In the second quarter of 2024, the global semiconductor market continued to maintain steady growth, and competition among major manufacturers became increasingly fierce. According to WSTS data, the global semiconductor market size reached US$149.9 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 18.3% year-on-year. This growth is mainly related to the rapid development of emerging technologies related to artificial intelligence. WSTS released the ranking of the world's top 15 semiconductor manufacturers.

01 Electronic Engineering Times News

In the second quarter of 2024, the global semiconductor market continued to maintain steady growth, and competition among major manufacturers became increasingly fierce. According to WSTS data, the global semiconductor market size reached US$149.9 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 18.3% year-on-year. This growth is mainly related to the rapid development of emerging technologies related to artificial intelligence.

For example, in the foundry market, the latest report released by Counterpoint Research in the second quarter of 2024 pointed out that although the overall logic semiconductor market has recovered relatively slowly, the foundry industry has bottomed out. The growth of the industry is related to strong AI demand, including slow recovery in demand for non-AI semiconductors such as automotive and industrial fields, but there are some emergency orders, such as the Internet of Things and consumer electronics.

In the WSTS Global Top15 Semiconductor Manufacturers Ranking Report, Nvidia is still the world's largest semiconductor company. Samsung ranks second with US$20.7 billion. Broadcom has not yet announced its second quarter results for 2024, but its revenue is estimated to be US$13 billion, exceeding Intel's US$12.8 billion. Intel slipped to fourth place after years of being first or second.

NVIDIA continues to lead the global semiconductor market with $28 billion in revenue. NVIDIA continues to consolidate its market position with its leading position in artificial intelligence and graphics processors. However, NVIDIA faces fierce competition as other manufacturers increase their investment in AI chips.

Samsung ranked second with $20.7 billion in revenue. Samsung's strong performance in the memory market and continued expansion in the foundry business have enabled it to remain competitive in the global semiconductor market. However, the memory market is highly volatile, and Samsung needs to cope with the challenges brought about by market changes.

Among the top 15 companies, the strongest growth was in memory companies, with SK Hynix and Kioxia rising more than 30% each, Samsung Semiconductor rising 23%, and Micron Technology rising 17%.

Data center (DC) storage revenue will climb to $103 billion by 2028, reflecting strong growth in storage and rising average selling prices (ASPs), according to an Omdia report. The forecast includes DC external storage revenue from array and server expansion. In 2023, the DC storage market experienced a downturn, mainly due to economic challenges and reduced IT spending. Full-year storage revenue was $53 billion, down 16% year-on-year. Original design manufacturer (ODM) revenue fell by more than 30% in 2023 as DC equipment spending temporarily shifted away from storage. In contrast, OEM suppliers focused on traditional storage showed greater resilience, although the year-on-year decline was small. In 2023, cloud storage shipments faced constraints as cloud service providers spent a large portion of their budgets on purchasing expensive GPUs. Omdia believes that the storage market is expected to recover, driven by several key factors. The ongoing digital transformation, rapid growth in data volume, advances in artificial intelligence, and the urgent need for storage modernization are all expected to drive new growth. As industries become increasingly reliant on data, the downturn in the storage market is likely to be short-lived. Together, these factors will revitalize the storage market and ensure a return to growth.

• Broadcom is expected to have revenue of $13 billion, surpassing Intel and ranking third. Broadcom's dominant position in the communications and network equipment field has brought it a stable source of income. However, with the development of 5G and IoT technologies, Broadcom needs to continue to expand into new markets to maintain its competitive advantage.

• Intel ranked fourth with revenue of $12.8 billion, and Intel attributed the weak outlook to excess inventory. Although Intel still has a large share in the PC and server markets, it is gradually losing its advantage in the competition in emerging markets. To reverse the decline, Intel is increasing its investment in AI and foundry businesses.

• SK Hynix ranked fifth with revenue of $11.9 billion. SK Hynix's stable performance in the memory market has enabled it to remain competitive in the global semiconductor market. However, with the rise of competitors, SK Hynix needs to continuously improve product quality and technology, especially in the HBM market.

