Global semiconductor sales rose 7.9% during 2014 as production
of traditional personal computers rebounded and with memory chip
makers leading the growth, according to preliminary data from tech
research company Gartner Inc.
World-wide chip sales increased to $339.8 billion last year,
with the 25 top semiconductor companies taking a bigger combined
share of the market, at 72.1% of total revenue, up from 69.7%
during 2013.
According to Gartner, Intel Corp. (INTC) maintained its top spot
last year, with estimated revenue of $50.84 billion, up 4.6% from a
year earlier, returning to growth after two years of declines.
Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNHZ, 005930.SE) was No. 2, with
estimated revenue of $35.28 billion, up 10%. The companies had
market shares of 15% and 10.4%, respectively.
Meanwhile, revenue in the dynamic random access memory, or DRAM,
market rose 31.7% during 2014 as undersupply and stable pricing
continued, stated Andrew Norwood, research vice president at
Gartner.
"In contrast to 2013, which saw revenue decline in key device
categories...all device categories saw positive growth in 2014, but
none could match the growth of the memory market, which grew 16.9%
in 2014," Mr. Norwood stated.
Excluding memory revenue, semiconductor sales rose 5.4%, an
improvement from an increase of 0.8% a year earlier.
SK Hynix Inc. (HXSCF, 000660.SE) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU)
benefited the most from the strong memory market, with the
strongest growth of the top 10 vendors, according to Gartner.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires