Big changes at the top and bottom of Q1 semiconductor equipment market shares

Market shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturers shifted significantly in Q1 2018 as Applied Materials, the top supplier dropped, according to the report “Global Semiconductor Equipment: Markets, Market Shares, Market Forecasts,” recently published by The Information Network, a New Tripoli-based market research company.

The chart below shows shares for the first quarter (Q1) of calendar year 2017 and 2018. Market shares are for equipment only, excluding service and spare parts, and have been converted for revenues of foreign companies to U.S. dollars on a quarterly exchange rate.

Applied Materials lost significant market share YoY, from 18.4% of the $13.1 billion Q1 2017 market to 17.7% of the $17.0 billion Q1 2018 market. This drop follows a 1.8 share-point loss by Applied Materials for CY 2017 compared to 2016. The company competes with Lam Research and TEL in the deposition and etch market, and both gained share at the expense of Applied Materials.

At the other end of the spectrum, smaller semiconductor companies making up the “other” category lost 2.4 share points as a whole.

Much of the equipment revenue growth was attributed to strong growth in the DRAM and NAND sectors, as equipment was installed in memory manufacturers Intel, Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Toshiba, and Western Digital. The memory sector, which grew grown 61.5% in 2017, is forecast to add another 28.5% in 2018 according to industry consortium WSTS (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics).

TEL recorded growth of 120.3% YoY in Korea, much of it on NAND and DRAM sales to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and 69.5% YoY in Japan, much of it on NAND sales to Toshiba at its Fab 6 in Kitakami, Japan. Lam Research gained 42.2% and 70.5% YoY, respectively, in Korea and Japan.

Following the strong growth in the semiconductor equipment market, The Information Network projects another 11.5% growth in 2018 for semiconductor equipment.