The global semiconductor market surged in Q32024, with revenues climbing 8.5% from the previous quarter to $177.8 billion, (from $163.8 billion) driven by the booming AI segment. This demonstrates a remarkable 25% year-over-year growth from $141.6 billion in Q32023, positioning the industry for an impressive 24% annual expansion according to Omdia’s latest research.
Aggregate semiconductor revenue for the first three quarters of 2024 increased by 26% compared to the same period in 2023 – a $102 billion increase – according to Omdia’s Competitive Landscaping Tool report. This growth was fueled by strong demand for AI and related semiconductor components.
Cliff Leimbach, Senior Analyst at Omdia, stated, “The high demand for AI is setting 2024 up to be a record-breaking year. Semiconductor revenue from the first three quarters of 2024, approximately $494 billion, has already surpassed the total for all of 2020. However, this robust revenue is not evenly distributed across the industry. For example, the industrial sector is facing weak demand and is projected to see a 16% year-over-year decline in 2024.”
NVIDIA and SK Hynix are two companies that have greatly benefited from the AI surge: NVIDIA through its GPUs, and SK Hynix through high-bandwidth memory. Among the 127 semiconductor companies analyzed in the Competitive Landscaping Tool report, these two companies are the only ones who have more than doubled revenue in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to same period in 2023.
Semiconductor revenue is expected to continue growing = in the fourth quarter, increasing approximately 4.5% to nearly $186 billion, as AI-focused companies continue to outperform the broader semiconductor industry.
However, growth outside of AI has been challenging in certain sectors. The automotive market, saw consistent semiconductor revenue growth from Q32020 through Q32023, has stabilized as demand leveled off in 2024, with revenue expected to remain flat compared to 2023. Additionally, weak macroeconomic conditions have impacted the industrial segment, which is forecasted to experience a $10 billion in decline in revenue in 2024 compared to 2023.
Despite the unevenness performance across semiconductor segments, all top ten companies saw sequential revenue growth in Q32024 with 17 of the top twenty companies also growing quarter-over-quarter.
NVIDIA held the number one ranking in the third quarter, with a 10.5% revenue increase from Q22024 driven by AI demand. Its share of the semiconductor market rose slightly to over 15%.
Outside of NVIDIA, improved memory market dynamics have boosted rankings for memory companies. The memory market is forecast to grow by $73 billion in 2024 than 2023 placing Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron in the top six.
