Zhong Guo Jing Ying Bao·2025-06-20 04:51Core Insights - The global semiconductor foundry market is undergoing significant changes, with TSMC maintaining a dominant position while SMIC is rapidly gaining market share at the expense of Samsung Electronics [2][3][4] Market Performance - In Q1 2025, the total revenue of the top ten foundries decreased by 5.4% to $36.43 billion, with TSMC's revenue falling by 5% to $25.517 billion, yet its market share increased by 0.5 percentage points to 67.6% [3][4] - Samsung's revenue dropped significantly by 11.3% to $2.893 billion, leading to a decline in market share from 8.1% to 7.7% [3][4] - SMIC was the only company among the top three to achieve revenue growth, with Q1 2025 revenue reaching 16.301 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.4% [4][5] Market Share Dynamics - SMIC's market share rose from 5.5% to 6%, narrowing the gap with Samsung from 3.2 percentage points at the end of 2024 to 1.7 percentage points [4][5] - SMIC has surpassed GlobalFoundries and UMC to become the third-largest foundry [4][5] Factors Influencing Growth - SMIC's growth is attributed to strategic inventory buildup in response to U.S. tariffs and favorable domestic policies, which allowed it to thrive amid a market slowdown [2][4] - The decline in Samsung's market share is linked to delivery issues leading to customer loss and reduced orders, compounded by challenges in technology development and production efficiency [5][6] Competitive Landscape - TSMC's market share is significantly ahead of Samsung, with a gap of 59.9 percentage points as of Q1 2025, highlighting TSMC's stronghold in advanced process technology [7][8] - TSMC's 2nm process technology is progressing well, with a yield rate exceeding 60%, while Samsung's yield is around 40%, indicating a widening technological gap [7][8] Future Outlook - If SMIC continues its growth trajectory and optimizes its production processes, it may potentially surpass Samsung in the future, although significant technological advancements are still required [6][8] - The competition in the 2nm node is critical, with TSMC currently leading in technology and customer relationships, making it challenging for Samsung to catch up without substantial improvements [8]