May 14, 2012 -- The top 20 semiconductor suppliers in Q1 2012, compiled in IC Insights' May Update to The McClean Report, show Intel’s firm hold on the top of the rankings, registering a 68% higher sales level than Samsung in Q1 (compared to a 48% margin for all of 2011).

See the 2011 top semiconductor suppliers rankings here.

Table 1. Q1 2012 Top 20 semiconductor sales leaders ($M, includes foundries). SOURCE: IC Insights.

*foundry

**fabless

GLOBALFOUNDRIES replaced bankrupt Elpida on the top 20 charts. Elpida dropped 34% in year over year (Y/Y) sales. If Micron, the forerunner for Elpida’s assets, takes over the bankrupt DRAM maker, it could jump 1 or 2 positions in the rankings.

With the addition of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, 3 pure-play foundries are now in the top 20 ranking. They squeezed out Sharp, Marvell, and Rohm from the top-20 ranks.

Q1 sales from the top 20 semiconductor suppliers were “generally disappointing,” says IC Insights. The quarter had a 4% decline Y/Y, which is well below IC Insights’ total-year 2012 forecast of 6-7%. IC Insights expects much improved sequential quarterly sales performance starting in 2Q12, based on company reports and analysis. Expect a 6% increase from Q1 to Q2, and even stronger growth Q2 to Q3.

Table 2. Q1 2012 Top 20 semiconductor sales leaders by growth rate ($M, includes foundries). SOURCE: IC Insights.

The top 20 semiconductor suppliers saw a wide range of Y/Y growth in Q1. Memory chip companies did not secure any of the top 10 growth rate positions. Only 3 companies registered better-than-flat Y/Y growth rates: Qualcomm, Fujitsu, and Broadcom. Fabless company Qualcomm led the way with strong sales for smartphone chips, as well as an acquisition of Atheros in May 2011. Qualcomm is on pace to register over $12 billion in sales in 2012.

Each of the big four memory suppliers in the top 20 ranking -- Samsung, Toshiba, SK Hynix, and Micron -- saw sales decline Y/Y, most notably Samsung and SK Hynix.

IC Insights believes that the bottom of the semiconductor market slowdown occurred, for the majority of the top 20 companies, in either Q4 2011 or Q1 2012. If the worldwide economy continues on its slow growth rate trajectory, the remainder of 2012 looks bright for the semiconductor industry and its suppliers.

IC Insights' 2012 edition of The McClean Report comes with free monthly updates by e-mail from March-November (including a Mid-Year Report). To review additional information about IC Insights’ market research, visit www.icinsights.com.

Visit the Semiconductors Channel of Solid State Technology!