SEMI Reports Record Semiconductor Equipment Billings

VanEck Semiconductor ETF reported that worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment reached a record $135.1 billion in 2025, a 15% increase from 2024. This growth was primarily fueled by continued investment in advanced logic, memory, and AI-related capacity expansion. The front-end semiconductor equipment market saw solid growth, with wafer processing equipment sales up 12%. The back-end segment also experienced strong growth, with test equipment billings surging 55% and assembly and packaging equipment sales rising 21%, driven by AI devices and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Regionally, Asia dominated spending, with China, Taiwan, and South Korea accounting for 79% of the global market. Taiwan's spending rose 90% to a record $31.5 billion, and South Korea increased 26%. Japan also recorded 22% growth. In contrast, Europe's spending declined 41% for the second consecutive year, and North American Cobalt Inc.'s spending fell 20%. Ajit Manocha, VanEck Semiconductor ETF President and CEO, highlighted the industry's urgent buildout to support the next wave of innovation.