According to Gartner, worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to total $401.4 billion for this year, which is an increase of 16.8% compared to 2016. If this figure is achieved, this will be the first-time semiconductor revenue has surpassed $400 billion, having reached $300 billion in 2010, and $200 billion in the year 2000.
According to Andrew Norwood, research vice president at Gartner, this revenue surge is due to the shortage of memory devices, with memory vendors being able to increase their price for DRAM and NAND, driving revenue and margins higher.
The memory market is forecasted to increase 52% this year and is expected to shake up semiconductor market share rankings. According to Norwood, Samsung Electronics, as the largest memory supplier, is set to gain the most, and this will give Samsung its best shot at capturing the number one position from Intel for the first time, as predicted in the article Samsung Could Go Past Intel in Q2.
Intel dethroned NEC for the number one position in semiconductor rankings in 1992 and has held it ever since. Samsung captured the number two position in 2002 and has held that ever since.
Norwood believes that the memory bubble is expected to go bust in 2019 as memory vendors add new supply and Samsung could lose a lot of the gains it makes this year and next.
