It looks like Intel is set to be be dethroned from being the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer – a title it has held for the past 26 years. Samsung Electronics is expected to overtake Intel in the semiconductor business in terms of quarterly revenue. This, of course, is due to the increase in demand for memory chips from the Korean manufacturing giant.
For those who aren’t aware, Samsung isn’t only producing smartphones, it also supplies DRAM and NAND storage chips as well – these are used on storage devices like SSDs. Knowing how the demand for memory chips are almost always increasing, it’s unsurprising then to see Samsung doing very well in the semiconductor business.
Intel, on the other hand, does not manufacture DRAMs. That said, the company does manufacture NAND memory, which it uses on its Optane SSDs. Despite this, Intel still remains a small player in the flash memory market. Another factor that gives Samsung the edge is the fact that it manufactures products that are not only for smartphones, but PCs as well. Intel products, meanwhile, have always been largely aimed at the PC market.
NH Investment & Securities Analyst, Peter Lee, mentioned that “from the second quarter, Samsung will become No. 1 in market share due to the recent increase in data centers and demand for solid-state drives.” The Korean manufacturing giant is also expected to rack in an operating profit of US$11.4 billion for the period of April to June. This translates to an increase of about 67% when compared against last year’s earning.
Regardless, it remains to be seen whether Intel has something up its sleeves to regain its title as the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer. For now, it looks like that throne will belong to Samsung.
(Source: Reuters, ExtremeTech)
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