Semiconductor Industry Forecast Projects Huge Gains for AMD, Losses for Intel and Sony

Semiconductor market research company IC Insights has released its November update, which ranks the top 25 semiconductor companies based on projected year-on-year sales, and also includes some forecasts for the future. In its ranking of the top 25 companies based on expected sales, AMD is leading the way with an anticipated 65 percent year-on-year growth, thanks to its strong product lineup across both its GPU and CPUs, along with gains it’s made in the data center business with its Epyc CPUs. Bringing up the rear in 25th place is Sony, which is expected to show a small decline in business at -3 percent, with Intel right above it at -1 percent. The two tech giants were the only companies on the list with anticipated negative performance for the year.

Overall, the report paints a bright picture for the the industry as a whole, with a projected annual growth of 23 percent. It notes this strong growth is being driven by several factors: changing habits caused by the pandemic and the rebound from it, a 20 percent increase in semiconductor shipments, and an average three percent higher average sale price (ASP). The report highlights the fact that growth like this hasn’t been experienced in the industry since 2010, when it grew 34 percent following the 2008/2009 economic recession.

As far as Intel and Sony are concerned, the report describes the expected performance of these two behemoths in the middle of a booming period is, “utterly amazing,” but it does not mean that in a good way. It notes that Intel, which is the world’s second-largest supplier of semiconductors, faces several challenges, chief among them are the ongoing supply chain issues. This has resulted in reduced sales of Intel-based laptops since its partners have been unable to get all the parts they need from their suppliers. The report states that Intel is not standing still, however, as its Intel Foundry Service has just begun shipping chips to paying customers recently, and the company is hoping this new business unit will become a significant source of revenue in the coming years.

Sony’s ranking is also the result of supply chain issues, according to the report. It remarks that the company hasn’t been able to make enough Playstation 5 gaming consoles due to shortages of parts, resulting in lower than expected revenues. Also, it’s also been previously reported that Sony is looking to partner with TSMC for a joint venture that would hopefully ease some of the strain on chip supplies, and also help protect the company in case of future disruptions. However, that facility won’t be online until 2024 at the earliest, by which time we are hopefully beyond the current issues affecting the global supply chain.

Rounding out the top four on the list are all “fabless” companies that outsource the production of the silicon wafers that make the chips at the heart of their products. Coming in just below AMD are tech titans Mediatek, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, which are all projected to show gains over 50 percent for the year, which is indeed impressive. Nvidia’s appearance at the top of this list is no surprise, as it just reported record revenue for the third quarter.

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