Extending Lead over Intel

samsung
Samsung Electronics placed first for three consecutive quarters since the Q3 of last year, with US$18.67 billion in sales in the semiconductor sector in the Q1of this year.

Samsung Electronics continues to maintain its position as the number one chipmaker in the global semiconductor industry this year. As Intel's growth has slowed down amid a boom in the memory semiconductor market, Samsung Electronics is highly likely to rank first for the second consecutive year.

According to market researcher IHS Markit on June 7, Samsung Electronics placed first for three consecutive quarters since the third quarter of last year, with US$18.607 billion (19.9 trillion won) in sales in the semiconductor sector in the first quarter of this year.

This is a 45.4% increase from the same period a year ago. Compared with the previous quarter, its sales grew 1.6%. Samsung Electronics accounted for 16.1% of the global semiconductor market (excluding foundry), which is estimated at US$115.762 billion in the first quarter of this year.

As a result, Samsung Electronics further widened its gap with Intel. In the first quarter, Intel posted US$15.745 billion in sales, accounting for 13.6% of the market. Although Intel’s sales increased by 11.1% from the same period of last year, it was not enough to catch up with Samsung Electronics. Earlier, market researcher IC Insights forecast that Samsung Electronics topped the market by outclassing Intel in the first quarter of this year.

SK Hynix came in third with US$8.1 billion and Micron picked up fourth place with US$7.194 billion, followed by Broadcom and Qualcomm.

This seems to be due to the recent rapid increase in demand for memory semiconductors due to the introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data. Market researcher IC Insights predicted that the DRAM market would grow 37% this year. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron have a combined market share of 95.4%.

In the industry, the memory semiconductor market boom is expected to continue until this year, so Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are expected to be in the first or third place. However, if Chinese companies enter the memory semiconductor market in earnest next year, the market may change.

Nvidia rose to ninth place from 10th place last year, followed by Germany’s Infineon at 10th place. Instead, NXP was pushed out of the top 10.

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