On June 9, market research firm TrendForce released its Q1 2025 global foundry revenue rankings, revealing that the industry contracted slightly due to geopolitical pressures tied to new U.S. tariff policies. Despite seasonal headwinds, early inventory pulls—driven by customers rushing to beat the expiration of reciprocal tariff exemptions—and ongoing consumer subsidy programs in China helped cushion the impact, resulting in total industry revenue of $36.4 billion, down 5.4% quarter-over-quarter.

TSMC maintained its dominant lead, accounting for a 67.6% market share with $25.5 billion in revenue, a 5% decline from the previous quarter. Although smartphone-related orders declined due to seasonal softness, these losses were partially offset by steady AI HPC demand and urgent TV chip orders placed to avoid U.S. tariff hikes.

Samsung Foundry ranked second, but revenue dropped 11.3% quarter-over-quarter to $2.89 billion. Its market share dipped to 7.7%. The decline was attributed to restrictions on advanced process nodes for Chinese clients under U.S. export controls and limited gains from China's consumer subsidy program, given Samsung's customer composition.

SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) held steady in third place, with Q1 revenue rising 1.8% to $2.25 billion. The company benefited from rush orders placed in response to impending U.S. tariffs, as well as front-loaded demand from Chinese customers leveraging national subsidy policies. These factors helped offset the impact of declining average selling prices (ASPs).

UMC retained its fourth-place position. Although ASPs declined due to annual pricing adjustments, early client stocking helped maintain stable wafer shipments and utilization, resulting in Q1 revenue of $1.76 billion—down 5.8% quarter-over-quarter.

GlobalFoundries ranked fifth, reporting a sharper 13.9% revenue decline to $1.58 billion. The company was less affected by China's subsidy-driven demand as most clients target other markets, and it also experienced seasonal softness in both wafer shipments and ASPs.

China-based Hua Hong Group came in sixth, reporting $1.01 billion in revenue. Contributions from new capacity at subsidiary HHGrace and a pricing strategy targeting cost-sensitive customers kept revenue largely flat quarter-over-quarter.

Vanguard International Semiconductor rose to seventh place with $363 million in revenue, up 1.7% QoQ. Strong utilization, supported by urgent customer stocking related to tariffs and subsidies, outweighed a higher mix of low-end products that dragged down ASPs.

Tower Semiconductor fell to eighth with revenue of $358 million, down 7.4% from Q4, due to seasonal weakness and its lack of exposure to China's subsidy-driven demand.

Hefei-based Nexchip rose to ninth place with $353 million in revenue, up 2.6% from the previous quarter. The growth was driven by urgent orders from customers responding to tariff and subsidy deadlines, leading to increased wafer starts and shipments.

PSMC (Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.) rounded out the top 10 with $327 million in revenue, marking a 1.8% sequential decline. Although memory foundry demand weakened, consumer-related rush orders helped keep utilization rates relatively steady.

Looking ahead to Q2, TrendForce expects momentum to gradually slow as the wave of early inventory pullbacks subsides. However, China's ongoing consumer subsidy program is likely to support continued demand. Additionally, pre-launch stocking for new smartphone models and sustained AI HPC demand are expected to drive capacity utilization and shipments. As a result, the top 10 foundries are projected to post quarter-over-quarter revenue growth in Q2.