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To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (48719)	11/9/2012 11:06:15 PM
From: Johnny Canuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69877

Qualcomm, Globalfoundries gain in chip sales rankings Dylan McGrath 11/8/2012 2:02 AM ESTFabless giant, foundry forecast to climb to top 20 rankings ladder by growing sales by 30 percent in 2012. SAN FRANCISCO—Fabless chip giant Qualcomm Inc. and foundry vendor Globalfoundries Inc. are each expected to move up IC Insights Inc.'s list of the top 20 chip vendors as ranked by sales in 2012, according to the market research firm's latest forecast. Both firms are expected to grow sales by at least 30 percent, according to IC Insights (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Qualcomm (San Diego) is on pace for 2012 revenue of more than $12.8 billion, fourth among all chip firms, up from seventh in 2011, according to the November Update to IC Insight's McClean Report. Meanwhile, Globalfoundries (Milpitas, Calif.) is on pace to move to No. 15 this year from No. 21 last year, with projected sales of $4.56 billion, according to the report. Globalfoundries moved into the top 20 on IC Insights' rankings list for the first time in the first quarter. Three foundries are expected to rank among the top 20 on the market research firm's rankings list for the full year 2012—Globalfoundries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC). Combined, those three foundries are forecast to log a 16 percent increase in sales year, according to IC Insights. The firm expects that total global chip sales will be down 2 percent this year. Foundries are defying the market due to the continued success of the fabless-foundry model and the strong movement by many integrated device manufacturers toward a fab-lite model, IC Insights said. The firm expects foundries to see continued strong demand over the next few years. Among the top five fastest growing chip firms this year, two are expected to be foundries—Globalfoundries and TSMC—and three are expected to be fabless companies—Qualcomm, Nvidia Corp. and Broadcom Corp.—according to IC Insights. Qualcomm's rise Qualcomm's projected sales growth this year continues the firm's meteoric rise over the past several years. In the third quarter of 2008, Qualcomm became the first fabless chip vendor to crack the top 10 among chip suppliers as ranked by sales, according to IC Insights. At 31 percent, Globalfoundries' expected sales growth rate is the largest for any top 20 chip firm in 2012, according to IC Insights. The firm noted that the strong growth projection is expected to come during a year when Advanced Micro Devices Inc.—Globalfoundries original parent company and its largest customer—is forecast to show a steep 17 percent decline in sales. According to IC Insights, Globalfoundries' success in 2012 is being driven mostly by its success in attracting new IC foundry customers, including Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics NV and Freescale Semiconductor Inc. Overall, the top 20 semiconductor suppliers are forecast to register a 1 percent decline in sales this year, one percentage point better than the rate of decline expected for the total semiconductor market, IC Insights said. Twelve of the top 20 chip suppliers are forecast to register a sales decline this year, including seven of the top 10 largest semiconductor suppliers in the world, according to IC Insights.