Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking Year by Year
Encyclopedia
This article lists the top 10~25 largest semiconductor
companies by sales leaders since 1987.
Gartner
Dataquest Corp. has the longest history as the reference publisher of this ranking. Another sources of semiconductor sales market share
have also become available by iSuppli Corporation starting from for year 2000. Only corporate semiconductor revenues are taken into account and businesses activities outside this sphere are excluded, for example IBM
non-semiconductor business lines are excluded.
In the majority of cases, rankings are based on the analysis of the financial reports of the chip makers, although definitional issues regarding chip types, multichip modules, foundry manufacturing and chip license revenues create differences in reported numbers. The ranking for a given year is published in March of the following year when all the financial reports of the companies are closed.
What is interesting about these revenue numbers is that they are nominal (without factoring in for inflation). Many companies' revenues in 2009 after inflation (~ 3%/year), would actually be lower than in 2000. This is an important point that may not bode well for employment in this sector (i.e. real revenue per employee is lower in 2009 compared to 2000).
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Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
companies by sales leaders since 1987.
- The article ranks two types of semiconductor companies mixing them in one list:
- Integrated Device ManufacturersIntegrated device manufacturerAn integrated device manufacturer is a semiconductor company which designs, manufactures, and sells integrated circuit products. As a classification, IDM is often used to differentiate between a company which handles semiconductor manufacturing in-house, and a fabless semiconductor company, which...
(IDM) such as chip makers from Intel and SamsungSamsungThe Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
that design, manufacture and sell their chips. - Fabless manufacturersFabless semiconductor companyA fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing the fabrication or "fab" of the devices to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry...
such as QualcommQualcommQualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
, NVIDIANVIDIANvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
or AMD that design and sell chips but outsource manufacturing to foundry companies.
- Integrated Device Manufacturers
- You can find also a list of foundry companiesFoundry modelIn microelectronics, the foundry model refers to the separation of a semiconductor fabrication plant operation from an integrated circuit design operation, into separate companies or business units.-Overview:...
such as TSMCTSMCTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited or TSMC is the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan.-Overview:...
and UMCUnited Microelectronics CorporationUMC was founded as Taiwan's first semiconductor company in 1980 as a spin-off of the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute .-Overview:...
that manufacture chips designed and sold by their customers especially from fabless companiesFabless semiconductor companyA fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing the fabrication or "fab" of the devices to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry...
as described before. - Finally there's information about semiconductor equipment sales leadersSemiconductor equipment sales leaders by yearThis article lists the top 15 largest equipment semiconductor companies by sales leaders since 2006.An IC equipment supplier's revenue is classified as sales of systems used to manufacture semiconductors, thin-film heads, MEMs, integrated circuits, as well as service, support, and retrofitted systems...
describing IC equipment supplier's revenue which support all the semiconductor companies.
Gartner
Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
Dataquest Corp. has the longest history as the reference publisher of this ranking. Another sources of semiconductor sales market share
Market share
Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
have also become available by iSuppli Corporation starting from for year 2000. Only corporate semiconductor revenues are taken into account and businesses activities outside this sphere are excluded, for example IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
non-semiconductor business lines are excluded.
In the majority of cases, rankings are based on the analysis of the financial reports of the chip makers, although definitional issues regarding chip types, multichip modules, foundry manufacturing and chip license revenues create differences in reported numbers. The ranking for a given year is published in March of the following year when all the financial reports of the companies are closed.
What is interesting about these revenue numbers is that they are nominal (without factoring in for inflation). Many companies' revenues in 2009 after inflation (~ 3%/year), would actually be lower than in 2000. This is an important point that may not bode well for employment in this sector (i.e. real revenue per employee is lower in 2009 compared to 2000).
