America’s Largest Semiconductor Companies
As our world moves further
into an era of widespread digitization, few industries can be considered as important
as semiconductors.
These components are found
in almost everything we use on a daily basis, and the ability to produce them domestically
has become a topic of national security. For example, in 2022 the Biden administration
announced the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to strengthen America’s position
in everything from clean energy to artificial intelligence.
With this in mind, we’ve
ranked the top 15 U.S. semiconductor companies by their market capitalizations.
Data and Highlights
The data we used to create
this infographic is listed in the table below. Year-to-date (YTD) returns were included
for additional context. Both metrics are as of May 30, 2023.
|
Rank |
Company |
Ticker |
Market Cap (USD billions) |
YTD Return |
|
1 |
Nvidia |
NVDA |
$992 |
180.2% |
|
2 |
Broadcom |
AVGO |
$335 |
45.1% |
|
3 |
AMD |
AMD |
$202 |
95.7% |
|
4 |
Texas Instruments |
TXN |
$160 |
8.2% |
|
5 |
Qualcomm |
QCOM |
$129 |
8.2% |
|
6 |
Intel |
INTC |
$125 |
12.2% |
|
7 |
Applied Materials |
AMAT |
$115 |
41.2% |
|
8 |
Analog Devices |
ADI |
$89 |
9.2% |
|
9 |
Lam Research |
LRCX |
$85 |
52.1% |
|
10 |
Micron Technology |
MU |
$78 |
42.3% |
|
11 |
Snyopsys |
SNPS |
$71 |
45.4% |
|
12 |
KLA |
KLAC |
$63 |
21.8% |
|
13 |
Marvell Technology Group |
MRVL |
$54 |
76.2% |
|
14 |
Microchip Technology |
MCHP |
$42 |
11.2% |
|
15 |
ON Semiconductor |
ON |
$36 |
36.3% |
At the top is Nvidia, which became America’s
newest $1 trillion company on Tuesday, May 30th. Shares pulled back slightly over
the day and Nvidia closed at $992 billion. Over the past decade, Nvidia has transformed
from a gaming-focused graphics card producer to a global leader in AI and data center chips.
In third and sixth place
are two of America’s most well known
chipmakers, AMD and Intel. These longtime rivals are moving
in opposite trajectories, with AMD shares climbing 770% over the past five years,
and Intel shares falling 47%. One reason for this is the data center segment, in which AMD appears to be stealing market
share from Intel.
Further down the list
we see Applied Materials in seventh, and Lam Research in ninth. Both firms specialize
in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and thus play an important role in the
industry’s supply chain.
Trade War Impacts
As tensions between the
U.S. and China escalate, chipmakers are becoming increasingly entangled in geopolitical
conflict.
In October 2022, the Biden
administration introduced new export controls aimed at blocking China’s access to
semiconductors produced with U.S. equipment. This impacted several companies in
our top 15 list, including Lam Research and Applied Materials.
Shortly after the export
controls were announced, Lam Research said it expected to lose upwards of $2.5 billion
in annual revenues.
We lost some very profitable
customers in the China region, and that’s going to persist, obviously.
– DOUG BETTINGER, CFO, LAM RESEARCH
In response, China announced
in May 2023 that it would no longer allow America’s largest memory chipmaker, Micron,
to sell its products to “critical national infrastructure operators”.
This is not the first
time Micron has been involved in a controversy with China. In 2018, the firm alleged
that Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, a Chinese state-owned company, had solicited
a Micron employee to steal specifications for memory chips. The U.S. Department
of Commerce imposed export restrictions on Fujian Jinhua as a result.
Chipmakers on both sides
of the Pacific will be closely watching as competition between these two countries
heats up.