Semiconductor Sales Increased 26% Last Year to 731 Trillion Won... Samsung Ranks First

by Park Sunmi

Published 15 Apr.2022 10:56(KST)

Samsung Reclaims No. 1 Spot, Surpassing Intel

Unit: Million USD

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Last year, global semiconductor sales reached a record high of 731 trillion won, a 26% increase, with Samsung overtaking Intel to claim the world's number one spot.

On the 15th, market research firm Gartner announced that global semiconductor sales last year increased by 26.3% to $595 billion (approximately 731 trillion won). This is a record high, exceeding the preliminary figure of $583.5 billion announced in January.

Samsung Electronics reclaimed the world’s number one position after three years by surpassing Intel. Samsung's semiconductor sales last year were $73.197 billion, up 28%. Its market share was recorded at 12.3%.

Intel was pushed to second place, with sales of $72.536 billion, a 0.3% decrease compared to the previous year. Its market share was 12.2%, also trailing behind Samsung.

Third place went to SK Hynix, with sales of $36.352 billion and a growth rate of 40.6%. Following were Micron Technology ($28.624 billion) and Qualcomm ($27.093 billion). Among the top 10 companies, AMD and MediaTek recorded the highest sales growth rates last year, at 68.6% and 60.2%, respectively.

Thanks to the growth in the memory market, South Korea, home to the first and third largest companies, accounted for 19.3% of the global semiconductor market share, demonstrating its status as a semiconductor powerhouse.

Meanwhile, the semiconductor market grew last year driven by strong demand for automotive semiconductors and 5G smartphones. In particular, the surge in demand combined with rising prices influenced sales growth. The automotive semiconductor market and the wireless communication sector, including smartphones, grew by 34.9% and 24.6% year-on-year, respectively. Memory, led by DRAM, accounted for 27.9% of semiconductor sales last year, recording sales of $41.3 billion, a 33.2% increase from the previous year.