Top fabless chip firms’ revenue surges 73% as AI fuels demand

The world's top 10 fabless semiconductor companies posted combined revenue of more than $141.45 billion in the second quarter of 2026, a 73% increase from a year earlier, according to research published by TrendForce on September 10. Expanding AI applications drove demand for GPUs, CPUs, custom ASICs, and interconnect products, though weakness in smartphones and PCs pointed to a growing divergence across end markets.trendforce

NVIDIA Dominates as AI Spending Widens

NVIDIA ↗ 1.34% held firmly to first place, with Q2 revenue rising 99% year-over-year to nearly $91.16 billion — accounting for 64% of the top 10's combined total. Beyond hyperscale cloud service providers, enterprise customers and sovereign AI projects contributed meaningfully to the quarter. TrendForce noted that NVIDIA has expanded its NVLink Fusion ecosystem, including investments in MediaTek and Marvell ↗ 1.45%, to engage the custom ASIC market while laying groundwork for automotive AI.communicationstoday

Broadcom ↗ 2.97% ranked second with revenue surging 112% year-over-year to more than $18.89 billion. The company began shipping its first ASIC co-designed for OpenAI during the quarter, while its networking business grew rapidly alongside custom chip deployments. It counts six major custom silicon customers, including Anthropic and OpenAI.communicationstoday

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ↗ 2.70% climbed to third place for the first time, surpassing Qualcomm ↘ 5.82%, as the rise of agentic AI renewed the strategic importance of CPUs. AMD's Q2 revenue exceeded $11.53 billion, with data center CPU revenue reaching a record high for the fifth consecutive quarter.trendforce+1

PC and Smartphone Weakness Clouds the Outlook

While AI-linked segments boomed, traditional end markets showed strain. Qualcomm slipped to fourth after facing continued challenges in smartphone chips and a reduced share of modem components in the newest iPhone. Its Q2 revenue topped $8.5 billion, buoyed by 23 consecutive quarters of double-digit year-over-year growth in its automotive division.communicationstoday

Data from Raymond James tracking Taiwan-based technology firms reinforced the divide: roughly 51% of PC-exposed vendors reported below-seasonal trends in August, compared with above-average performance across the board in the first quarter. Smartphone-exposed vendors fared similarly, with about 57% falling below seasonal norms.investing

Smaller Players Seek New Growth

Lower in the rankings, companies are repositioning. Realtek placed seventh with nearly $1.19 billion in revenue and plans to leverage existing IP to expand into the server market as PC demand softens. MPS Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. ↗ 4.12% ranked eighth at $981 million, driven primarily by AI-related power management solutions. OmniVision rounded out the top 10 at $838 million, expanding its analog IC portfolio into optical communications components.communicationstoday

TrendForce's broader semiconductor industry data aligns with figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association, which reported global chip sales of $403.3 billion in Q2 2026, up 35.1% from the prior quarter.semiconductors