According to the latest research from TrendForce, the combined revenue of the world's top ten wafer foundries in the second quarter of 2026 reached nearly $53.49 billion, marking an 11.5% quarter-on-quarter increase and setting a new historical high. The growth momentum stems not only from sustained supply shortages in advanced process nodes such as AI HPC main chips but also from rising demand for AI peripheral ICs including PMIC and Power Discrete devices, alongside continued early stocking by consumer supply chains in TV, PC, and notebook segments, which has tightened capacity utilization in certain mature process nodes.
Looking at revenue performance in the third quarter, consumer IC design customers are maintaining wafer starts momentum given the potential for continued capacity constraints in mature processes and anticipated wafer price hikes. Additionally, the entry of flagship smartphone models into their stocking cycle and the ramp-up of AI HPC platforms transitioning to new architectures are expected to further boost overall wafer foundry output value.
Analyzing the revenue performance of the top ten foundries in Q2, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM.US) posted revenue of nearly $40.2 billion, up 12.1% quarter-on-quarter, maintaining its leadership position with a 72.5% market share. During the quarter, AI server GPU/XPU demand kept 5/4nm and 3nm advanced process capacity fully loaded, while iPhone new model stocking commenced and 2nm process contributed revenue for the first time, driving both wafer shipments and average selling price (ASP) higher quarter-on-quarter.
Ranked second, Samsung Foundry saw its Q2 revenue edge up 1.8% to $3.26 billion, supported by gradual volume ramp-up of new advanced process orders such as HBM base dies and price increases for processes at 5/4nm and below. Its market share slipped to 5.9% amid faster growth from competitors.
SMIC (688981.SH) surged 20% quarter-on-quarter to surpass $3 billion in Q2 revenue, with market share rising slightly to 5.4% and securing third place. Growth drivers included early stocking by PC and notebook-focused consumer supply chains, steady order increases for AI peripheral ICs and server networking components, as well as higher NAND/Nor Flash foundry demand and pricing amid widespread memory shortages.
UMC benefited from early stocking across PC, notebook, and select consumer electronics in the first half of 2026, plus incremental orders for server-related FPGAs, while 8-inch fab utilization recovered notably. Q2 revenue reached approximately $2.18 billion, up 12.7% quarter-on-quarter, maintaining fourth position with a 3.9% market share.
In fifth place, GLOBALFOUNDRIES saw wafer shipments and ASP rise concurrently as consumer customers resumed stocking activity and demand grew for AI/server peripheral power management, TIA, and driver ICs. Revenue climbed 9.3% quarter-on-quarter to around $1.79 billion, capturing a 3.2% share.
HuaHong Group rose to sixth place with Q2 revenue up 3.5% to surpass $1.27 billion, supported by steady orders for Nor Flash and AI PMICs. Wafer price increases continued to reflect in improved revenue and ASP, while its subsidiary HHGrace contributed additional growth as new capacity gradually came online.
Tower Semiconductor secured seventh place, with Q2 revenue growing 11.2% quarter-on-quarter to $460 million, driven by higher shipments and production of AI optical transceiver module-related ICs, including TIA, driver, and photonic ICs.
VIS climbed to eighth place as customer pre-stocking, along with incremental orders for AI peripheral ICs and smartphone PMIC/power devices, boosted total wafer shipments and ASP. Revenue rose to $451 million, up 13.8% quarter-on-quarter.
NEXCHIP took ninth place as its flagship DDIC products saw significant order inflows after capacity was squeezed out at other foundries, compounded by early stocking effects for consumer products. Both capacity utilization and shipments improved quarter-on-quarter, with revenue up 6.4% to $447 million.
Rounding out the top ten, PSMC benefited from sequential shipments of memory and logic wafers following price adjustments. Despite only modest overall shipment growth, Q2 revenue expanded 11.9% quarter-on-quarter to $432 million.
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