Samsung Electronics once again surpassed Intel in semiconductor sales in the second quarter of 2022, maintaining its leading position in the global semiconductor market for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to new data from market research firm Omdia. However, the South Korean semiconductor giant may lose its lead in the second half as the memory semiconductor market is shrinking.
According to the data, the size of the global semiconductor market in the second quarter of this year was estimated at US$158.113 billion, a decrease of US$3.111 billion from US$161.24 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
Samsung Electronics second-quarter semiconductor sales were $20.3 billion, an increase of $145 million from the first quarter ($20.155 billion). Omdia attributed the increase to continued demand for server semiconductors and higher system semiconductor (non-memory) sales. Samsung Electronics market share rose 0.3 percentage points to 12.8 percent from 12.5 percent, expanding its lead over Intel to 3.4 percentage points, compared with 1.4 percentage points in the previous quarter.
Intel's second-quarter revenue was $14.865 billion, down 16.6% from the first quarter ($178.27 billion). Intel posted a net loss of $454 million in the second quarter due to a slowdown in PC demand due to the economic downturn and supply chain disruptions. This is followed by SK Hynix (6.8%), Qualcomm (5.9%), Micron Technology (5.2%), and Broadcom (4.2%). It is worth mentioning that TSMC, the world's largest foundry company, was not included in the scope of Omdia's investigation.
Samsung Electronics overtook Intel for the first time in 2017 and held the No. 1 spot until 2018, before losing the top spot to Intel in 2019 and 2020. In the third quarter of 2021, Samsung regained the No. 1 position and held it for four consecutive quarters.
Samsung Electronics may lose its top spot in the second half of this year as the memory semiconductor market is entering a recession. Previously, market research firm IC Insights predicted that TSMC's sales in the third quarter of this year would climb 11 percent from the second quarter to $20.2 billion, surpassing Samsung Electronics to become the world's largest semiconductor maker. IC Insights estimates Samsung Electronics and Intel's sales in the third quarter of this year were $18.29 billion and $15.04 billion, respectively.
The market research firm TrendForce forecasts that the prices of consumer DRAM and NAND flash memory will drop by 13% to 18% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. The downturn in the semiconductor market is expected to last until at least the end of 2023.
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