Samsung Electronics Reclaims Semiconductor Revenue Crown AI and Data Centers as Key Drivers

According to Gartner's annual global semiconductor supplier statistics report released on February 3, Samsung Electronics reclaimed the top spot in semiconductor company revenue with approximately $66.5 billion. The global semiconductor market achieved a total revenue of $626 billion in 2024, representing an 18.1% increase compared to 2023.

Gartner's vice president analyst George Brocklehurst pointed out in a press release: "With the continuous growth in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI workloads, data centers have become the second largest market for semiconductors after smartphones."

Samsung's return to the top was due to the recovery in memory device prices. Meanwhile, NVIDIA rose to the top five thanks to its significant achievements in the AI market, achieving a revenue of $46 billion. Despite Intel's outstanding performance in AI PCs and Core Ultra chipsets, its semiconductor revenue only saw a modest 0.1% growth in 2024. Gartner's analysis suggests that while Intel has made some progress in AI accelerators and x86 businesses, it still hides deficiencies in other areas. NVIDIA, however, climbed up the rankings with its strong AI business.

Data centers, central processing units (CPUs), and AI processors were key drivers of revenue growth. Brocklehurst emphasized: "In 2024, graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI processors used for data center applications, including servers and accelerator cards, played a crucial role in driving the semiconductor industry." Semiconductor revenue from data centers alone reached $112 billion in 2024, significantly increasing from $64.8 billion in 2023.

The memory market also showed strong performance, with memory product revenue growing by 71.8% in 2024. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) production contributed significantly to DRAM suppliers' revenues, with the entire DRAM market experiencing a 75.4% revenue growth in 2024. Non-memory revenue, which accounted for 74.8% of total semiconductor revenue, grew by only 6.9% in 2024.

Gartner predicts continued growth in the semiconductor industry. By February 2024, the expected total semiconductor revenue for 2025 is projected to reach $705 billion. Brocklehurst stated: "The recent growth will mainly be driven by memory and AI semiconductors, particularly with HBM revenue further increasing and occupying a larger proportion of total DRAM revenue."

In summary, Samsung Electronics' reclamation of the top position signifies new changes in the semiconductor industry, with AI and data centers becoming the key forces driving this transformation.