Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) climbed in Friday's premarket session, and it's not hard to see why. The chipmaking giant isn't just riding the AI wave—it's practically the only one with a surfboard that works. According to data from TrendForce reported by Focus Taiwan, TSMC solidified its dominance by capturing nearly 70% of the global foundry market in 2025.
Think about that for a second. In an industry where everyone is scrambling to build the chips that power artificial intelligence, one company is taking almost seven out of every ten dollars spent. That's not just leading the pack; that's lapping it.
The Widening Gap
TSMC reported 2025 revenue of $122.54 billion, a staggering 36.1% increase year-over-year. This growth lifted its global foundry market share to 69.9%, up from 64.4% in 2024. During the fourth quarter alone, its share hit 70.4%. While that was a slight dip from 71.0% in the third quarter, quarterly revenue still rose 2.0% sequentially to $33.72 billion. TrendForce says this growth came from higher average selling prices, thanks to roaring demand for the 3-nanometer process, which more than made up for a small dip in shipments.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNLF) is watching from the shore. Samsung remained a distant second with $12.63 billion in 2025 foundry sales. Its revenue actually fell 3.9% year-over-year, leaving it with a 7.2% market share. The story here is simple: the industry's growth is overwhelmingly concentrated in TSMC's leading-edge production lines. Everyone else is fighting for scraps.
The Rest of the Field
The broader industry did grow. The top 10 foundries together generated $169.47 billion in 2025 sales, a 26.3% increase. But when one company takes nearly 70% of the pie, the slices for everyone else get pretty thin.
After Samsung, China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. ranked third with $9.33 billion in revenue and a 5.32% share. United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) followed with $7.63 billion and a 4.35% share, while GlobalFoundries Inc. (GFS) recorded $6.79 billion, good for 3.87% of the market.
The list rounds out with China's Huahong Group at $4.50 billion (2.6%), Israel's Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (TSEM) at $1.57 billion (0.89%), Taiwan's Vanguard International Semiconductor at $1.56 billion (0.89%), China's NexChip at $1.51 billion (0.86%), and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing at $1.40 billion (0.80%). It's a steep drop-off, and it shows just how much of a two-tier—or really, a one-tier—market this has become.
