Broadcom Ranked as No. 1 Fabless Chip Vendor

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SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 05, 2019 – 

Broadcom ascended to the top of the heap in sales among fabless chip vendors in 2018, knocking rival Qualcomm from the spot it had held for more than 10 years, according to TrendForce, a Taipei-based market research firm.

Broadcom's sales increased by 2.6% in 2018, well below the 13.7% growth of the semiconductor industry as a whole. But even this tepid growth was enough to enable Broadcom to slip past Qualcomm, which saw its sales slip by 3.9% amid declining smartphone demand and the loss of its position as the primary modem supplier in Apple's iPhone.

Broadcom famously attempted a hostile takeover of Qualcomm beginning in 2017. The bid was ultimately squashed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who cited national security concerns.

Nvidia – which again ranked third in fabless chip vendor sales in 2018 – grew the fastest of any of the top 10 suppliers at 28.4%. Taiwan's MediaTek remained in the No. 4 position despite suffering a slight decline of 0.7% in sales, also due to weak smartphone demand, according to TrendForce.

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