Intel (INTC) and Samsung (SSNLF) continue to dominate the global semiconductor market, but Qualcomm (QCOM), Texas Instruments (TXN), Broadcom (BCOM) and nVidia (NVDA) are coming on strong, thanks in large part to the success of their chips for wireless devices.
Qualcomm remains the big success story in wireless microprocessors – the California company saw its global market share increase 42% in 2011, according to the most recent report from IHS iSuppli. Qualcomm ranks sixth in the overall semiconductor market, but still has just a sliver of the market (3.3%).
Intel and Samsung together have 25% of the market, followed by Texas Instruments, Toshiba, Renesas and Qualcomm. Intel has been slower than some companies to find its way in the wireless market, but in 2011 the Santa Clara company saw its market share at a 10-year high of 15.6%. Intel acquired Infineon’s wireless business in 2010, giving it a stronger presence in the baseband processor market. During the first two months of 2012, Motorola Mobility, Lenovo and Orange all announced upcoming smartphones that will be powered by Intel chips.
Despite the presence of its chips in Apple’s iPhones and iPads, Samsung saw its semiconductor market share hold fairly steady last year at 9.2%. Texas Instruments’ market share was 4.5%, Toshiba’s was 4.1% and Renesas’s was 3.4%.
Broadcom (BCOM) and nVidia (NVDA) are two semiconductor suppliers to the wireless industry that increased their market share significantly last year. Broadcom’s market share increased 7.2% and nVidia’s increased 12.9%.
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