US Chip Firms See 20% China Revenue Growth Amid Tensions

Twenty-six US semiconductor firms, from Qualcomm to Nvidia, saw their China revenue climb by an average of 20 per cent last year, despite trade tensions, according to a new analysis.

The data, featured in the latest “Hurun Top 100 US Enterprises in China 2026” report released by the Hurun Research Institute on Monday, tracks the performance of 100 publicly listed American companies based on their revenue in China last year.

Among the top 100 earners in China, 26 were from the semiconductor industry, which both Beijing and Washington have listed as a strategic sector. The US also imposed restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence (AI) computing power and high-end chips to China, pushing the world’s second-largest economy to accelerate domestic development.

Out of the top 10 earners last year, chip giants secured six slots – Qualcomm, Nvidia, Intel, Broadcom, Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), with four of them reporting year-on-year revenue gains from China.

Furthermore, Western Digital, Analog Devices (ADI) and AMD led the expansion with year-on-year growth rates of 43 per cent, 34 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively. The three ranked 33rd, 30th and 10th, according to Hurun’s list.

The strong momentum underscores “the robust market demand for AI computing power, high-end chips, and the semiconductor industry chain in China”, said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun, in a statement.