Intel has been the largest semiconductor manufacturer for much of the 21st century, but the Santa Clara-based chipmaker was displaced by Samsung between 2017 to 2018, after finally retaking the position back in 2019. However, it looks like Team Blue won’t be able to hold onto the crown for more than a couple of years as analysts’ predict that Samsung will be retaking the #1 spot as the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the second quarter of 2021.
Intel’s Q1 earnings were flat, with the data center business seeing a rather significant YoY drop of roughly a quarter percent. The Q2 earnings are expected to be even worse, with a drop to $17.9 billion from $18.7 billion in Q1 (2% lower than last year). Samsung, on the other hand, is expected to grow its quarterly earnings from $17.1 billion in Q1 to $18.5 billion in Q2, thereby edging past Intel for the first time in the last two years.
The last time Samsung was more profitable than Intel was in the third quarter of 2018 when the company pulled in a whopping $22.1 billion while Intel was limited to under $20 billion.
