Intel returns to dominate the semiconductor market in 2019, to the detriment of Samsung

Samsung she is no longer the semiconductor queen of the year, according to Gartner's latest market research: after two years of dominance, the South Korean company had to return the throne to Intel. It's not a big surprise: the overtaking had already taken place in the quarterly interim results. As we have seen, the memory chip sector is in significant decline, and Samsung is not particularly prolific in processors. The market has favored Intel, therefore, which returns to its consolidated position over more than two decades (before the two-year period 2017-2018, she was the queen for 24 years in a row).

As the above table shows, the semiconductor market has spawned $ 418.3 billion of turnover in 2019; 65,793 of which went to Intel's pocket, while 52,214 to Samsung. In general, there is talk of an 11.9% drop compared to last year, a percentage that is very significant. Even more significant is to observe that the memory chip market specifically dropped by as much as 31.5%. Going further into detail, the RAM turnover dropped by 37.5%. Gartner attributes this phenomenon to excessive production in the previous months, which created too many stocks and forced producers to reduce prices in order to empty the warehouses. The average selling price of RAM has dropped by almost half – 47.4% in 2019.

Nine out of ten producers in the top 10 have observed a drop in turnover; including Intel. The only one who has actually grown is Toshiba. Intel, however, is the company whose contraction has been smaller: just 0.7% less than last year. To make a comparison, Qualcomm fell by 12%, Samsung by 29.1%, SK Hynix by 38%.

Gartner predicts that in 2020 the sector's turnover is expected to grow again, since finally the inventories have been disposed of. This should create a rise in RAM prices – and as a result it could mean Samsung's return to the top step of the podium.