IHS said that Intel has been overtaken by Samsung as the largest global semiconductor company. While in Q2, Intel’s revenues were $14.6 billion with Samsung at $14.4 billion, in Q3, Intel got to $15.9 billion, while high memory volumes and prices pushed Samsung to $16.5 billion. IHS forecasts that Samsung will stay ahead at $17.6 billion compared to Intel at $16.2 billion.
Analyst Comment
This is in line with forecasts from other chip analysts. Samsung is very dependent on memory chips which are very cyclical in price and supply. The company has a huge investment plan for the next year to boost its capacity and that should allow it to continue to dominate, although such strategies also carry risk if demand sags. (BR)
