.0% | 2.6% |
| 7 | Tower | 352 | 358 | -1.7% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| 8 | PSMC | 330 | 305 | 8.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| 9 | Nexchip | 308 | 283 | 9.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| 10 | VIS | 304 | 333 | -8.7% | 1.0% | 1.1% |
| Total top 10 | 30,489 | 28,258 | 7.9% | 95% | 95% | |
TSMC's wafer shipments increased in 4Q23 due to demand from smartphones, notebooks, and AI-related HPC, and its revenue increased 14% to USD 19.66 billion. Revenue shares from processes 7nm and below increased from 59% in Q3 to 67% in Q4, demonstrating TSMC's reliance on cutting-edge technology. With the progressive ramp-up of 3nm production, the share of revenue from advanced processes is expected to surpass 70%.
Orders for a variety of new smartphone components, mostly in advanced techniques over 28 nm, were also received by Samsung. Due to early client procurement, the market for advanced process main chips and modems experienced a steady increase in demand, leading to a slight 1.9% QoQ drop in Samsung’s foundry revenue to USD 3.62 billion.
The automotive business had a moderate 5% revenue gain for GlobalFoundries, which was mostly due to a jump in LTAs signed by multiple automotive clients and minor ASP optimisations. Nevertheless, there were decreases in shipments in important application areas including communication, smart mobile devices, and home/industrial IoT, which led to an overall revenue drop of around USD 1.85 billion in Q4.
