EXTRA: TOP 10 component distributors list
The world is outdoing itself in every field, with countries, regions, companies and corporations competing against each other. In the races, goals may differ. It is no different among global distributors of electronic components. After all, who wouldn't want to gain the title of the world's largest player? On June 12, during Evertiq Expo Krakow 2024, Evertiq presented the Top List of the largest electronic component distributors. Who are the biggest among them and what do they do? And who triumphed?
We looked at the largest electronics distributors and compiled the top 10 in terms of turnover. The data we used is from 2021. Why so "old"? Well, the reason is the different reporting rules. While some companies report according to the calendar year, others have their own fiscal calendar. So 2021 was the year from which all data is available, so there is no risk that some company's data was incomplete.
So are the Americans dominating the list? Or perhaps the Chinese? Are there any Europeans among the giants?
Top 10 electronic component distributors
Ranked 10th: Nexty Electronics (2021 turnover: $5.05 billion)
Nexty Electronics was founded in 1972. It is a Japanese electronics distributor that became part of the Toyota Tsucho Group in 2017. The company offers a wide range of electronic products and services, including semiconductors, memory and communication units, power electronics, industrial equipment and software. Nexty Electronics operates in Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia and India, North America, and Europe - Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain.
Ranked 9th: Digi-Key (2021 turnover: $5.10 billion).
DigiKey was founded in 1971 by Ronald Stordahl. This distributor of electronic components and personalization products is headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA.
DigiKey boasts more than 2,700,000 products in stock, with an average shipment of nearly 25,000 orders per day. The U.S. giant employs more than 4,000 people on several continents - its subsidiaries are located in the U.S., of course, as well as in Europe, Israel, India, China and Japan. DigiKey's European headquarter is located in Munich.
Ranked 8th: Supreme Electronics (2021 turnover: $5.89 billion)
Supreme Electronics is a young player in the overall list - it was founded in 2018. The Taiwanese distributor focuses on semiconductors and capacitors.
Supreme Electronics has offices only in Taiwan (Taipei, Tainan), China (Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai) and Hong Kong and Singapore.
Ranked 7th: CECport (2021 turnover: $6.44 billion)
CECport is a Chinese electronics distributor founded in 1984. The company operates only in the Far East.
Ranked 6th: Future Electronics (2021 turnover: $6.50 billion).
Canadian company Future Electronics is a leading global distributor of electronic components based in Montreal. It was founded in 1968 and today is one of the largest privately held companies in Quebec.
Future Electronics has more than 170 locations in 47 countries, including for example Warsaw, Poland. The distributor employs a total of about 5,200 people and offers its customers a broad portfolio of electronic components, as well as application engineering expertise and comprehensive supply chain services. Future Electronics was acquired by its competitor WT Microelectronics in 2023.
Ranked 5th: Macnica (2021 turnover: $6.72 billion)
Macnica was founded on October 30, 1971, and is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. It is a privately held company, specializing in the sale of semiconductors and electronic components, as well as networking equipment and software. It employs 4,187 people and has numerous subsidiaries and partner companies around the world. In Europe, Macnici's divisions are located in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Ranked 4th: WT Microelectronics (2021 turnover: $19.19 billion)
Founded in 1993, WT Microelectronics is a leading company in Taiwan that focuses on research, development, and offers a wide range of products, including integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits, analog integrated circuits, discrete components, chipsets, logic chips, mixed-signal integrated circuits, memory chips, programmable integrated circuits and microprocessors.
WT Microelectronics acquired Future Electronics, sixth on the list, in 2023; the $3.8 billion deal was closed in 2024.
The distributor operates in the Far East - Taiwan, China, Korea, as well as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and India.
Ranked 3rd: wpg (2021 turnover: $23.09 billion)
WPG Holdings is a global semiconductor distributor based in Taipei, Taiwan, founded in 2005. The company specializes in serving semiconductor components, including analog and mixed-signal components, discrete and logic integrated circuits, memory components, passive components, electromagnetic and connectors, optical components and sensor components.
In addition to Taiwan, wpg has operations in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Korea, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Ranked 2nd: Avnet (2021 turnover: $26.33 billion)
Avnet, Inc. was founded in 1921 and is a leading electronic component technology distribution company. The company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with subsidiaries located throughout the United States and in Canada and Latin America, as well as in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Japan. The company employs a total of about 15,800 people.
Ranked 1st: Arrow Electronics (2021 turnover: $28.70 billion)
A company with great traditions dominates the list - Arrow Electronics, founded in 1935, specializes in the distribution of electronic components and offers solutions for corporate computers worldwide. The company operates in two segments: Global Components and Global Enterprise Computing Solutions.
Arrow Electronics is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado. The distributor employs about 22,300 people worldwide.
Will the Top 10 largest electronics distributors change much when the next set of data is analyzed? Evertiq will keep an eye on it, keeping in mind that there can be only one king.
This is not the last Top List in June on Evertiq! The next one will be presented on June 20 at Evertiq Expo Berlin. Registration for the event is already open.
