TI dominates analogue devices market with shrewd purchases, says report

Among the top suppliers, six companies on the list had sales in excess of $2.0bn and three others exceeded $1.0bn in analogue sales last year. (Renesas again fell short of the $1.0bn mark.) Among the top suppliers, Skyworks Solutions (42%), NXP (21%), and Texas Instruments (13%) showed the strongest growth and outperformed the total analogue market (9%) by the widest margins.  

TI’s analogue sales represented 62% of its total corporate revenue in 2014. Since the 1990s, TI has focused on increasing its presence in the analogue market. In 2009, TI purchased 300mm manufacturing tools from defunct Qimonda and put them to use to build analogue ICs, becoming the first company to manufacture analogue devices on 300mm equipment.

In 2010, TI acquired two wafer fabs operated by Spansion in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, and it acquired a fully equipped 200mm fab in China from Cension Semiconductor Manufacturing in Chengdu. Both facilities were immediately put to use making analogue ICs. In April 2011, TI acquired National Semiconductor - its rival in many analogue markets - for $6.5bn.

TI is boosting its analogue position by transferring more manufacturing to 300mm wafers in its newer RFAB and its older DMOS 6 fab. TI says the 300mm fabs will together help reduce its total production costs by up to 40%, increase its available manufacturing capacity substantially, and give it added flexibility to respond to customer demands. TI’s 2014 analogue revenue was nearly three times larger than second place ST, whose sales grew 2% in 2014. ST accounted for 6% marketshare. ST attributed its lower analogue sales to softer equipment sales (computer, consumer, automotive, industrial) among its primary customers.

Third-ranked Infineon and seventh-ranked NXP were two other European-headquartered companies ranked among the top 10 analogue suppliers in 2014. Collectively, these three European suppliers accounted for 16% analogue marketshare last year. Skyworks enjoyed a stellar year in which its analogue sales increased 42% mostly due to strong worldwide smartphone sales.

Skyworks Solutions makes analogue and mixed signal semiconductors for Apple, Samsung, and other suppliers of mobile devices. Multiple power amplifier components from Skyworks are found in Apple’s iPhone 6 models. It has been estimated that Skyworks supplies $4 worth of content from every new iPhone 6 handset. While Skyworks is heavily focused in mobile, CEO David Aldrich has said the company's technology is a conduit into the IoT. In 2015, the company said it would look to the automotive, home, and wearable markets to expand its presence in applications linked to the Internet of Things. Analog ICs like audio amplifiers, op amps, are analogue switches are key components and building blocks for creating innovative wearable applications.  Skyworks’ wireless technology is used in some General Electric healthcare equipment, and the company recently sealed a deal to supply high-performance filter solutions to Panasonic devices.

Analog Devices purchased smaller rival Hittite Microwave in mid-2014, a company that specialised in devices for RF and signal-conversion applications. ADI’s analogue sales grew 9% last year. ADI is expected to provide devices that enable the 3D/Force Touch feature - currently available on the Apple Watch - to the iPhone 6s that is due out in the second half of 2015 and new generations of the iPad. The Force Touch feature uses tiny electrodes to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press to trigger contextually specific controls.

Further details on semiconductor sales rankings by company for 2014, are included in the April Update to The McClean Report - A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry.  A subscription to The McClean Report includes free monthly updates from March through November (including a 250+ page Mid-Year Report), and free access to subscriber-only webinars throughout the year. An individual-user license to the 2015 edition of The McClean Report is priced at $3,590 and includes an Internet access password.  A multi-user worldwide corporate license is available for $6,590.