Semiconductor sales set to hit $1 trillion in 2026 as AI demand fuels historic industry growth

Semiconductor industry on track to hit $1 trillion in sales in 2026, SIA predicts -- bumper forecast follows $791.7 billion haul for 2025

Having delivered a record performance in 2025 with annual revenue reaching $791.7 billion, up 25.6% from the previous year, the global semiconductor industry is on track to top $1 trillion in sales in 2026, according to data released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) based on World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). The record revenue will be driven by demand from the AI sector and, to some degree, elevated prices on virtually all types of microelectronics. "The global semiconductor industry posted its highest-ever annual sales in 2025, nearly hitting $800 billion, and global sales in 2026 are projected to reach roughly $1 trillion," said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. "Semiconductors are the foundation of nearly all modern technology, and emerging technologies like AI, IoT, 6G, autonomous driving, and others will continue to drive robust demand for chips." While the SIA does not provide predictions for different segments of the semiconductor market, it is safe to say that the whole market will be driven by demand for AI infrastructure led by AI accelerators (read: Nvidia GPUs), HBM memory, networking gear, and storage. At least this is exactly how the market performed in 2025. From a product segments perspective, logic devices generated $301.9 billion in revenue after expanding by 39.9% year-over-year (YoY) and represented the largest chunk of the market. Memory products -- which, from WSTS's perspective, probably includes DRAM, NAND, and other types of memory -- followed as the second-largest category with $223.1 billion in sales, up 34.8% YoY. An avid reader would probably ask whether both $791.7 billion and $1 trillion semiconductor sales were solely due to increasing demand for AI (and cloud) hardware, or also due to increasing prices of all microelectronics. A closer look at last year's results indeed indicates that the industry's momentum accelerated toward the end of the year. Sales of chips in Q4 2025 reached $236.6 billion, up 37.1% YoY (which is considerably higher than 25.6% average year-over-year increase) and 13.6% sequentially from the previous quarter, which may reflect increased prices as a driver. When it comes to semiconductor sales results by regions, annual sales increased most significantly in Asia Pacific (and 'all other') markets, which expanded by 45%. Such growth is a result of several factors, including production of the most advanced AI processors in Taiwan, concentration of HBM memory assembly in South Korea and Singapore, as well as AI supply chain clustering. Asia Pacific was followed by the Americas with growth of 30.5%. China saw a 17.3% increase, and Europe a modest gain of 6.3%. Japan was the only major region to decline, with sales falling 4.7% YoY.

Global chip sales expected to hit $1 trillion this year, industry group says

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Global semiconductor sales are expected to hit $1 trillion this year, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday. The group, which represents most U.S. chip firms, said that chip sales hit $791.7 billion in 2025, an increase of 25.6% over the previous year. That booming growth is expected to continue into this year as major technology firms around the world spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build out data centers for artificial intelligence. The growth leader and largest segment of chips was the kind of advanced computing chips made by Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. Sales of those products increased by 39.9%, totaling $301.9 billion in 2025. The second-largest category was memory chips, whose prices are soaring amid an AI-induced shortage. Memory chip sales rose 34.8% to $223.1 billion. But the AI boom has extended to nearly every part of the chip industry, with John Neuffer, the president and chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based industry group, saying that executives at a range of smaller firms expressed optimism for 2026 when he recently visited Silicon Valley. "The refrain I heard was, 'No one knows what's going to happen with the AI build out a year from now, but my orders are completely full,'" Neuffer told Reuters. "At least for the next year, we're on a pretty, pretty strong glide path." Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco Editing by Shri Navaratnam Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Global chip sales expected to hit $1 trillion this year, industry group says

The group, which represents most US chip firms, said that chip sales hit $791.7 billion in 2025, an increase of 25.6% over the previous year. That booming growth is expected to continue into this year as major technology firms around the world spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build out data centers for artificial intelligence. Global semiconductor sales are expected to hit $1 trillion this year, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on ⁠Friday. The group, which represents most US chip firms, said that chip sales hit $791.7 billion in 2025, an increase of 25.6% over the previous year. That booming growth is expected to continue into this year as major technology firms around the world spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build out data centers for artificial intelligence. The growth leader and largest segment of chips was the kind of advanced computing chips made by Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel. Sales of those products increased by 39.9%, totaling $301.9 billion in 2025. The second-largest category was memory chips, whose prices are soaring amid an AI-induced shortage. Memory chip sales rose 34.8% to $223.1 billion. But the AI boom has extended to nearly every part of the chip industry, with John Neuffer, the president and chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based industry group, saying that executives at a range of smaller firms expressed optimism ⁠for 2026 ⁠when he recently visited Silicon Valley. "The refrain I heard was, 'No one knows what's going to happen with the AI build out a year from now, but my orders are completely full,'" Neuffer told Reuters. "At least for the next year, we're on a pretty, pretty strong glide path."