Semiconductor revenue declines, Intel still no. 1: Gartner

NEW DELHI: Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $334.8 billion in 2015, a 2.3 percent decline from 2014, according to Gartner. The combined revenue of the top 25 semiconductor vendors fell by 0.5 percent during 2015.

This was a better performance than the rest of the market, however, which saw a 6.9 percent revenue decline. The top 25 vendors accounted for 73.5 percent of the market, down slightly from 74 percent in 2014.

"The worldwide semiconductor market declined in 2015 as slowing demand for key applications combined with strong currency fluctuations to subdue the market," said Andrew Norwood, research vice president at Gartner.

"2015 saw a mixed performance by the different device categories, unlike 2014 when all categories posted positive growth. Nonoptical sensors performed best due to increased usage of fingerprint sensors in smartphones, while discretes saw the strongest decline due to a mix of weak demand and currency issues, he said.

Intel retained the top market share position for the 24th consecutive year, capturing 15.4 percent of the worldwide market, despite experiencing a 1.2 percent revenue decline in 2015. Infineon Technologies experienced the strongest growth among the top vendors, moving from 12th to 9th position in 2015.

2015 saw record merger and acquisition (M&A) activity between major semiconductor vendors, including several acquisitions and disposals that had a material effect on semiconductor sales.

Among the most significant deals was Intel's acquisition of Lantiq. Driven by Lantiq's broadband gateway and digital home capabilities, this acquisition helped Intel nearly double its wired ASSP business.