Intel Corp. aspires to chip-technology supremacy within four years. But for now, it has fallen from the industry’s top spot by one key measure.
In the second quarter, Samsung Electronics Co. overtook Intel as the world’s top chip maker by revenue. Given divergent outlooks for their core businesses, the positioning is likely to stay that way in the near future, industry analysts say.
The South Korean tech company, which specializes in memory chips, racked up 22.74 trillion won, the equivalent of $19.7 billion, in semiconductor revenue during the April-June quarter. Total revenue for Intel, was $19.6 billion—or $18.5 billion after subtracting the contribution of a business unit it has agreed to sell.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., has held the No. 1 sales spot for much of the past three decades, ceding it to Samsung in 2017 and 2018 when memory-chip sales boomed.
The ranking is about more than bragging rights: Intel needs financial clout more than ever. Under new Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger, the company is embarking on an ambitious strategy to manufacture cutting-edge chips—one of the business world’s costliest endeavors.
