A handful of other chipmakers account for roughly 7% of global semiconductor manufacturing revenue, including Intel (INTC -1.80%). Once a cutting-edge semiconductor innovator and manufacturer, the American company has struggled for more than a decade and was on the verge of scaling back its manufacturing in the U.S. That prompted the Trump administration to take a 10% stake in Intel out of concern that advanced chip manufacturing would entirely leave the United States, leaving the country reliant solely on foreign firms for semiconductors necessary for national security and technological innovation.
Why semiconductor manufacturing revenue matters for investors
Market concentration in chip manufacturing cuts both ways. TSMC's commanding lead offers a degree of predictability. Its customers have built product roadmaps around its manufacturing capabilities, and switching costs are high. But concentration also means geopolitical risk is concentrated. TSMC's primary fabs are in Taiwan, which remains a source of concern for investors tracking U.S.-China tensions.
- TSMC generated $35.9 billion in foundry revenue in Q4 2025, 72% of the global total, per TrendForce. That share reflects its monopoly on the most advanced nodes, 3nm and below, that power AI chips, smartphones, and data center hardware. No other company has demonstrated the ability to manufacture at comparable scale at the leading edge.
- The gap between TSMC and the field widened further in 2025. TSMC's full-year foundry revenue grew 37.4% in 2025 to $132.9 billion, while Samsung's was essentially flat at $12.9 billion, per TrendForce. TSMC's share grew nearly 10 percentage points between Q1 2024 and Q4 2025. Samsung, the only other company with ambitions at the leading edge, lost ground over the same period.
- Intel's foundry position remains small but strategically significant. Intel generated $174 million in foundry revenue in Q4 2025, just 0.4% of the global total, per TrendForce. The U.S. government took a 10% stake in Intel to preserve domestic chip manufacturing capability, which suggests investors cannot ignore geopolitics when building semiconductor investment theses.
The data points to a market consolidating around a single dominant manufacturer. For investors, that means TSMC is the clearest expression of the semiconductor foundry opportunity, but the sector's risks and TSMC's risks are largely the same.
