Maintaining record highs, contract manufacturing of microchips remains stable for yet another straight quarter. According to the results of the second quarter of 2025, the total revenue of the largest players in the industry reached 41.7 billion US dollars, which is 14.6% higher than the level of the previous quarter. Analysts attribute this to the expansion of AI services and stable demand for electronics. All this strengthens the leadership of TSMC, which already controls more than 70% of the world market, putting a clear distance between itself and competitors. This only confirms the strength and dominance of Taiwanese production.
Traditionally, TSMC shares remain one of the key drivers of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Weighted Index. But as it has long been evident, the growth of capitalization has a significant impact on regional exchanges. Globally, the quotes of companies in the semiconductor sector are supported mainly by the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices, where the technology segment remains the heaviest-weighted. At the same time, the S&P 500 futures volatility is increasing amid news about the dynamics of orders and capacity utilization of the largest contract manufacturers.
This time, two key factors formed the basis for production growth. First, subsidizing consumer electronics in China has rapidly increased demand for mass-market devices. Secondly, the vast majority of smartphone, laptop, and server manufacturers are preparing to release new models in the second half of the year. Such expectations stimulated chip orders, mainly from corporate customers. As a result, production capacity utilization rose, as did silicon wafer supply from related firms.
TSMC continues to hold the top spot as its revenue increased by 18.5% to $30.24 billion, with a market share of 70.2%. Demand is driven by both mass segments, such as smartphones, laptops, and PCs, as well as AI accelerators, which remain the main growth driver. Even in a highly competitive environment, TSMC maintains its position thanks to its scale and strong technology leadership.
Samsung, as expected, consolidated its position in second place with revenue of $3.16 billion. Although this is 9.2% higher than in the previous quarter, expectations may be too optimistic. The growth was caused by the supply of smartphone chips, and the release of the new Nintendo Switch 2 console, the processors for which are manufactured at Samsung facilities. The second factor remains controversial, as the outlook depends on another company’s performance. There are suggestions that this is why the company’s market share has decreased to 7.3%, reflecting the general trend of lagging behind the leader.
It is also interesting that the Chinese SMIC retained the third position, although its revenue decreased by 1.7%. Upon a detailed look reveals US restrictions continue to hold back cutting-edge process adoption, and this negatively affects the company’s competitiveness. GlobalFoundries and UMC remain more stable, with revenue increases of 6.5% and 8.2%, respectively, which once again confirms the industry’s overall growth.
This dynamic positions chip manufacturers as an increasingly important factor in global investor sentiment. While TSMC remains a clear growth engine, traders are also monitoring the top stock gainers for short-term momentum plays and the highest dividend stocks for long-term portfolio stability.
Seasonal demand for smartphones and laptops can support further revenue growth, keeping expectations for Q3 positive. At the same time, if investors and customers focus on how companies will cope with the increased workload, they will expect manufacturers to strive to maintain the stability of supply chains.