According to preliminary results from Gartner, the technological research and consulting company, global semiconductor revenue in 2024 totalled $626 billion (£508bn~), marking a rise of 18.1% over 2023.

“Graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI processors used in data center applications (servers and accelerator cards) were the key drivers for the chip sector in 2024,” explained George Brocklehurst, VP analyst at the research firm, on what caused the increase.

“The rising demand for AI and generative AI (GenAI) workloads led data centers to become the second-largest market for semiconductors in 2024, behind smartphones,” he added. “Data center semiconductor revenue totaled $112 billion in 2024, up from $64.8 billion in 2023.”

How Did Semiconductor Companies Rank?
Gartner highlighted that nine out of the top 10 semiconductor vendors recorded revenue growth last year, and only eight of the top 25 vendors posted revenue decline in 2024.

The positive performance of the overall market did impact the ranking of several semiconductor vendors, however.

When it comes to the top semiconductor vendors by revenue in Gartner’s rankings, Samsung Electronics reclaimed the number one spot from Intel, and extended its lead over the company in 2024 driven by a strong rebound in memory device prices. It totalled $66.5bn (£54bn~) in revenue in 2024.

Intel moved to second position, bringing in $49.1bn (£40bn~) in revenue last year, though Gartner noted that its semiconductor revenue was flat at 0.1% growth in 2024.

Nvidia continued to perform exceptionally well, increasing its semiconductor revenue by 84% in 2024, to total $46bn (£37.3bn~). It moved up two spots in the rankings to secure third position due to the strength of its AI business.

Following Nvidia is SK hynix, then Qualcomm, Micron Technology, Broadcom, AMD, Apple, and Infineon Technologies as the top 10 for 2024.

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Memory Revenue in 2024
Gartner’s research also highlighted that memory revenue recorded 71.8% revenue growth in 2024. Memory’s share as a percentage of total semiconductor sales increased to 25.2% last year as well.

DRAM (dynamic random access memory) revenue improved 75.4% in 2024, while NAND (NOT AND) revenue increased 75.7% year-over-year. HBM (high-bandwith memory) production contributed significantly to the revenue for DRAM vendors, Gartner said, with HBM revenue representing 13.6% of total DRAM revenue in 2024.

Non-memory revenue increased 6.9% in 2024. Non-memory also accounted for 74.8% of total semiconductor revenue last year.

“Memory and AI semiconductors will drive near-term growth, with HBM projected to account for an increasing share of DRAM revenue, reaching 19.2% in 2025,” said Brocklehurst. “HBM revenue is estimated to increase 66.3% in 2025, reaching $19.8 billion.”