Samsung Electronics once again surpassed Intel in semiconductor sales in the second quarter of 2022, maintaining its leadership in the global semiconductor market for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to new data from market research firm Omdia. However, the South Korean semiconductor giant may lose its lead in the second half of the year as the memory semiconductor market is shrinking.
The global semiconductor market was estimated at $158.113 billion in the second quarter of this year, down $3.111 billion from $161.24 billion in the first quarter of 2022, according to the data.
Samsung Electronics reported semiconductor sales of $20.3 billion in the second quarter, up $145 million from the first quarter ($20.155 billion). Omdia attributed this increase to continued demand for server semiconductors and growth in system semiconductor (non-memory) sales. Samsung Electronics market share rose 0.3 percentage points to 12.8 percent from 12.5 percent, extending its lead over Intel to 3.4 percentage points compared to 1.4 percentage points in the previous quarter.
Intel’s revenue for the second quarter was $14.865 billion, down 16.6 percent from the first quarter ($178.27 billion). Intel reported a net loss of $454 million in the second quarter due to a slowdown in demand for personal computers caused by the economic downturn and supply chain disruptions. It was followed by SK Hynix (6.8%), Qualcomm (5.9%), Micron Technology (5.2%) and Broadcom (4.2%). It is worth noting that TSMC, the world’s top foundry, was not included in Omdia’s survey.
Samsung Electronics first surpassed Intel in 2017 and held the No. 1 position through 2018 before losing the top spot to Intel in 2019 and 2020. in the third quarter of 2021, Samsung regained the No. 1 position and held it for four consecutive quarters.
Samsung Electronics could lose its top spot in the second half of this year as the memory semiconductor market is entering a recession. Previously, market research firm IC Insights predicted that TSMC’s sales in the third quarter of this year would climb 11 percent from the second quarter to $20.2 billion, surpassing Samsung Electronics to become the world’s top semiconductor maker. IC Insights estimated that Samsung Electronics and Intel’s sales in the third quarter of this year were $18.29 billion and $15.04 billion, respectively.
Market research firm TrendForce forecasts that prices for consumer DRAM and NAND flash memory will fall 13 percent to 18 percent in the third quarter compared with the second quarter. The downturn in the semiconductor market is expected to last until at least the end of 2023.
