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Samsung Electronics faces increasing competition from TSMC and SMIC in the semiconductor market
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 08:09 PM
An analysis of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business highlights the intensifying competitive pressure from TSMC in high-end foundry services and SMIC's expansion in China. The report suggests Samsung faces a dual threat to its market share across different technology nodes.
Context
As of March 2026, Samsung Electronics is facing a critical squeeze in the semiconductor foundry market, with its annual market share dropping to 7.2% as the gap with TSMC widens to a record 62.7 percentage points. While the total foundry market reached a record $169.5 billion last year, growth was dominated by TSMC, which secured a 69.9% market share fueled by explosive demand for AI server GPUs and mobile processors. Samsung’s position has been compromised by persistent yield issues in its 3-nanometer process, which remained near 20% through much of late 2025, leading to high-profile customer attrition.
Simultaneously, China’s SMIC is aggressively capturing the mature-node market as top-tier foundries pivot toward advanced logic. SMIC saw its revenue grow 16.2% to $9.327 billion by capitalizing on 8-inch wafer demand that Samsung and TSMC are beginning to vacate. With TSMC already locking in massive capacity for its 2-nanometer nodes through 2026 and Samsung facing production delays for key clients like Tesla, the South Korean giant is under intense pressure to stabilize its HBM4 yields to avoid being permanently outpaced by Taiwan’s leading edge and China’s domestic scaling.
Sources (13)
TSMC 2024 Annual Report WebsiteTSMC Widens Foundry Lead Over Samsung Electronics TSMC ramps 3/2nm and CoWoS capacity amid 24-hour ...TSMC, Samsung shift to advanced nodes; China’s SMIC, Hua Hong seize 8-inch demand - CHOSUNBIZInfographic: Q4 2024 | Semiconductors, Foundry Share and Smartphone AP ShareTesla AI6 chip delayed ~6 months as Samsung 2nm production slipsGlobal 2nm Supply Crunch: TSMC Leads as Intel 18A, Samsung, and Rapidus Race to Compete - SemiWikiChina’s top chip foundries move to consolidate as Beijing pushes semiconductor self-sufficiency — SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor deals pave the path to unified power | Tom's Hardware
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