Top 10 Biggest Semiconductor Companies

The modern economy runs on semiconductors. The tiny electronic circuits, named for the electrical properties of the material from which they’re made, are the brains for millions of devices, including space vehicles, car computers, smartphones, medical equipment, appliances, and more. As applications proliferate, semiconductor manufacturers continue to prosper. These companies compete in producing smaller, cheaper, and faster chips for increasingly powerful and affordable technology products. Semiconductors can be divided into four main categories: microprocessors, memory chips, commodity integrated circuits, and complex “systems on a chip.”

The numerous chipmakers range from household names with global reach to smaller suppliers little known outside their specialized market niche. Their chips are an essential input for manufacturers of technology hardware and industrial equipment.

The semiconductor industry and chipmakers’ stocks tend to be highly cyclical. Still, many investors view the sector as important given its secular growth trend and major role in the development of new technology.

Below are the 10 top semiconductor companies based on their 12-month trailing (TTM) revenue. This list includes suppliers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, but is limited to companies with stocks publicly traded in the U.S., either on an exchange or in the over-the-counter market. Some foreign companies may report semiannually, resulting in longer lag times for their financials. All figures are from YCharts as of Aug. 2, 2022.

• Revenue (TTM): $73.4 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $19.1 billion
• Market Cap: $147.9 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -30.9%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Intel primarily develops processors for the personal computer (PC) and enterprise server markets. Its Client Computing Group segment supplying PC processors and Data Center Group segment serving enterprise customers including cloud services providers accounted for 51% and 33% of fiscal year 2021 revenue, respectively. The remainder consisted of internet-of-things solutions for retail, industrial, and healh-care markets; memory and storage products; autonomous driving technology; and programmable semiconductors. The company produces motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers, and integrated circuits. In March 2021 Intel unveiled a plan to invest aggressively in expanding its foundry business, the industry term for contract manufacturing of semiconductors on behalf of customers.

• Revenue (TTM): $61.5 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $23.7 billion
• Market Cap: $446.2 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -25%
• Exchange: New York Stock Exchange

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world’s largest semiconductor foundry. Pure-play foundries manufacture integrated circuits on behalf of clients. Many semiconductor companies outsource the manufacturing of their chips to Taiwan Semi.

• Revenue (TTM): $42.1 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $12.9 billion
• Market Cap: $165.1 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: 0.6%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Qualcomm is a global semiconductor and telecommunications company that designs and markets wireless communications products and services. Telecommunications companies worldwide use Qualcomm’s patented CDMA (code division multiple access) technology, which has played an integral role in the development of wireless communications. Its Snapdragon chipsets are found in many mobile devices.

• Revenue (TTM): $32.4 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $9.9 billion
• Market Cap: $68.9 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -19.1%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Micron Technology supplies memory chips including flash RAM products as well as rewritable disc storage solutions. Its products are used in computers, consumer electronics, automobiles, communications, and servers.

• Revenue (TTM): $30 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $8.9 billion
• Market Cap: $215.1 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: 12.8%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Broadcom supplies digital and analog semiconductors as well as software for networking, telecom, and data center markets. It provides interfaces for computers’ Bluetooth connectivity, routers, switches, processors, and fiber optics.

• Revenue (TTM): $29.5 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $9.5 billion
• Market Cap: $463.2 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -6.1%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Nvidia is a leading developer of graphics processors for personal computers and enterprise servers. These graphics processing units, or GPUs, provide high-end performance sought by cryptocurrency miners, computer gamers, and those who work with computer-aided design.

• Revenue (TTM): $24.8 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $6.8 billion
• Market Cap: $91.3 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -25.5%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Applied Materials is a leading supplier of capital equipment used to manufacture semiconductors as well as liquid crystal display (LCD) screens. The company’s technology is used to produce high-quality silicon wafers and to deposit microscopic circuitry on their surfaces.

• Revenue (TTM): $22.2 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $2.6 billion
• Market Cap: $12.4 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -34%
• Exchange: New York Stock Exchange

ASE Technology is a Taiwan-based holding company that provides semiconductor assembly, packaging, and testing services. The company was created by the combination of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. and Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.

• Revenue (TTM): $21.6 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $6.1 billion
• Market Cap: $224.7 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -25.8%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Based in the Netherlands, ASML is a leading supplier of advanced lithography systems used by chip manufacturers to add circuitry to silicon wafers. Its machines help chip makers use costly wafers as efficiently as possible and to improve the performance of their chips.

• Revenue (TTM): $19.6 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $8.6 billion
• Market Cap: $161.9 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -4.7%
• Exchange: Nasdaq

Texas Instruments develops and manufactures analog chips and embedded processors for industrial and electronics applications. The company is a major supplier of chips for mobile devices, digital signal processors, and analog semiconductors. It also still makes calculators, the product that brought the company to prominence.