Intel has returned to growth after two years of revenue decline while retaining the top spot in the global semi conductor market for the 23rd consecutive year, according to Gartner.
The company captured 15.4 per cent of the market, with sales up 7.7 per cent as PC production recovered.
Worldwide semiconductor revenue totalled US$340.3 billion in 2014, a 7.9 percent increase from 2013 revenue of US$315.4 billion.
The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 11.7 percent, which was more than the overall industry's growth. The top 25 vendors accounted for 72.4 percent of total market revenue, up from 69.9 percent in 2013.
Gartner research vice presdient, Andrew Norwood, said 2014 saw all device categories post positive growth, unlike in 2013, when application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), discretes and microcomponents all declined.
"The memory market was the best performer for the second year in a row, growing 16.6 percent, meaning the rest of the market only achieved 4.9 percent growth," he said.
"As a group, DRAM vendors performed best, lifted by the booming DRAM market, which saw revenue increase 32 per cent to $46.1 billion, surpassing the all-time high of $41.8 billion set in 1995."
Last year also saw significantly more merger and acquisition activity among the major semiconductor vendors than the previous year, with some announced deals still to close in 2015.
Among the most significant deals was Avago Technologies' acquisition of LSI, propelling the company into the top 25 semiconductor vendors for the first time.
MStar Semiconductor was merged with MediaTek after a prolonged merger, and ON Semiconductor acquired Aptina Imaging. After adjusting for closed M&A activity, the top 25 semiconductor vendors grew at 9.1 percent.
