David Bicknell, Principal Analyst, Thematic Research at GlobalData, commented: “From a high point in 2018, when the semiconductor industry enjoyed an extraordinary year - partly fuelled by an unexpected boom in crypto mining - the industry’s momentum has been slowed by the US-China trade war, overcapacity in the memory chip sector, and, most recently, COVID-19. A dramatic worsening in US-China relations has further dented the industry’s confidence.”

The Semiconductor Industry Association is expecting a 3.3% annual growth, but that is dependent on the strength of key markets such as smartphones and laptops.

Bicknell continues: “The industry’s continued consolidation includes the analog chip market, which saw Analog Devices acquire Maxim. Texas Instruments (TI) remains the analog kingpin, with nearly 20% market share - twice that of Analog before the Maxim acquisition. That gap is why regulators should be mindful to let this deal through.

“A combined Analog-Maxim entity - once the deal is completed by mid-2021 - has a shot at becoming a necessary counterbalance to TI by 2025, when a 5G-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) of sensor-driven smart devices promises to reshape the industry by moving processing activity to devices through edge computing.”