Spurred by booming demand for the iPhone and iPad, Apple in 2010 became the largest buyer of semiconductors among OEMs for the first time ever, according to IHS iSuppli.
Apple in 2010 bought US$17.5 billion worth of semiconductors, a 79.6% increase from US$9.7 billion in 2009. This represented the highest rate of increase among the world's Top 10 OEM semiconductor buyers, allowing Apple to rise up two positions to take the number one rank in 2010, said IHS. Apple in 2009 was the third-largest semiconductor purchaser behind Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Samsung Electronics; it was sixth in 2008.
"Apple's surge to leadership in semiconductor spending in 2010 was driven by the overwhelming success of its wireless products, namely the iPhone and the iPad," said Wenlie Ye, Analyst for IHS. "These products consume enormous quantities of NAND flash memory, which is also found in the iPod. Because of this, Apple in 2010 was the world's top purchaser of NAND flash."
Apple is likely to continue increasing its semiconductor spending during the coming years at an above-average pace, allowing the company to extend its lead over HP, Samsung and other OEMs in 2011 and beyond, IHS believes. In 2011 Apple's semiconductor spending is expected to exceed that of HP by US$7.5 billion, up from US$2.4 billion in 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment