Samsung Foundry Revenue Stays Significantly Behind TSMC Despite Q2 2026 Growth

Global Foundry Market Expansion and TSMC's Dominance

Samsung's foundry business has turned a corner this year as it has picked up significant new orders, but the gap to TSMC is still quite significant.

The latest figures show that despite being second on the list of foundry revenue in Q2 2026, Samsung's 4% share of the revenue was still miles behind TSMC's 42% share.

The latest data from Counterpoint Research shows that global foundry market revenue surged to $96.6 billion, a 25% year-over-year increase. This was primarily driven by increased production demand for AI GPUs, custom AI ASICs, and the wider AI infrastructure buildout that includes server CPUs, networking chips, and power management ICs.

TSMC continues to be the main beneficiary of the AI buildout cycle. Its revenue in Q2 2026 was up 34% year-over-year to hit $40.2 billion. This lifted the company's revenue market share to 42% in the quarter, making it the dominant player.

No other company came close to TSMC in generating the sort of revenues that it did from foundry operations. Even though Samsung came in second place, its foundry market revenue share came at just 4%.

It nevertheless is an improvement for Samsung as companies are now increasingly looking for additional foundry sources due to both capacity constraints and price hikes at TSMC.

What caused the overall growth in the global foundry market during Q2 2026?

The market growth was primarily driven by an increased production demand for AI GPUs, custom AI ASICs, server CPUs, networking chips, and power management ICs tied to the expanding AI infrastructure buildout.

What was TSMC's market share and revenue in the second quarter of 2026?

TSMC generated $40.2 billion in revenue during Q2 2026, representing a 34% year-over-year increase and securing a dominant 42% share of the global foundry market.

Where did Samsung rank in foundry revenue, and what was its market share?

Samsung secured second place on the list of foundry revenue in Q2 2026, but its market share remained distant from the leader at just 4%.

Why are companies increasingly seeking alternative foundry sources besides TSMC?

Firms are looking for alternative manufacturing partners due to ongoing capacity constraints and recent price hikes implemented by TSMC.

🔎 In conclusion, while Samsung has made notable progress in securing fresh manufacturing contracts and stabilizing its foundry operations, outperforming competitors in a surging market requires closing a massive valuation and volume gap. As the semiconductor industry continues to scale around advanced artificial intelligence demands, monitoring how secondary foundries adapt to capacity pressures and pricing strategies will be crucial for the future of the global chip ecosystem.