The top ten wafer foundries in Q4 2022 saw a 4.7% decrease in revenue compared to Q3
Starting from the second quarter of 2022, many brand customers have begun to enter the destocking phase. However, wafer foundries are located upstream in the industry chain, and a considerable portion of them are long-term contracts, making it difficult to adjust quickly. Except for some second- and third-tier wafer foundries that have responded relatively quickly, it was not until the fourth quarter of last year that a significant decrease in capacity utilization rate became apparent.
According to TrendForce‘s latest statistics, the total revenue of the top ten wafer foundries in the fourth quarter of 2022 was approximately $33.53 billion, a decrease of 4.7% compared to the previous quarter, marking the first decline in the past fourteen quarters. Due to the traditional off-season and the economic environment being filled with uncertainty, it is expected that the first quarter of 2023 will continue to decline, with a larger drop in revenue.
Although there is support from new iPhone and Android models, TSMC’s revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 still decreased by 1% compared to the previous quarter, reaching $19.96 billion, with a market share of nearly 60%. Due to the greater impact on second- and third-tier wafer foundries, TSMC’s market share has increased. Currently, advanced processes of 7nm and below account for 54% of TSMC’s revenue, with the decline in 6/7nm being offset by the growth of 4/5nm.
Samsung also benefited from the components of new iPhone and Android models, offsetting some of the loss of customers’ destocking and orders for advanced processes. The revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased by 3.5% compared to the previous quarter, reaching $5.39 billion. The major problem facing Samsung is that the advanced processes of 7nm and below have new orders transferred by Qualcomm and NVIDIA, and there are not enough new customers to fill the gap, resulting in a low capacity utilization rate of about 60%. This will hinder the revenue growth of Samsung in 2023.
The capacity utilization rate and shipments of UMC both decreased in the fourth quarter of 2022, with revenue reaching approximately $2.17 billion, a decrease of 12.7% compared to the previous quarter. GlobalFoundries benefited from the average selling price of wafers, optimization of product mix, and increased revenue from non-wafer-related products, with revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 increasing by 1.3% compared to the previous quarter, reaching $2.1 billion, the only enterprise among the top ten with positive revenue growth, with a market share of 6.2%. SMIC attempted to increase order volume by lowering prices, but with little effect. Shipments and selling prices both declined, resulting in a 15% decrease in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022, reaching approximately $1.62 billion.
