Intel loses top spot to Samsung in global chip revenue after poor 2024

Samsung rebound driven by memory price bump and AI

Intel's struggles in 2024 have cost the company its top spot in semiconductor revenue, says Gartner

Gartner’s semiconductor vendor report shows that Samsung Electronics has regained top spot with $66.5 billion in revenue after it was dethroned by Intel in 2023.

The remaining top five semiconducter makers are Intel ($49.2 billion), NVIDIA ($46 billion), SK Hynix ($42.8 billion), and Qualcomm ($32.4 billion).

The global semiconductor market grew by 18.1% in 2024 to $626 billion thanks to the high demand for AI processors and GPUs used in datacentres. Datacentre semiconductors accounted for $112 billion in revenue in 2024 nearly doubling from a combined 2023 value of $64.8, according to Gartner. The research firm projects continued growth, with global semiconductor revenues expected to hit $705 billion in 2025.

How Intel fell behind

Despite the high returns recorded by most chipmakers such as Nvidia, and TSMC last year, Gartner says Intel's semiconductor revenue remained stagnant with just 0.1% growth.

Gartner attributes teh stale growth to the limited market penetration of Intel's AI accelerators and the relatively modest expansion of its core x86 processor business.

Samsung’s ascendancy was driven primarily by a strong rebound in memory prices and surging demand for AI-related technologies. Samsung is seemingly unaffected by posting slightly weaker growth than forecast later last year, and by strike action in South Korea.

In a bid to bounce back, Intel announced in August 2024 that it plans to cut more than 15,000 jobs. The company says the layoffs are part of a broader strategy to reduce costs and streamline operations. As of October 2024, Intel’s widespread layoffs swept over 2,000 employees off its workforce across key locations in the United States.

Meanwhile, Intel's challenges in 2024 went beyond stagnant revenue. The Santa Clara-based company also set about some internal restructuring which led to the departure of CEO Pat Gelsinger in December 2024.

While Intel beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, the company's efforts to define a new path for growth have yet to yield clear results, leaving its 2025 outlook uncertain.