The latest data from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization shows that the global semiconductor market reached $180 billion in the second quarter of 2025, marking a 7.8% increase from the first quarter and a substantial 19.6% rise year-on-year.

This represents the sixth consecutive quarter in which the global semiconductor market has recorded more than 18% year-on-year growth, reflecting continued strength and optimism in the industry.

WSTS also released its latest ranking of the top 20 publicly listed semiconductor companies, focusing on firms that sell chips on the open market while excluding pure-play foundries such as TSMC and companies producing chips solely for internal use, like Apple.

According to the rankings, NVIDIA leads the list with an estimated quarterly revenue of $45 billion. Memory chip giants Samsung and SK Hynix follow in second and third place, while Broadcom ranks fourth. Long-time industry leader Intel falls to fifth place in this quarter.

NVIDIA's stock has surged 31% so far this year and has risen more than 1,100% since the start of 2023. According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, 62-year-old CEO Jensen Huang now has a net worth of $153 billion, surpassing investor Warren Buffett to become the world's ninth richest person.