New historical high! SEMI predicts that the total global semiconductor equipment sales will reach US$125.5 billion in 2025

On July 22, 2025, California time, SEMI's Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast–OEM Perspective indicated that total global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are projected to reach a record-high US$125.5 billion in 2025, a year-over-year increase of 7.4%. Driven by continued advancements in advanced logic, memory, and technology migration, equipment sales are expected to further climb to US$138.1 billion in 2026, marking three consecutive years of growth.

SEMI President and CEO Ajit Manocha stated: “Following strong growth in 2024, global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales are expected to continue expanding in 2025 and reach a new high in 2026. While the industry is closely monitoring macroeconomic uncertainties, the demand for AI-driven chip innovation is continuously driving capacity expansion and advanced process production.”

Semiconductor Equipment Sales (by Market Segment)

Following a record US$104.3 billion in sales in 2024, the wafer fab equipment (WFE) sector (including wafer processing, fab facilities, and mask/reticle equipment) is projected to grow by 6.2% in 2025, reaching US$110.8 billion. This figure is higher than SEMI's end-of-2024 forecast of US$107.6 billion, primarily driven by increased sales of equipment for foundries and memory applications. Looking ahead to 2026, the WFE sector is expected to further grow by 10.2%, reaching US$122.1 billion, fueled by capacity expansion for AI applications, advanced logic and memory, and technology migration across major segments.

The back-end equipment sector is expected to continue its growth based on the strong recovery that began in 2024. Following a 20.3% year-over-year increase in 2024, semiconductor test equipment sales are projected to further grow by 23.2% in 2025, reaching a record US$9.3 billion. In 2024, packaging equipment sales grew by 25.4%, and are projected to grow another 7.7% in 2025, reaching US$5.4 billion. In 2026, the back-end equipment sector's expansion will continue, with test equipment sales projected to grow by 5.0% and packaging equipment sales by 15.0%, achieving three consecutive years of growth. This growth is mainly driven by significantly increased equipment architecture complexity and strong demand for high-performance AI and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors. However, continued weakness in the automotive, industrial, and consumer markets will somewhat affect growth in this area.

WFE Sales (by Application)

In 2025, driven by strong demand for advanced nodes, WFE sales for Foundry and Logic applications are projected to grow by 6.7% year-over-year, reaching US$64.8 billion. In 2026, this segment is expected to further grow by 6.6%, reaching US$69 billion, driven by increased capacity expansion purchases and the continued rise in demand for cutting-edge technologies as the industry moves toward mass production of 2nm gate-all-around (GAA) nodes.

Capital expenditures related to memory are expected to increase in 2025 and continue to grow in 2026. Driven primarily by advancements in 3D NAND stacking technology and capacity expansion, the NAND equipment market, after a sharp contraction in 2023, continues to recover, growing slightly by 4.1% in 2024 and is projected to grow significantly by 42.5% in 2025, reaching US$13.7 billion, and is expected to grow another 9.7% in 2026, reaching US$15 billion. Meanwhile, the DRAM equipment market, which surged 40.2% to US$19.5 billion in 2024, is expected to grow by 6.4% and 12.1% in 2025 and 2026, respectively, to support investments in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) required for AI deployment.

Semiconductor Equipment Sales (by Region)

Mainland China, Taiwan, and South Korea are expected to maintain their top three positions in equipment spending through 2026. Mainland China will continue to lead all regions during the forecast period, although sales are expected to decline from a record US$49.5 billion in 2024. All other regions, except Europe, are expected to see significant increases in equipment spending starting in 2025. However, escalating trade policy risks may affect the pace of growth in various regions.