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Is Broadcom the No. 1 Fabless Chip Vendor? 2025 Rankings Explained

Broadcom was second, not first, in TrendForce’s 2025 fabless ranking. Gartner’s separate 2024 table ranks it seventh among all semiconductor vendors.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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No. TrendForce’s fabless-specific ranking for 2025 places NVIDIA first and Broadcom second. Broadcom reported $39.7 billion in fabless revenue, up 30% year over year, but that growth does not make it the category leader. Broadcom is still a major AI-chip supplier; its position depends on which companies and revenues a ranking counts.

Who is the top fabless semiconductor company?

In TrendForce’s ranking of global fabless IC design houses for calendar year 2025, NVIDIA remained first and Broadcom moved into second place. TrendForce reported Broadcom fabless revenue of $39.7 billion, a 30% increase year over year. The figures and ranking were published on April 1, 2026. TrendForce’s 2025 fabless ranking

That is the clearest answer to whether Broadcom is No. 1: not in the latest fabless-specific ranking cited here. Broadcom’s strong growth and importance to AI infrastructure are compatible with a second-place ranking.

Why can Broadcom rank differently in semiconductor tables?

Rankings can describe different groups of companies and different revenue measures. A fabless-only table compares chip designers that outsource manufacturing; an all-vendor table can include a broader set of semiconductor businesses. Calendar-year figures also should not be treated as interchangeable with Broadcom’s fiscal-year results.

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  • Fabless ranking: TrendForce’s 2025 table ranks fabless IC design houses and reports Broadcom fabless revenue.
  • Overall vendor ranking: Gartner’s 2024 table covers worldwide semiconductor vendors, a broader category than fabless designers alone.
  • Company reporting: Broadcom’s fiscal-year 2025 filing reports its semiconductor-solutions business and total company revenue, which are not the same measure as TrendForce’s fabless revenue.

Do not combine these figures into one ranking or assume they cover identical businesses. The publication date, company universe, period, and revenue definition all matter.

How does Broadcom rank against NVIDIA and Qualcomm?

The available fabless-specific result establishes NVIDIA in first place and Broadcom in second for 2025. It does not establish Qualcomm’s exact position or revenue, so an exact three-company revenue comparison cannot be made from these figures.

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Company or measure What the cited source establishes
NVIDIA First among global fabless IC design houses in 2025, according to TrendForce.
Broadcom Second among global fabless IC design houses in 2025; $39.7 billion in fabless revenue, up 30% year over year, according to TrendForce.
Qualcomm Exact 2025 position and comparable revenue are not stated in the cited TrendForce information.

TrendForce also reported that the top 10 fabless IC design houses together exceeded US$359.4 billion in revenue in 2025, up 44% year over year. That aggregate provides market context, not a substitute for company-by-company figures. TrendForce’s 2025 fabless ranking

What does Gartner’s ranking say about Broadcom?

Gartner’s February 3, 2025 release ranked Broadcom seventh among worldwide semiconductor vendors for 2024, with $27.641 billion in revenue and 4.4% market share. Gartner put worldwide semiconductor revenue at $626 billion for that year. This is an overall-vendor ranking, not a fabless-only table, and therefore does not contradict TrendForce’s later fabless-specific ranking. Gartner’s 2024 semiconductor revenue release

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Gartner identified GPUs and AI processors used in data-center servers and accelerator cards as key drivers of the chip sector in 2024. That observation explains the importance of AI-related demand to the wider semiconductor market; it does not identify Broadcom as the leading fabless vendor. Gartner’s 2024 semiconductor revenue release

Why Broadcom remains important in AI chips

Broadcom’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K describes AI semiconductor solutions including custom accelerators, also called XPUs; Ethernet switching and routing silicon; Ethernet network interface cards; PHYs; optical components; and racks and systems based on its XPUs. This breadth helps explain why Broadcom is a significant AI infrastructure supplier even though it ranks behind NVIDIA in TrendForce’s fabless table. Broadcom fiscal 2025 Form 10-K

Broadcom reported $36.858 billion in semiconductor-solutions revenue for fiscal 2025, within total net revenue of $63.887 billion. These are company-reported fiscal-year measures, not TrendForce’s calendar-year fabless revenue figure; the amounts should not be substituted for one another. Broadcom fiscal 2025 Form 10-K

Broadcom’s filing says competitors in semiconductor solutions include integrated device manufacturers, fabless semiconductor companies, and internal OEM resources. The competitive landscape therefore extends beyond a simple ranking of fabless chip vendors. Broadcom fiscal 2025 Form 10-K

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How to read a “No. 1” chip-vendor claim

  • Check whether the ranking is fabless-only or includes all semiconductor vendors.
  • Check whether its period is a calendar year or a company fiscal year.
  • Check what revenue includes—such as chip sales, software, or licensing—and whether the source defines the measure.
  • Check the publication date; rankings can change as new annual results are compiled.

For the latest fabless-specific evidence available here, the conclusion is straightforward: NVIDIA is first and Broadcom is second for 2025. Gartner’s older, broader 2024 table places Broadcom seventh overall, while Broadcom’s own fiscal 2025 filing describes a large semiconductor-solutions business. Each answers a different question.

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