TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Based on Samsung Electronics' own estimates, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has surpassed it as the world's top IC supplier by revenue in the third quarter.

On Monday (Sept. 12), Samsung Electronics estimated that its semiconductor sales for the July-September quarter dropped by 19%, making way for TSMC to take the top spot in the global semiconductor market. While Samsung expects third-quarter revenue of US$18.29 billion (NT$565 billion), TSMC's sales are expected to reach US$20.2 billion, an 11% increase from the second quarter, according to IC Insights.

Products such as DRAM and NAND flash memory accounted for 75% of Samsung's total semiconductor sales in the first half of the year. IC Insights attributed the decline in Samsung's revenue to the free fall in the memory market in the second half of 2022.

Looking at "final" sales, which are about twice the total foundry sales number, TSMC is estimated to see US$40.4 billion in "final sales" for the third quarter alone. In comparison, TSMC's "final" sales for all of 2021 were US$113.7 billion.

Trailing Samsung Electronics for third place in semiconductor sales for the third quarter was Intel, with US$15.04 billion in sales, an increase of 1% from the second quarter.