Date: 10/08/2010

IC Insights: DRAM vendors to rank up as total semiconductor sales to top $204B in 2010

IC Insights has revealed that the top 20 semiconductor companies posted sales just over $100 Billion in 1H10 and claims that even if sales are flat in 2H10 (McClean says they'll be a little better than that; the SIA says flat indeed), total sales will top $204 Billion, which would be a 29% growth.

IC Insights says most memory suppliers showed double-digit growth in 2Q10 from the year-opening period. Both DRAM and NAND flash markets are strong enough that several firms (Hynix, Micron, Elpida) closed 1H10 just $1Billion away from their entire 2009 totals, with an entire half-year to go, including the seasonal holiday-selling peak. All the memory suppliers except Samsung climbed the rankings ladder. But Samsung too gained ground on top-seller Intel reducing their sales gap at the top from 52% in 2009 to just 21% so far in 2010.

Also doing well in 1H10 were top semiconductor foundries TSMC and UMC, each with growth in the teens (and UMC had the list's biggest 2Q-1Q leap, six spots). Panasonic ($1830 Million) and Nvidia ($1804 Million) finished just outside the final top-20 spots.