Ranking for year 2010
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2010
(foundries excluded)
Note:
- (1) Renesas ElectronicsRenesas Electronicsis a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer. It is based in Tokyo and has manufacturing, design and sales operations in around 20 countries. Renesas is one of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductor systems for mobile phones and automotive applications. It is the world's largest...
was formed by the merger of Renesas Technology and NECNEC, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
Semiconductors. - (2) Micron TechnologyMicron TechnologyMicron Technology, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Boise, Idaho, USA, best known for producing many forms of semiconductor devices. This includes DRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, SSD and CMOS image sensing chips. Consumers may be more familiar with its consumer brand Crucial...
acquisition of NumonyxNumonyxNumonyx is a semiconductor company making flash memories, which was founded on March 31, 2008 by Intel Corporation, STMicroelectronics and Francisco Partners. It was acquired by Micron Technology on February 9, 2010....
.
Ranking for year 2009
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2009
(foundries excluded)
Ranking for year 2008
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2008
(foundries excluded)
Ranking for year 2007
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2007
(foundries excluded)
Ranking for year 2006
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2006
(foundries excluded)
Notes :
- (1) : In December 2005, AMD divested itself of its Flash Memory business, choosing solely to focus on its microprocessor and logic businesses. This change led to predictions that AMD's market share and spot in these rankings would drop precipitously. However, in June 2006 AMD announced its intent to purchase ATI Technologies. The buyout of ATI Technologies closed in October 2006, and the additional revenues from the purchase of ATI make up the majority of AMD's revenue and market share gains (in the terms of this list)
- (2) : In 2006, the semiconductor operations of the parent company, PhilipsPhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
were sold to a consortium of private equity firms through an LBOLeveraged buyoutA leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
to form a new separate legal entity named NXP Semiconductors. - (3) : In 2006, Freescale (formerly known as MotorolaMotorolaMotorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
semiconductors) agreed to be acquired by a consortium of private equity firms through an LBOLeveraged buyoutA leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
—said to be the largest leveraged buyoutLeveraged buyoutA leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
of a technology company in history—. - (4) : In 2006, the memory activities (essentially DRAMDramDram or DRAM may refer to:As a unit of measure:* Dram , an imperial unit of mass and volume* Armenian dram, a monetary unit* Dirham, a unit of currency in several Arab nationsOther uses:...
) of the parent company, Infineon were spun off to form a new separate legal entity named QimondaQimondaQimonda AG, was a memory company split out of Infineon Technologies on 1 May 2006, to form at the time the second largest DRAM company worldwide, according to the industry research firm Gartner Dataquest...
. The comparison between year 2006 and 2005 takes into account this split. QimondaQimondaQimonda AG, was a memory company split out of Infineon Technologies on 1 May 2006, to form at the time the second largest DRAM company worldwide, according to the industry research firm Gartner Dataquest...
becomes the world's fourth largest DRAM manufacturer. - (5) : In 2006, SpansionSpansionSpansion Inc. is a Flash memory chip maker that designs, develops and manufactures NOR flash memory products. The company has over 3,400 employees and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Spansion is a former joint-venture between AMD and Fujitsu....
joint-venture from AMD 37% and FujitsuFujitsuis a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
63%.
Ranking for year 2005
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2005
(foundries excluded)
Notes :
- (1) : In 2005, the two companies AMD and FujitsuFujitsuis a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
sold their stake in their joint-venture company SpansionSpansionSpansion Inc. is a Flash memory chip maker that designs, develops and manufactures NOR flash memory products. The company has over 3,400 employees and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Spansion is a former joint-venture between AMD and Fujitsu....
previously controlled by AMD. With combined revenues of $5.97 billion in 2005, AMD/Spansion would have jumped to number eight in the rankings if AMD had not spun off its Spansion flash-memory division. Following the split, AMD was ranked at 15th and SpansionSpansionSpansion Inc. is a Flash memory chip maker that designs, develops and manufactures NOR flash memory products. The company has over 3,400 employees and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Spansion is a former joint-venture between AMD and Fujitsu....
at 24th in 2005. - (2) : The foundry activities of IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
are excluded from this revenue.
