Global Semiconductor Industry 'Big Player' Samsung Electronics... "No.1 in Sales, No.2 in Purchases"

Sold a Lot and Bought a Lot Again
Regained No.1 Sales Position in 3 Years, Surpassing Intel
Expenditure Ranks 2nd After Apple, Up 28.5% YoY

Samsung Electronics achieved a record high performance with annual sales exceeding 279 trillion won. On the 7th, Samsung Electronics announced that its preliminary consolidated results for last year showed sales of 279.04 trillion won and an operating profit of 51.57 trillion won. The photo shows Samsung Electronics Seocho Building. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] Samsung Electronics has proven to be a major player in the global semiconductor industry. Last year, Samsung Electronics topped the global semiconductor industry in sales for the first time in three years, surpassing the US company Intel, and it also ranked high in semiconductor purchasing volume.

According to the industry on the 5th, in the '2021 Global Semiconductor Customer Top 10 List' announced by global market research firm Gartner, Samsung Electronics ranked 2nd with a 7.8% share, following US company Apple (11.7%).

Samsung Electronics spent $45.775 billion on semiconductor purchases last year. This is a 28.5% increase compared to the previous year ($35.622 billion).

Gartner explained that Samsung Electronics' spending increased due to the semiconductor shortage and cost increases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Samsung Electronics produces semiconductors, it is a company that purchases and uses many semiconductors in finished products such as smartphones, TVs, and home appliances. As sales of all products including smartphones and TVs showed strong performance, semiconductor purchases also increased accordingly. According to Gartner, Samsung Electronics increased memory spending by 34.1% and non-memory chip spending by 23.9% last year.

Samsung Electronics' competitor Apple spent $68.269 billion on semiconductor purchases during the same period. This is a 26% increase from the previous year ($54.18 billion), attributed to the successive success of the 'iPhone 12 and 13' models.

China's Lenovo ($25.283 billion, 32.9%), BBK Electronics ($23.35 billion, 63.8%), US company Dell ($21.092 billion, 25.4%), Xiaomi ($17.251 billion, 68.2%), and Huawei ($15.382 billion, -32.3%) followed. Among the world's top 10 semiconductor companies, only Huawei, which is under US sanctions, showed a decrease in purchase volume, drawing attention.

Global semiconductor sales surpassed $500 billion for the first time last year. According to Gartner, global semiconductor sales reached $583.5 billion last year, a 25% increase compared to the previous year. Gartner predicted, "The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalization, and the semiconductor sales market will exceed $1 trillion by 2030."

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics recorded sales of 94.16 trillion KRW in the semiconductor sector last year, reclaiming the world's top sales position after three years. Intel, which had held the top spot for three years, recorded sales of 90.4463 trillion KRW last year, 3.7137 trillion KRW less than Samsung Electronics.

In Samsung Electronics' case, the increase in memory demand due to the rise in remote work and online classes caused by the COVID-19 impact positively influenced sales. On the other hand, Intel's main product sales remained flat, keeping overall sales at a similar level to the previous year.

Samsung Electronics is expected to continue its strong performance this year as well. The memory semiconductor market is expected to rebound in the first half of this year. Due to increased IT investments by companies, memory demand is expected to rise this year. The related industry anticipates the market to rebound after the first quarter.

According to FnGuide, Samsung Electronics' annual sales forecast for this year is 312.8426 trillion KRW, which is an 11.9% increase compared to the previous year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.