Global Foundry Industry’s Revenue Rises QoQ in 4Q23

The global foundry industry’s revenue grew about 10% QoQ but fell 3.5% YoY in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Counterpoint Research. Despite lingering macroeconomic uncertainties, the industry started bottoming out in the second half of 2023, driven by supply chain inventory restocking demand in the smartphone and PC sectors. Following a sharp downturn in 2023, the foundry industry is forecast to return to a growth trajectory in 2024 as inventory continues to normalize. Strong demand for AI and a mild recovery in end demand will serve as the main growth drivers for the industry in 2024.

TSMC remained the leader in the foundry industry in 4Q23, commanding a 61% market share. It posted better-than-expected revenue, a notable increase from the 59% growth in 3Q23. TSMC’s 5nm capacity utilization rate reached full capacity, buoyed by robust demand for AI GPUs from NVIDIA. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 15 continued to drive growth in the leading-edge 3nm node. These dual catalysts contributed to revenue from nodes below 7nm, which represented nearly 70% of TSMC’s total revenue for the quarter, underscoring the company’s technology competitiveness.

“AI demand is expected to remain strong in 2024, with increased capacity from TSMC CoWoS coming online. Simultaneously, the foundry market is very close to the bottom of the semiconductor inventory cycle. TSMC will be the major beneficiary of both the AI mega trend and the logic semiconductor demand recovery,” commented Counterpoint Research Analyst Adam Chang. Samsung Foundry maintained its second position with a 14% market share in 4Q23 as smartphone restocking continued during the quarter. The surge in initial pre-orders for the Samsung S24 series bodes well for revenue contribution from Samsung’s 5/4nm.

Among mature node foundries, both GlobalFoundries and UMC delivered better-than-expected results, each holding a 6% market share. However, both companies provided weak 1Q24 guidance, largely reflecting poor demand and customer inventory adjustments, especially in automotive and industrial applications. SMIC had a 5% market share with 7/10/14nm capacity utilization rates running high to fulfill Huawei Kirin chips and China’s local CPU/GPU demand. SMIC anticipates an increase in rush orders for specific smartphone-related components, including TDDI and CIS, in the near term, but has adopted a cautious full-year outlook due to uncertainties in demand sustainability, echoing the conservative outlook of other mature node foundries.