Processors, RAMs Or SSD constitute a small part of the activity of the semiconductor giants led by TSMC.
For several years, there was little doubt about the rise of TSMC. The Taiwanese company has benefited more than any other foundry from the crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its huge contracts with Apple mainly, but also NVIDIA as artificial intelligence progresses every day, guarantee it a bright future for at least a few years.
Nearly $70 billion in revenue in 2023
In 2013, TSMC’s revenues were barely 50% of those of the number one at the time, Intel. The American company had held the number one position in semiconductors since 1992 when it overtook the Japanese NEC.
In 2017, it was the South Korean company Samsung which was the first to challenge Intel’s dominance by taking first place in this ranking with a limited number of candidates. A place that it had however lost in 2019 to regain it in 2021.
TSMC therefore puts everyone in agreement with the formalization of its first place for the year 2023. Its revenues are estimated at 69.3 billion dollars for the last twelve months when those of Intel fell to 54.23 billion and those of Samsung at 50.99 billion.
Six quarters in a row in first place
The acute crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the revenues of these three giants in quite remarkable proportions, but since the start of 2022, things have been more complicated.
Intel and Samsung suffered very clear declines in their revenues while TSMC continued to grow until the fourth quarter of 2022 before only experiencing a decline in the first half of 2023. Since then, the increase has resumed for the Taiwanese company, although more moderate.
This first place in the world is the realization of a domination visible over the past 6 quarters. As of last year, TSMC was neck and neck with Samsung while the Taiwanese company stands out from its two competitors by being the only one not to produce anything in its own name.
TSMC relies on contracts with companies like AMD, Apple or NVIDIA to name only the most famous. These juicy contracts and the artificial intelligence revolution seem set to make TSMC’s good days for several years, even if it is difficult to envisage the future.
Source : Dan Nystedt, Tom’s Hardware
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