Global chip foundry share out: TSMC in first place

According to a new report by Counterpoint Research, the global foundry output grew by around 10% in Q4 2023 as compared to the previous quarter.

This was primarily driven by increased demand for inventory replenishment in the supply chain of the smartphone and personal computer industries. The industry is beginning to show signs of bottoming out, despite the global macroeconomic uncertainty that still exists.

On TSMC's part, they remain the leader in the chip foundry industry with a 61% market share. TSMC's better-than-expected revenue was partially attributed to increased demand for NVIDIA's AI GPUs and Apple's iPhone 15 driving growth in the 3nm node.

Samsung's market share was 14% in Q4, largely due to increased restocking demand for smartphones. A surge in pre-orders for their S24 series bodes well for a significant increase in revenue at the 5/4nm node.

In terms of mature process nodes, Ge-Xin and UMC also performed better than expected, each capturing 6% of the market.

However, both companies have forecasted a possible weakness in the first quarter of 2024, mainly due to weakening demand in automotive and industrial applications and customer inventory adjustments.

Although additional orders for smartphone-related components have been received in the short term, the outlook for the full year 2024 is cautious due to uncertainty over long-term market demand.

After a sharp decline in 2023, the chip foundry industry is expected to return to a growth trajectory in 2024, as inventories continue to gradually normalize.

Strong demand for artificial intelligence and a slight recovery in the end market will be the main growth drivers for the chip foundry industry in 2024.