According to SIA's 2026 State of the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, global semiconductor sales were $795.6 billion in 2025, a record. Logic chips were the largest category at $299.5 billion (+38.8%), and memory followed at $230.0 billion (+39.0%).

Not every segment is growing

Sales of foundational chips were 5.2% below their peak in 2022, although volume grew by 6.3% in 2025. Regionally, sales rose in Asia Pacific/All Others (45.4%), the Americas (31.4%), China (17.9%) and Europe (6.7%), but fell in Japan (−4.3%).

Chip sales growth by region, 2025

Year-on-year change in annual sales, %

Source: SIA, 2026 State of the U.S. Semiconductor Industry, PDF p. 6.

The forecast, and a discrepancy

The report cites WSTS's projection of $1.5 trillion in 2026, which would be about 90% growth. SIA's press release of 5 October 2026 instead says sales are expected to exceed $1.6 trillion. The SIA–Deloitte report gives $791.7 billion for 2025 rather than $795.6 billion. The differences are probably due to different data cut-off dates; neither source confirms this.

Why it matters

When one category, AI-related logic and memory, accounts for most of the growth, the market becomes more sensitive to a few customers' investment plans.

AW

For information and educational purposes only. This research is not personalized investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell a security.