As shown, it required at least $2.1 billion in 1H08 sales to make the top 20 ranking. Although the top four ranked companies remained the same, there were a number of "movers and shakers" up and down the remainder of the 1H08 ranking as compared to their full-year 2007 positions.



Cell phone IC supplier Qualcomm used a 29% year-over-year 1H08 growth rate to jump four spots and rank as the 10th largest semiconductor supplier in 1H08. The third largest fabless supplier, Broadcom, jumped three positions and is now positioned as the 20th largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Japanese consumer electronics powerhouse Panasonic (formerly Matsushita) and NEC were boosted by the strong Japanese yen versus the U.S. dollar. Each jumped three places and moved into the 18th and 12th positions, respectively, in the top 20 ranking. Moving up one place each in 1H08 were TSMC, Renesas, and Infineon. "Descenders"

DRAM-supplier Qimonda’s nightmare continued in 1H08 as the company dropped 12 positions from being ranked 18th overall in 2007 to 30th in 1H08. The company endured a 1H08/1H07 sales decline of 47% (which would have been worse if not for the strength of the euro) and suffered a loss of more than $2.2 billion in its first three quarters of fiscal 2008! Despite a relatively flat 1H08/1H07 sales result, NXP fell four spots to 14th from 10th.

AMD posted a decent 9% increase in 1H08/1H07 sales, yet slid four positions from 11th to 15th. Eighth-ranked memory supplier Hynix fell only one spot in the ranking although its 1H08/1H07 sales tumbled 23%, the only 1H08/1H07 sales decline of any top 20 semiconductor supplier! ST fell one position in the ranking and now occupies the 6th spot. It should be noted that the company’s 1H08 and 1H07 figures do not include FMG (flash memory group) sales, which are now part of Numonyx’s sales. As shown, the company registered a solid 13% year-over-year growth rate in 1H08 and has a relatively positive outlook for its second half as well. TI did not drop in the ranking but the company registered the second-worst growth rate of any top 20 semiconductor supplier in 1H08 (0%). TI has been a significant supplier to the cellular handset market segment for many years. However, in IC Insights’ opinion, it would be wise not to extrapolate the company’s weak 1H08 performance to the overall cell phone marketplace. Moreover, the excellent 1H08 performance of Qualcomm and ST, also major IC suppliers to the cell phone industry, appears to indicate that TI’s poor 1H08 results are more a reflection of a TIspecific "problem" than an overall cell phone market issue.