The modern economy runs on semiconductors. The tiny electronic circuits, named for the electrical properties of the material from which they're made, are the brains for millions of devices, including space vehicles, car computers, smartphones, medical equipment, and appliances. As applications proliferate, semiconductor manufacturers continue to prosper.
These companies compete to produce smaller, cheaper, and faster chips for increasingly powerful and affordable technology products. Semiconductors can be divided into four main categories: microprocessors, memory chips, commodity integrated circuits, and complex systems on a chip (SoCs).
Key Takeaways
- The highest-revenue semiconductor companies produce a wide range of products, including microprocessors, memory chips, commodity integrated circuits, and complex systems on a chip.
- This diversity allows them to supply various sectors like consumer electronics, automotive, telecommunications, and data centers.
- The list of the top 10 semiconductor companies includes major players from the U.S., South Korea, and the Netherlands. Companies like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC), and NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) dominate the market.
- The semiconductor industry is highly competitive, with companies aiming to produce smaller, cheaper, and faster chips.
The semiconductor industry and chipmakers' stocks tend to be highly cyclical. Still, many investors view the sector as important, given its secular growth trend and significant role in developing new technology.
Below are the 10 top semiconductor companies based on their 12-month trailing (TTM) revenue. This list includes suppliers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Some foreign companies may report semiannually, resulting in longer lag times for their financials. All data is as of June 20, 2024 and comes from TradingView.
1. Samsung Electronics (005390.KS)
- Revenue (TTM): $202.2 billion
- Net income (TTM): $14.9 billion
- Market cap: $275.8 billion
- One-year trailing total return: 16.34%
- Exchange: Korean Exchange
A well-known name in the consumer electronics industry, Samsung (005390.KS) also manufactures business appliances and products, health and medical equipment, consumer appliances, robotics, and much more.
2. NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
- Revenue (TTM): $79.8 billion
- Net income (TTM): $42.6 billion
- Market cap: $3.35 trillion
- One-year trailing total return: 217.7%
- Exchange: Nasdaq
Nvidia is, by market cap, one of the most valuable companies in the world. It develops graphics processors for personal computers and enterprise servers. These graphics processing units, or GPUs, provide high-end performance sought by computer gamers and those who work with computer-aided design.
3. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM)
- Revenue (TTM): $71.5 billion
- Net income (TTM): $27.7 billion
- Market cap: $932.0 billion
- One-year trailing total return: 74.8%
- Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
Taiwan Semiconductor is the world's largest semiconductor foundry, the industry term for contract manufacturing of semiconductors on behalf of customers. Pure-play foundries manufacture integrated circuits on behalf of clients. Many semiconductor companies outsource the manufacturing of their chips to Taiwan Semiconductor.
4. Intel Corp. (INTC)
- Revenue (TTM): $55.24 billion
- Net income (TTM): $4.07 billion
- Market cap: $130.4 billion
- One-year trailing total return: -14.61%
- Exchange: Nasdaq
Intel primarily develops processors for the personal computer (PC) and enterprise server markets. Its Client Computing Group segment supplies PC processors, and its Data Center Group segment serves enterprise customers, including cloud services providers. The remainder consists of internet-of-things (IoT) products for retail, industrial, and healthcare markets; memory and storage products; autonomous driving technology; and programmable semiconductors.
The company also produces motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers, and integrated circuits.
5. Broadcom Inc. (AVGO)
- Revenue (TTM): $42.6 billion
- Net Income (TTM): $10.3 billion
- Market Cap: $839.1 billion
- One-Year Trailing Total Return: 111.8%
- Exchange: Nasdaq
Broadcomsupplies digital and analog semiconductors as well as software for networking, telecom, and data center markets. It provides interfaces for computers' Bluetooth connectivity, routers, switches, processors, and fiber optics.
6. Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)
- Revenue (TTM): $36.4 billion
- Net income (TTM): $8.4 billion
- Market cap: $253.4 billion
- One-year trailing total return: 89.3%
- Exchange: Nasdaq
Qualcomm is a global semiconductor and telecommunications company that designs and markets wireless communications products and services. Telecommunications companies worldwide use Qualcomm's code division multiple access technology, which has played an important role in the development of wireless communications. Its Snapdragon chipsets are found in many mobile devices.
7. SK Hynix Inc. (000660.KS)
- Revenue (TTM): $28.7 billion
- Net income (TTM): -$3.5 billion
- Market cap: $28.7 billion
- One-year trailing total return: 2.15%
- Exchange: Korean Exchange
One of the largest memory chipmakers in the world, Hynix chips are used by many companies to manufacture various end products that require memory. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in South Korea. Almost two-thirds of its revenues are generated from the sale of dynamic random access memory and one-third from NAND flash sales.
8. ASML Holding NV (ASML)
- Revenue (TTM): $28.3 billion
- Net income (TTM): $7.7 billion
- Market cap: $418.8 billion
- One-year trailing total return: 48.3%
- Exchange: Nasdaq
Based in the Netherlands, ASML is a supplier of sophisticated lithography systems used by chip manufacturers to add circuitry to silicon wafers.
9. Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT)
- Revenue (TTM): $26.5 billion
- Net income (TTM): $7.3 billion
- Market cap: $205.2 billion
- One-year trailing total return: 79.8%
- Exchange: Nasdaq
Applied Materials is a leading supplier of capital equipment used to manufacture semiconductors and LCD screens. The company's technology is used to produce high-quality silicon wafers and to deposit microscopic circuitry on their surfaces.
10. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
- Revenue (TTM): $22.8 billion
- Net income (TTM): $1.1 billion
- Market cap: $249.9 billion
- One-year trailing total return: 28.8%
- Exchange: Nasdaq
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) manufactures computer processing units and graphic processing units for computers, consumer electronics, automobiles, and servers. It is Intel's most direct competitor and has been battling the tech giant for market share since the 1960s.
Who Is the Largest Semiconductor Company?
That depends on the metric. The largest semiconductor company based on 12-month trailing revenue is Samsung. The largest based on market capitalization is NVIDIA.
Who Are TSMC's Top Customers?
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. doesn't disclose the details of its business, although U.S. laws require it to disclose customers who account for over 10% of its revenue. Two companies hit that threshold in 2023: Apple and NVIDIA.
Who Is Bigger: Intel or TSMC?
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has Intel beat on revenues, net income, and market cap.
The Bottom Line
The 10 biggest semiconductor companies come from the U.S. and South Korea and are generally household names. They also rake in a lot of money. The biggest by sales, Samsung, generated $198 billion in revenue in the 12 months to Dec. 31, 2023, relatively low for the industry. Other big players include NVIDIA, one of the largest companies in the world by market cap; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest semiconductor foundry; and Intel, known for its cloud computing, data center, and PCs.
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