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The 10 Largest Semiconductor Companies in the World
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Explore the key players of the semiconductor industry, a sector that not only drives but continually revolutionizes the technological landscape. This article lists and visualizes the 10 largest semiconductor companies in the world by market cap, diving deeper into the innovations and business models of the top five.
The 10 Largest Public Semiconductor Companies Listed By Market Cap:
NVIDIA $3.3T
TSMC $963B
Broadcom $818B
ASML $421B
Samsung $420B
AMD $287B
Qualcomm $231B
Applied Materials $208B
ARM $196B
Texas Instruments $183B
Visualization as of 9 July 2024
NVIDIA
Market Cap: $3.3 trillion
Revenue (TTM): $79.8 billion
Net Income (TTM): $42.6 billion
Year Founded: 1993
Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem, NVIDIA is moslty known for its innovations in GPUs and AI. Initially solely a graphics chip manufacturer, NVIDIA has grown to become one of the largest companies in the world.
While the GeForce series of GPUs is a cornerstone of NVIDIA's success, dominating the gaming industry and contributing significantly to revenue, the company's recent parabolic surge is due to its rapid growth in the Data Center segment. NVIDIA holds a dominant position in both the GPU and AI markets. As of early 2024, NVIDIA controls approximately 80% of the global GPU semiconductor market. This dominance is even more pronounced in the data center GPU market, where NVIDIA commands an estimated 98% market share, driven by the high and increasing demand for its AI and high-performance computing GPUs.
NVIDIA's GPUs are widely recognized as the gold standard for AI applications, powering some of the most advanced AI systems worldwide. NVIDIA's biggest customers include major tech giants such as Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet (Google), and Amazon. The recent AI goldrush has contributed significantly to the company's insane growth, particularly in its Data Center segment, which saw a year-over-year revenue increase of 279% at the end of 2023. Consequently, NVIDIA's stock has risen by ~600% over the last three years at the time of writing.
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TSMC
Market Cap: $963 billion
Revenue (TTM): $70.2 billion
Net Income (TTM): $26.8 billion
Year Founded: 1987
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is one of the most important and influential companies in the global technology industry. Founded in 1987 by Morris Chang in Hsinchu, Taiwan, TSMC was the world's first dedicated semiconductor foundry. This means it focused solely on manufacturing semiconductors designed by other companies, rather than designing its own chips.
TSMC was the first company to introduce the 7nm and 5nm manufacturing processes into high-volume production and is currently developing 3nm and even more advanced nodes. Additionally, the company pioneered extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a technology critical for producing smaller and more efficient semiconductor devices.
TSMC manufactures chips for a wide range of customers, including tech giants like Apple, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Intel. Apple is TSMC's largest customer, relying on TSMC for the production of its A-series chips used in iPhones and M-series chips for Mac computers. TSMC's business model supports fabless semiconductor companies, which design chips but outsource manufacturing to TSMC, allowing these companies to focus on innovation and design without the capital burden of building their own fabs.
Broadcom
Market Cap: $818 billion
Revenue (TTM): $42.6 billion
Net Income (TTM): $10.2 billion
Year Founded: 1961
Founded in 1961 as a division of Hewlett-Packard and later spun off as Agilent Technologies, the company evolved into Broadcom through a series of mergers and acquisitions, most notably the acquisition by Avago Technologies in 2016, which then adopted the Broadcom name.
Broadcom's portfolio spans a wide array of products, including data center networking, broadband access, telecommunication equipment, smartphones, and industrial applications. The company's semiconductor solutions are crucial in various devices and systems, powering everything from home routers and smartphones to servers and storage systems. Broadcom is particularly renowned for its innovations in wireless connectivity, networking, and broadband technologies.
The company supplies components to some of the world's largest tech companies, including Apple, Samsung, Alphabet, and Amazon. Broadcom's chips are integral to a variety of devices, from Apple's iPhones to Google's data centers, underscoring its critical role in the tech supply chain.
ASML
Market Cap: $421 billion
Revenue (TTM): $26.1 billion
Net Income (TTM): $7.1 billion
Year Founded: 1984
ASML is a Dutch multinational company and a critical player in the global semiconductor industry, known for its development and production of photolithography systems used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. Founded in 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and Advanced Semiconductor Materials International (ASMI), ASML has grown to become the world's leading provider of photolithography equipment.
ASML's primary product is its lithography systems, which are essential for the production of semiconductor chips. These systems use light to print tiny patterns on silicon wafers, which form the integrated circuits of electronic devices. ASML's technology is crucial for producing the advanced chips used in a wide array of applications, including smartphones, computers, data centers, and automotive electronics. The company's innovations have been pivotal in enabling the continued miniaturization of electronic components, following Moore's Law.
One of ASML's most groundbreaking contributions to the semiconductor industry is its development of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. EUV lithography allows for the creation of smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient chips by using light with a much shorter wavelength than traditional photolithography. ASML’s EUV machines are among the most advanced and complex pieces of machinery in the world, containing thousands of components and costing over $100 million each. These machines are used by leading semiconductor manufacturers, including TSMC, Samsung, and Intel, to produce the most advanced chips on the market.
Samsung
Market Cap: $420 billion
Revenue (TTM): $198.7 billion
Net Income (TTM): $14.7 billion
Year Founded: 1938
Samsung is a South Korean conglomerate and a global technology leader, known for its diverse range of products, including consumer electronics, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment. Founded in 1969 as a subsidiary of the Samsung Group, Samsung Electronics has grown to become one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world.
Samsung's extensive product portfolio includes smartphones, televisions, home appliances, and semiconductors. The company is particularly renowned for its Galaxy line of smartphones, which are among the most popular and advanced in the market. Samsung is also a leading manufacturer of high-definition televisions, pioneering innovations in display technology, such as QLED and MicroLED.
As for its contributions within semiconductors, Samsung produces a wide range of chips used in various electronic devices. The company manufactures memory chips, such as DRAM and NAND flash, as well as logic chips, including application processors and image sensors. Samsung's semiconductor products are integral to the functionality of smartphones, computers, servers, and a vast array of other electronic devices.
The company's significant contribution to South Korea's economy is profound, with its market cap exceeding $500 billion and as one of the country's largest employers and exporters. Samsung's success has played a crucial role in transforming South Korea into a country characterized by technology expertise.
Further reading: Understanding the Semiconductor Value Chain: Key Players & Dynamics
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