After surpassing Samsung in 4Q18, Intel further extends its lead in the worldwide semiconductor marlet in 1Q19, as a result of slow DRAM and Flash memory sales.

According to the May Update to the 2019 McClean Report by ICInsights, Intel replaced Samsung as the number one quarterly semiconductor supplier in 4Q18 after losing the lead spot to Samsung in 2Q17. While Samsung held the full-year number one ranking in 2017 and 2018, Intel is forecast to recapture the number one ranking for the full-year of 2019, a position it previously held from 1993 through 2016.

With the collapse of the DRAM and NAND flash markets over the past year, a complete switch has occurred, with Samsung having 23% more total semiconductor sales than Intel in 1Q18 but Intel having 23% more semiconductor sales than Samsung just one year later in 1Q19.

In total, the top-15 semiconductor companies’ sales dropped by 16% in 1Q19 compared to 1Q18, three points worse than the total worldwide semiconductor industry 1Q19/1Q18 decline of 13%. The Big 3 memory suppliers—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, each registered year-over-year revenue declines of at least 26% in 1Q19 after each company posted greater than 40% year-over-year growth one year earlier in 1Q18. Thirteen of the top-15 companies had sales of at least $2.0 billion in 1Q19, one company less than in 1Q18.

There were two new entrants into the top-15 ranking in 1Q19, HiSilicon and Sony. As shown, China-based fabless IC supplier HiSilicon jumped up 11 spots in the ranking to 14th place on the back of a 41% surge in year-over-year sales in 1Q19. Sony also posted a solid year-over-year sales increase of 14% in 1Q19 driven by its primary product line of image sensors.

The top-15 ranking includes one pure-play foundry (TSMC) and four fabless companies. If TSMC were excluded from the top-15 ranking, Taiwan-based fabless supplier MediaTek ($1,711 million) would have been ranked in the 15th position.