EB SECURITIES has released a research report indicating that global semiconductor sales continue to set new records, which in turn is fueling sustained demand for semiconductor materials amid a high-growth environment. In the first quarter of 2026, global semiconductor sales reached $298.5 billion, representing a quarter-on-quarter increase of 25%. Notably, sales in March alone hit $99.5 billion, a year-on-year surge of 79.2%, suggesting the industry is on track to surpass the trillion-dollar milestone for the full year. The Chinese market performed particularly strongly, with semiconductor sales in March reaching $26.74 billion, an approximate 60% increase year-on-year.
In 2025, the global semiconductor materials market achieved sales of $73.2 billion, a 6.8% year-on-year growth, marking a historical high. Within this total, wafer fabrication materials accounted for $45.8 billion, up 5.4% year-on-year, with materials such as photoresists, photomasks, and wet chemicals driven by advanced processes achieving double-digit growth. Packaging materials reached $27.4 billion, a 9.3% year-on-year increase, with advanced substrates and bonding materials showing particularly notable growth. Specifically, the semiconductor materials market in Mainland China was valued at approximately $15.6 billion in 2025, growing by 12.5% year-on-year.
The semiconductor industry is experiencing a period of high prosperity, characterized by record sales and continuously rising memory chip prices. According to SIA data, global semiconductor sales for Q1 2026 reached $298.5 billion, a 25% sequential increase. March sales alone were $99.5 billion, a 79.2% year-on-year jump, putting the industry firmly on a path to exceed a trillion dollars annually. China's market performance was especially robust, with March sales of $26.74 billion, representing about 60% year-on-year growth.
The memory chip segment is witnessing even more pronounced momentum. TrendForce data indicates that in Q1 2026, DRAM contract prices increased by 90%-95% quarter-on-quarter, while NAND Flash contract prices rose by approximately 60% sequentially. Entering the second quarter, DRAM contract prices are forecasted to rise by another 58%-63% quarter-on-quarter, with NAND Flash price increases expected to be even more significant at 70%-75%. The robust demand for high-performance memory from AI servers is the core driver of this price surge. North American cloud service providers are securing supply through long-term agreements. According to Gartner's assessment, the tight supply-demand situation in the memory market is expected to persist beyond 2027.
Wafer production capacity continues to expand, with accelerated construction of advanced process nodes. According to SEMI's "300mm Fab Outlook Report" released in 2025, global semiconductor fabs are accelerating capacity expansion due to demand growth driven by generative AI. SEMI projects that global monthly 12-inch wafer capacity will reach 11.1 million wafers by 2028, corresponding to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 7% from 2024 to 2028. A key driver of this growth is the continued expansion of capacity for advanced process nodes at 7nm and below. Monthly capacity for these nodes is expected to increase from 850,000 wafers in 2024 to 1.4 million wafers by 2028, representing a CAGR of approximately 14% during that period.
The demand for AI data centers is pulling memory requirements, leading to continuous growth in the global semiconductor materials market. Driven by the need for AI computing power, memory chips are accelerating their evolution towards higher stack layers, significantly increasing the number of manufacturing process steps and material consumption per chip. Concurrently, global wafer fabs are in a large-scale capacity expansion cycle, and the ongoing release of new wafer capacity will directly boost procurement demand for upstream semiconductor materials. According to SEMI data, the global semiconductor materials market achieved sales of $73.2 billion in 2025, growing 6.8% year-on-year to a record high. Wafer fabrication materials contributed $45.8 billion (up 5.4% year-on-year), with photoresists, photomasks, and wet chemicals driven by advanced processes achieving double-digit growth. Packaging materials reached $27.4 billion (up 9.3% year-on-year), with advanced substrates and bonding materials showing particularly strong growth. The semiconductor materials market in Mainland China was valued at around $15.6 billion in 2025, growing 12.5% year-on-year.
The performance parameters of electronic chemicals are continuously improving, and the industry structure is expected to become more concentrated among leading players. As process nodes advance towards more sophisticated technologies, chip linewidths continue to shrink, and structural complexity increases significantly. This dramatically reduces the tolerance for external contamination during the manufacturing process. In advanced processes, even minute amounts of impurities or particles can noticeably impact chip performance and yield, thereby imposing higher requirements for the purity, stability, and consistency of electronic chemicals. Compared to mature processes, advanced nodes place greater emphasis on ultra-low metal impurities, extremely low particle levels, and stable performance between batches. Electronic chemicals are no longer just general consumables but have become key materials directly influencing process stability and mass production capability. Consequently, EB SECURITIES believes that the advancement of advanced processes imposes higher demands on the comprehensive capabilities of electronic chemical suppliers. In this context, only leading suppliers possessing technological strength, scale advantages, and a foundation of long-term customer collaboration can continuously meet the demands of advanced processes and secure core orders. The competitive landscape of the industry is thus expected to become more concentrated towards these top-tier players.