Gartner, Inc. recently released results from its market share analysis for semiconductors that showed some positive signs in the midst of some challenges. Total global semiconductor revenue hit $315 billion in 2013 which is up 5% from 2012. The aggregated revenue of the top 25 semiconductor companies increased by 6.9% in 2013 which was substantially better than the remainder of the market’s combined revenue growth of 0.9%.
According to Gartner’s vice president of research, Andrew Norwood, 2013 started off slow due to a surplus in inventory and then revenue increased during the middle two quarters before plateauing in the fourth quarter. The revenue growth was primarily due to an inadequate supply instead of a higher demand for memory which resulted in an increase in prices. Moreover, the entire market was dealing with some demand challenges during 2013 including a 9.9% decline in personal computer production and the market for smartphones shifting from premium to lower-priced models.
The top three market share holders for 2013 were Intel, Samsung and Qualcomm. Intel remains in the #1 position for the 22nd consecutive year holding 15.4% of the market. Samsung sits at the #2 spot for the 12th year with 9.7% of the market. Qualcomm holds the #3 position with 5.5% of the market. Incidentally, Qualcomm’s semiconductor business grew 30.6% in 2013 due in large part to its leading position in smartphone application processors.
For more details from Gartner’s market share analysis, click on this link: Gartner Semiconductor Analysis
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Ryan Lahti is the founder and managing principal of OrgLeader, LLC. Stay up to date on Ryan’s STEM-based organization tweets here: @ryanlahti