Boosted by short-term orders in the electronics supply chain and shipments of AI and high-performance computing (HPC) chips, Taiwan's wafer foundry industry posted better-than-expected revenue in the first half of 2024, reaching US$44.5 billion. This represents a growth of 19% year-on-year and 6% from the second half of 2023, indicating a steady recovery in the industry, according to DIGITIMES Research.
Revenue is expected to increase by another 18% sequentially in the second half of 2024, bringing the full-year total to US$97 billion, driven by demand for advanced processes in 5G smartphones and HPC applications. Meanwhile, amidst rising geopolitical risks, TSMC has introduced its "Foundry 2.0" initiation to address growing antitrust concerns, although it remains uncertain whether various governments will adopt it.
In the first half of 2024, Taiwan's wafer foundry industry outperformed expectations, mainly benefiting from robust demand for AI and HPC applications, offsetting the adverse electronics industry's off-season effect and the slow recovery in mature processes.
Table 1: Key factors affecting Taiwan wafer foundry industry in 2H24, demand and supply
Chart 1: Taiwan key wafer foundry revenues, 2Q23-4Q24 (US$b)
Chart 4: Taiwan foundry revenue share by manufacturing node, 2Q23-4Q24
Chart 5: Taiwan key wafer foundry semi-annual revenues, 1H22-2H24 (US$b)
Table 2: Taiwan wafer foundries capacity expansion plans overseas, 2024
Chart 8: Revenue share of TSMC in global foundry industry, 2020-2023
Table 4: Taiwanese foundries' revenue outlook and key topics in 2024