Ranking for year 2004
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2004
(foundries excluded)
Ranking for year 2003
Source iSuppli (foundries excluded)Notes :
- (1) : In 2002, the semiconductor operations of the two Japanese parent companies, MitsubishiMitsubishiThe Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
and HitachiHitachi, Ltd.is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
were spun off and merged to form a new separate legal entity named Renesas. - (2) : In 2003, the semiconductor operations of the parent company, MotorolaMotorolaMotorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
were spun off to form a new separate legal entity named Freescale. - (3) : The foundry activities of IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
are excluded from this revenue. - (4) : In 2003, AMD and FujitsuFujitsuis a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
created a joint-venture company named SpansionSpansionSpansion Inc. is a Flash memory chip maker that designs, develops and manufactures NOR flash memory products. The company has over 3,400 employees and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Spansion is a former joint-venture between AMD and Fujitsu....
, which gathers their activities in flash memoriesFlash memoryFlash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
. Because AMD owns 60% of the company, its revenue is assigned to AMD in the ranking.
Ranking for year 2002
Source iSuppli (foundries excluded)Notes :
- (1) : The foundry activities of IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
are excluded from this revenue.
Ranking for year 2001
Source iSuppli (foundries excluded)Notes :
- (1) : The foundry activities of IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
are excluded from this revenue. - (2) : In 2000, the semiconductor operations of parent company, Lucent TechnologiesLucent TechnologiesAlcatel-Lucent USA, Inc., originally Lucent Technologies, Inc. is a French-owned technology company composed of what was formerly AT&T Technologies, which included Western Electric and Bell Labs...
were spun off to form a new separate legal entity named Agere.
Ranking for year 2000
Source iSuppli (foundries excluded)Notes :
- (1) : The foundry activities of IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
are excluded from this revenue. - (2) : In 2000, the semiconductor operations of parent company, Lucent TechnologiesLucent TechnologiesAlcatel-Lucent USA, Inc., originally Lucent Technologies, Inc. is a French-owned technology company composed of what was formerly AT&T Technologies, which included Western Electric and Bell Labs...
were spun off to form a new separate legal entity named Agere.
Ranking for year 1999
Source Gartner Dataquest Corp.Notes :
- (1) : In April 1999, the semiconductor operations of parent company, Siemens AG.Siemens AGSiemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
were spun off to form a new separate legal entity named Infineon.
Ranking for year 1998
Source Gartner Dataquest Corp.Notes :
- (1) : In 1998, following the withdrawal of Thomson SAThomson SATechnicolor SA , formerly Thomson SA and Thomson Multimedia, is a French international provider of solutions for the creation, management, post-production, delivery and access of video, for the Communication, Media and Entertainment industries. Technicolor’s headquarters are located in Issy les...
, the company SGS-Thomson has been renamed into STMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for EMEA region are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V. is registered in Amsterdam,...
.
Ranking for year 1996
Source Gartner Dataquest Corp.Notes :
- (1) : Lucent TechnologiesLucent TechnologiesAlcatel-Lucent USA, Inc., originally Lucent Technologies, Inc. is a French-owned technology company composed of what was formerly AT&T Technologies, which included Western Electric and Bell Labs...
is composed of what was formerly AT&T TechnologiesAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, which included Western ElectricWestern ElectricWestern Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
and Bell LabsBell LabsBell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
. It was spun off from AT&T in 1996.
Ranking for year 1987
Source Gartner Dataquest Corp.Notes :
- (1) : In June 1987, SGS-Thomson was formed from the merger of the Italian company SGS Microelettronica (Società Generale Semiconduttori) and the semiconductor arm of the French company, ThomsonThomson SATechnicolor SA , formerly Thomson SA and Thomson Multimedia, is a French international provider of solutions for the creation, management, post-production, delivery and access of video, for the Communication, Media and Entertainment industries. Technicolor’s headquarters are located in Issy les...
.
See also
- Semiconductor fabless sales leaders by year
- Semiconductor foundry sales leaders by year
- Semiconductor equipment sales leaders by yearSemiconductor equipment sales leaders by yearThis article lists the top 15 largest equipment semiconductor companies by sales leaders since 2006.An IC equipment supplier's revenue is classified as sales of systems used to manufacture semiconductors, thin-film heads, MEMs, integrated circuits, as well as service, support, and retrofitted systems...