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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division is continuing to lag behind its rival, Taiwan's TSMC, the world’s largest foundry (contract semiconductor manufacturing) company, in terms of revenue.
As demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors grows, the performance of both companies has become increasingly tied to this market, with the revenue gap now widening to over 10 trillion won.
According to industry sources on May 11, Samsung's semiconductor business, the Device Solutions (DS) division, reported first-quarter sales of 25.1 trillion won this year. This represents a 17% decrease from the previous quarter, largely due to a decline in the sales of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a key component used in AI chips, amid semiconductor export controls.
As a latecomer to the HBM market, Samsung has yet to secure a position within Nvidia’s supply chain, the leader in the AI semiconductor ecosystem, resulting in a smaller contribution from HBM to its overall sales.
As a result, Samsung has struggled to catch up with TSMC, which continues to dominate the production of Nvidia’s AI chips.
In contrast, TSMC reported a 42% surge in first-quarter revenue compared to the same period last year, reaching NT$839.35 billion (approximately 37 trillion Korean won). Even after accounting for recent exchange rate fluctuations, the revenue gap between Samsung and TSMC exceeds 10 trillion won in Korean won terms.
TSMC's strong performance is driven by robust AI demand from developed countries such as the U.S., coupled with inventory accumulation triggered by concerns over semiconductor tariffs, leading to better-than-expected results.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
