Global semiconductor revenue dips 8.8% in 2023

Korea’s Samsung lost No. 1 spot to Intel.

The world’s 10 largest semiconductor companies saw their combined revenues drop 8.8% to US$521b last year from $572b in 2022 amid sluggish enterprise and consumer spending, according to Counterpoint Research.

Its latest data showed Korean tech giant Samsung’s revenue plunged 48% last year, resulting in a lower market share of 8.3% in 2023 compared to 12.3% in 2022.

This pushed Samsung to slip to second place in Counterpoint’s global rankings of largest semiconductor companies by revenue, paving the way for American chipmaker Intel to reclaim the top spot with a 9.7% market share last year.

The memory chip industry’s downturn coupled with a lacklustre smartphone business hurt Samsung's top line last year, according to the research firm.

“The memory market was mainly hit by soft demand in the PC, server and smartphone segments as well as oversupply and excess inventory across the market,” Counterpoint said.

Korean chip producer SK hynix and US-based Micron also took a beating from the depressed memory market, with their revenues dropping by 33% and 36% respectively, last year.

For this year, the research firm expects artificial intelligence and a rebound in the memory chip market to become the major revenue drivers for semiconductor players globally.

“We believe artificial intelligence (AI server, AI PC, AI smartphone, etc.) will continue to be a major organic growth driver in the semiconductor industry in 2024, followed by the memory sector’s rebound due to normalizing oversupply situation and demand recovery” said Counterpoint senior analyst William Li.

Li also sees the modernising automotive sector fueling the growth of the semiconductor industry this year.