• Qualcomm ranked sixth with revenue of $8 billion. Qualcomm's leading position in the smartphone chip market and its expansion in the IoT and automotive electronics fields have brought it continued growth momentum. However, with the rise of competitors such as MediaTek, Qualcomm needs to continue to innovate to maintain its market position.

• Micron Technology ranked seventh with $6.8 billion in revenue. Micron Technology's solid performance in the memory market and its applications in data centers and mobile devices have enabled it to gain a foothold in the global semiconductor market.

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) ranked eighth with $5.8 billion in revenue. AMD has achieved rapid growth thanks to its competitive advantages in CPU and GPU, as well as its expansion in the data center and gaming markets.

• Infineon Technologies ranked ninth with $4 billion in revenue. Infineon's leading position in automotive electronics and power semiconductors has brought it a stable source of income. However, the new energy vehicle market has recently encountered an industry "cold winter", especially the development of automotive electronics and industrial fields has been hindered, and Infineon needs to continue to expand into new markets.

• MediaTek ranked tenth with $3.9 billion in revenue. MediaTek's competitiveness in the smartphone chip market and its expansion in smart homes and connected devices have brought it continued growth momentum. According to Omdia's latest smartphone market report, in the first quarter of 2024, MediaTek's SoC chipset shipments for 5G smartphones surpassed Qualcomm and ranked first.

• Texas Instruments ranked eleventh with $3.8 billion in revenue. Texas Instruments' leading position in analog and embedded processors, as well as its applications in the industrial and automotive electronics markets, keeps it competitive in the global semiconductor market.

• STMicroelectronics ranked twelfth with $3.2 billion in revenue.

• NXP Semiconductors ranked thirteenth with $3.1 billion in revenue. NXP Semiconductors' leading position in automotive electronics and power semiconductors, as well as its applications in mobile payments and security, keeps it in the global semiconductor market.

• Kioxia ranked fourteenth with $2.7 billion in revenue. Kioxia's solid performance in the memory market, as well as its applications in data centers and mobile devices, keeps it competitive in the global semiconductor market.

• Analog Devices ranked fifteenth with $2.3 billion in revenue. Analog Devices' leading position in analog and mixed signal fields, as well as its applications in the communications and test and measurement markets, has brought it a stable source of revenue. However, with the rise of competitors, Analog Devices needs to continuously improve product quality and technology.

• Easelink Electronics, as a global distributor of electronic components, we are aiming to make sourcing earier and earier.  We provide different kinds of parts and hardware to commercial, industrial, and defense or aerospace clients. Delicate service and customer relationship are the key values of Easelink.

The WSTS report noted that AMD expects revenue to grow 15% in the third quarter of 2024, driven by strong growth in data centers and client computing. Micron said the memory boom will continue, with supply below demand, and expects growth of 12%. Samsung Semiconductor and SK Hynix did not provide revenue expectations, but both companies expect demand for server AI to continue to be strong. A few companies expect Intel, MediaTek and STMicroelectronics to have lower revenue growth rates of about 1% in the third quarter of 2024. STMicroelectronics and NXP Semiconductors expect the automotive industry to improve in the third quarter of 2024, but inventory problems in the industrial sector remain. Texas Instruments expects personal electronics to perform strongly. The weighted average revenue growth rate of the other nine non-memory companies in the third quarter of 2024 was 5%. In contrast, in 2023, Omdia released the TOP20 ranking of semiconductor revenue for the whole year of 2023. As artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important growth momentum for the industry, it has helped Nvidia's revenue growth, Nvidia ranked second, and Intel ranked first. However, under the influence of the uncertain memory market in 2023, Samsung Electronics

retook third place, SK Hynix retreated to sixth place, and Micron Technology retreated to thirteenth place. However, iSK Hynix's HBM

market achieved outstanding performance, with full-year revenue growth of 127%.

This year's market changes are unpredictable, and the ranking may undergo a major adjustment.

View more at EASELINK