Samsung and Apple continue to lead as top global semiconductor customers in 2014. The two companies consumed – together – 17 percent of the total semiconductor demand.
Samsung Electronics and Apple remained the top semiconductor buyers in 2014, representing with a combined semiconductor demand of 17 percent, according to the research firm Gartner. Samsung Electronics and Apple together consumed USD 57.9 billion of semiconductors in 2014, an increase of USD 3.9 billion from 2013.
“Samsung Electronics and Apple have topped the semiconductor consumption table for four consecutive years and their decisions have considerable technology and pricing implications for the whole semiconductor industry,” said Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner. “However, while Samsung Electronics kept its position as the No. 1 largest customer of semiconductor chip vendors, its growth rate in 2014 was lower than the global semiconductor market’s growth, firstly because it struggled in the smartphone market, and secondly because it is withdrawing from some parts of the PC market.”
The top 10 companies bought USD 125.6 billion of semiconductors, to account for 37 percent of semiconductor chip vendors’ worldwide revenue in 2014. This was up from USD 114.8 billion, accounting for 36.4 percent in 2013. The top 10 outperformed the semiconductor buying market and grew by 9.4 percent overall.
