In the first half of 2026, global sales increased by 102.3% year-on-year to reach $701.9 billion, confirming that growth is accelerating, in line with the forecasts of the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS).

The European market is also following this trend, with sales increasing by 75.2% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, reaching $23 billion, and by 61.1% year-over-year in the first half of 2026, reaching $41.6 billion. All figures are based on the latest WSTS report.

To provide a complete picture, it's important to note that growth is highly uneven. In the second quarter, the main growth driver was total MOS memory, while other product categories grew at a much slower pace. Total MOS memory increased globally by 362.6% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026 and by 305% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.

In Europe, sales increased by 298.9% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026 and by 243.4% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. This trend is driven by investment in AI, the continued expansion of data center infrastructure, and the growing demand for automotive electronics. Other product categories, such as logic circuits, MOS microcircuits, and analog circuits, also recorded strong growth in the European market, with year-on-year increases of 38.2%, 41.7%, and 20.9%, respectively, in the second quarter of 2026.

At the regional level, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and China saw the strongest growth, with year-over-year increases of 160.9%, 124.4%, and 112.8%, respectively, in the second quarter. This growth was driven by robust demand for AI and electronics infrastructure, as well as continued investment in data center expansion. Sales of application-specific chips also remained strong in the second quarter of 2026, increasing 42.3% year-over-year globally and 27.2% in Europe. As in the first quarter, growth was largely driven by Asia-Pacific (up 96.7% year-over-year) and a 90.1% increase in PC and peripheral chips, again reflecting strong investment in data centers and related infrastructure. Exchange rate effects also impacted the sales outlook in Europe. Expressed in euros, sales for the second quarter of 2026 amounted to 19.8 billion euros, representing an increase of 71.1% compared to the second quarter of 2025 and 24.5% compared to the first quarter of 2026.