Intel Is Stealing the Foundry Spotlight. Is TSMC Still the Most Important Company in Chips?

Intel’s foundry comeback is drawing attention as the company tries to challenge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC)’s dominance in advanced chipmaking. Intel’s stock jumped to an all-time high on Thursday after President Donald Trump posted that Apple agreed to work with Intel to design and build chips in the U.S., alongside earlier momentum including a collaboration announced with Nvidia. Intel’s 18A process entered high-volume production in October, with its first 18A laptop chip, Panther Lake, selling earlier this year and a server chip following in spring. However, Intel’s foundry segment produced $5.4 billion in first-quarter revenue, up 16% year over year, but only $174 million came from outside customers and the segment posted a $2.4 billion operating loss. TSMC still holds about 70% of pure-play foundry market share and over 90% of leading-edge production. In Q1, TSMC revenue rose 41% to $35.9 billion, with a 66.2% gross margin and ~58% operating margin. TSMC expects 2026 revenue growth above 30% and plans $52 billion to $56 billion in capacity additions.