Korean Media: Samsung's Chip Foundry Market Share Dips to 6.5%, Close to Being Caught by Chinese Companies!

On July 16, South Korean media outlet Today's Finance published an article stating that Samsung Electronics' chip foundry market share has declined to 6.5%, further widening the gap with industry leader TSMC.

According to data from market research firm TrendForce, in the first quarter of 2026, TSMC achieved a record-high global chip foundry market share of 72.3%, while Samsung Electronics' share stood at just 6.5%. The gap between the two reached 65.8 percentage points.

TSMC's chip foundry market share rose from 70.4% in the fourth quarter of last year to 72.3% in the first quarter of this year—an increase of 1.9 percentage points. In contrast, Samsung Electronics’ share dropped from 7.1% to 6.5%, declining by 0.6 percentage points.

Since reaching a peak of 18.5% in the third quarter of 2019, Samsung Electronics' chip foundry market share has been declining every quarter.

Although Samsung Electronics' revenue has grown compared to the same period last year, its market share has decreased, further widening the gap with the industry leader. Samsung’s chip foundry revenue in the first quarter amounted to $3.201 billion, up 10.6% year-on-year. However, due to failing to keep pace with overall market growth, its actual market share declined.

During this period, China’s semiconductor company SMIC saw its sales grow by 11.5% year-on-year to $2.505 billion, capturing a market share of 5.1%.

SMIC’s market share fell slightly from 5.2% in the fourth quarter of last year to 5.1% in the first quarter of this year—a decrease of 0.1 percentage point. Yet, the gap between SMIC and Samsung narrowed from 1.7 percentage points in the first quarter of last year to 1.4 percentage points in the first quarter of this year.

According to TrendForce data, total revenue from the top ten global chip foundries reached $4.7953 billion in the first quarter—up 30.7% year-on-year and 3.7% sequentially.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870856071450760/

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