Taiwan Semi Leads While China's SMIC Climbs to Third in Global Chip Market

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co TSM is the world’s leading foundry by revenue in the first quarter. 

China’s State-backed SMIC, or Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co, held a market share of 6% in the first quarter, up from 5% last year. 

This growth places SMIC behind only TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung Foundry, which held 62% and 13% of the market share, respectively, CNBC cites Counterpoint.

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SMIC’s quarterly results exceeded market expectations, securing the third position in foundry revenue market share in the first quarter of 2024 for the first time. The recovery of demand in China contributed to this achievement. 

SMIC’s chips are used in automobiles, smartphones, computers, IoT technologies, and more. Chinese smartphone company Huawei Technologies Co has tapped SMIC to produce crucial 5G mobile chipsets.

SMIC reported first-quarter revenue of $1.75 billion, a 19.7% increase from a year earlier. Over 80% of its revenue was derived from customers in China. For the second quarter, SMIC expects revenue to increase by 5%—7% from the first quarter.

China consumes nearly 50% of the world’s semiconductors. Prior reports indicated China launched a $40 billion state fund to strengthen its chip sector in response to the U.S. ban. 

Huawei and SMIC developed an advanced 7-nanometer smartphone processor, marking progress toward a self-sufficient Chinese chip ecosystem. 

Additionally, several Chinese semiconductor design firms partnered with Malaysian companies to assemble high-end chips to bypass restrictions.

On Thursday, TSMC projected 10% annual growth in the global semiconductor industry, excluding memory chips driven by the artificial intelligence frenzy. The key Nvidia Corp NVDA supplier expects up to 30% second-quarter sales growth.

Price Action: TSM shares were trading higher by 1.59% at $159.59 at the last check on Friday.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons