In the past year or so, the global semiconductor shortage has caused great distress to manufacturers who are unable to produce on time due to material shortages. But according to the latest data from the research institute, it was found that the revenue of the world's top ten IC suppliers in 2021 will increase by 48% compared with 2020, reaching 127.4 billion US dollars.
On the 24th, STMicroelectronics officially issued a price increase letter, stating that it will increase the prices of all production line products in the second quarter of 2022, including existing orders that have not been delivered due to the backlog, which has caused a lot of shock in the industry. The big manufacturers can't stand the price hike, so what about the others?
Semiconductor prices have started to rise since the beginning of the year and are not expected to abate, with some possible exceptions for memory components. The combination of strong demand and well-documented supply chain disruptions contributed to a 6% increase in ASP for analog ICs last year, according to ICInsights. They are expected to grow another 1% in 2022.
In 2021, the output value of the entire chip industry is as high as $583. According to Gartner, that number is up 25 percent from the previous year. Both research firms pointed to higher prices as one of the main drivers of this growth. "Large stocking of various end applications has led to a shortage of wafers in 2021, so the industry is severely undersupplied." This, coupled with soaring chip prices, has boosted chip makers' revenues. Strong demand and rising logistics and raw material prices have undoubtedly pushed the average selling price of semiconductors higher.
In 2021, the growth rates of the top ten IC design companies in the world by revenue already speak for themselves.
Qualcomm continues to maintain its No. 1 position in the world. Sales of its mobile phone SoCs and IoT chips rose 51% and 63%, respectively, while the diversification of its RF and automotive chip businesses was key to driving Qualcomm's 51% annual revenue growth.
The chipmaker's strategic move should not be underestimated. Nvidia overtook Broadcom to become second. Nvidia achieved the integration of software and hardware, demonstrating its ambition to create a "comprehensive computing platform." The annual growth rate of gaming graphics card and data center revenue was 64% and 59%, respectively, ranking second in the world.
Broadcom, which ranked third, benefited from stable sales of network chips, broadband communication chips, storage and bridge chips, with revenue up 18%.
MediaTek's strategy of focusing on mobile phone SoCs has come into effect. Benefiting from the increase in 5G penetration, MediaTek's mobile phone product portfolio sales soared by 93%, and it is committed to increasing the proportion of high-end product portfolios, with annual revenue increasing by 61%.
AMD's computer and graphics revenue rose 45% on strong sales of Ryzen CPUs and Radeon GPUs and higher average selling prices. Combined with accelerating demand from cloud companies, AMD's enterprise, embedded, and semi-custom segment saw annual revenue increase by 113%, driving total revenue growth to 68% annually.
What growth prospects will there be in 2022?
Component makers expect prices to rise 7% to 8% this year to 2022, according to IPC. Research firm IBISWorld notes that component prices typically fall over time. This trend has reversed, with IBISWorld forecasting that prices for semiconductors and electronic components will grow at an annual rate of 1.1% over the five-year period to 2022.
Looking ahead to 2022, other players will make up the list after AMD completes its acquisition of Xilinx. From a broader perspective, increasing demand for high-spec products such as high-performance computing, netcom, high-speed transmission, server, automotive, and industrial applications will create good business opportunities for IC design companies and drive overall revenue growth.
However, end system manufacturers face the correction of component mismatches. In addition, rising foundry costs, intensified geopolitical conflict, and rising inflation will all be detrimental to global economic growth and could impact an already sluggish consumer electronics market.
Faced with these challenges, how to maintain product sales momentum within existing production capacity, strengthen R&D efficiency, and upgrade chip specifications will be the main development priorities in 2022.
