Top 11 Chipmakers Q3 Profit Soars, NVIDIA Leads

According to recent reports, fueled by strong AI demand, the world’s top 11 semiconductor companies collectively posted a record-breaking net profit of $80.1 billion in Q3 2025 (July–September, with some reporting slightly different periods), representing a 130% year-over-year surge and marking the highest single-quarter profit since data has been tracked back to 2010.

The report highlights that AI-focused semiconductor firms led the growth among the top 11 companies. Nine of these companies, including NVIDIA and TSMC, either posted profit growth or returned to profitability, while automotive chipmakers faced a challenging quarter.

NVIDIA, the AI chip leader, saw its net profit soar 65% to $31.9 billion, contributing approximately 40% of the total profit of the top 11 semiconductor companies. TSMC, which manufactures AI chips for NVIDIA, posted a 50% jump in net profit to $15.1 billion, marking two consecutive quarters of record highs and accounting for roughly 20% of the overall profit.

SK Hynix ranked third, benefiting from strong demand for HBM chips used in AI applications, with net profit surging 110% to $9 billion, surpassing Samsung, which posted a 20% year-over-year increase to $8.6 billion. Micron came in fifth, with net profit skyrocketing 260% to $3.2 billion, as the company expands HBM production at its Hiroshima, Japan facility and shifts focus from consumer products to higher-margin data center memory.

AMD recorded a 52% increase in net profit to $1.1 billion, ranking sixth, while Intel returned to profitability for the first time in seven quarters, posting $4 billion in net profit.

On the other hand, automotive-related semiconductor firms experienced declines. STMicroelectronics, supplying power semiconductors for electric vehicles including Tesla, saw its net profit fall 32% to $200 million amid slowing EV sales.

Other companies included in the top 11 semiconductor profit rankings by Nikkei were Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Broadcom.