Outclasses Intel in Terms of Sales
Samsung Electronics regained the top spot of the global semiconductor market last year on the back of sales growth of memory semiconductors amid the spread of COVID-19.
Samsung Electronics beat Intel in terms of sales for the first time in three years, Gartner said on Jan. 20.
In 2021, Samsung Electronics posted US$75.95 billion in semiconductor sales, up 31.6 percent from the previous year. On the other hand, Intel’s sales grew 0.5 percent during the same period, reaching US$73.1 billion. Samsung Electronics’ market share stood at 13 percent against Intel's 12.5 percent.
Samsung Electronics outran Intel for the first time in 2018 when memory semiconductor prices soared. It was the first time since 1991 that Intel lost its No. 1 spot to a competitor. Analysts say Intel also faced a crisis as its flagship product, central processing units (CPUs), lost competition with chips from its rival AMD. However, as memory semiconductor prices had shifted to a downward trend since 2019, Intel regained the No. 1 position from Samsung Electronics.
Demand for memory semiconductors soared in 2021 due to working from home, remote classes, and server expansion by major cloud companies.
SK Hynix remained in third place with US$36.326 billion in sales in 2021. SK Hynix’s sales surged 40.5 percent compared to 2020, while its market share ascended by 0.6 percentage points on year to 6.2 percent.
Fourth place went to Micron Technology, a U.S. memory semiconductor company. Micron’s sales rose 29.1 percent on year to US$28.4 billion. Qualcomm claimed fifth place, with its sales jumping 52.3 percent on year to US$26.9 billion.