Samsung overtakes Intel

Source: Xinhua | 2018-01-05

SOUTH Korea’s Samsung has overtaken US rival Intel as the world’s biggest maker of semi-conductors as sales in the sector boom, a study published by consultancy Gartner showed yesterday.

Samsung Electronics “gained the most market share and took the number one position from Intel — the first time Intel has been toppled since 1992,” said Gartner analyst Andrew Norwood.

The total global market for semi-conductors grew by 22 percent to US$419.7 billion in 2017, fueled by growth in smartphones and other connected devices, Gartner calculated.

Samsung’s sales jumped by 52.6 percent to US$61.2 billion, giving it a market share of 14.6 percent, the study showed.

Intel’s sales, on the other hand, grew by just 6.7 percent to US$57.7 billion, or a market share of 13.8 percent.

Booming demand for memory chips was the main factor driving growth in the semi-conductors market, Gartner said.

“Memory accounted for more than two-thirds of all semiconductor revenue growth in 2017, and became the largest semiconductor category,” said Norwood.