Semi forecasts 7.4 percent uptick in equipment sales

Industry association Semi projects global semiconductor equipment sales will reach a record 125.5 billion dollars in 2025, a 7.4 percent increase from the previous year, according to its Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast – OEM Perspective. The upward trend is expected to continue in 2026, with sales projected to reach a new high of 138.1 billion dollars.

Growth is primarily fueled by wafer fab equipment (WFE), which is projected to rise 6.2 percent to 110.8 billion dollars in 2025, up from 104.3 billion dollars in 2024. This segment is forecast to expand further to 122.1 billion dollars in 2026. Back-end equipment is also recovering, with test tools expected to reach 9.3 billion dollars (up 23.2 percent) and assembly and packaging equipment rising to 5.4 billion dollars (up 7.7 percent) in 2025.

Demand for WFE is driven by capacity expansions across both foundry and memory sectors. Foundry and logic tool sales are expected to grow to 64.8 billion dollars in 2025 (up 6.7 percent), reaching 69.0 billion dollars in 2026. Meanwhile, NAND flash investment is projected to rise 42.5 percent to 13.7 billion dollars, and DRAM equipment is set to increase 6.4 percent to nearly 19.5 billion dollars in 2025. These segments are forecast to maintain growth into 2026.