Overview of the European Semiconductors Industry

Germany has the highest number of companies producing semiconductors. The Netherlands has just a couple of producers but those companies generate significant revenues.

The semiconductor industry started having issues with supply back in 2019 when Huawei was banned from selling its products in the US. In 2020, the pandemic made the situation even worse - companies producing semiconductors and their suppliers could not meet demand due to anti-Covid measures implemented by governments across the globe. Today there is still a significant lack of less sophisticated semiconductors (those used in fridges, cars, etc.).

This industry analysis offers an overview of companies producing semiconductors in Europe.

Disclaimer: Producers were identified through their SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) Code (“Manufacturing semiconductors / related devices”). Companies with a different SIC Code were added when our research showed that they also produced semiconductors. Not all companies included in this analysis are actual producers of semiconductors - most of the European semiconductor businesses develop and design semiconductors and own related patents while production takes place in Asia. Companies which do not report their revenues were included in our analysis. It has to be noted that at this stage our database does not have complete proprietorship data for all countries.

Germany has the highest number of companies producing semiconductors

The semiconductor industry is not very big and is usually driven by a smaller number of companies with significant market shares. It’s a highly consolidated industry with high entry barriers.

Europe has 470 companies producing semiconductors (excluding branches of foreign entities). 18 European countries have at least one producer of semiconductors. The highest number of companies is based in Germany (358), followed by Austria (49), Turkey (24), Belgium (7) and the Russian Federation (5). All other countries covered in this analysis have less than 5 companies producing semiconductors.

Most of the companies operating in semiconductor manufacturing are legal persons (386) while some of them are proprietorships (46) and foreign entities (4). Legal form or remaining entities is not reported.

The highest number of proprietorships focusing on semiconductors is based in Germany (36), followed by Austria (6), Belgium (3), and Italy (1). It has to be noted that at this stage our database does not have complete proprietorship data for all countries.

The Netherlands is leading in semiconductor manufacturing in terms of average and median sales of companies

The highest average sales in the semiconductor industry are generated by businesses from the Netherlands (EUR 4,4B), England (EUR 1,3B), and France (EUR 597M). Germany, which has the highest number of companies operating in semiconductor manufacturing, has average revenues of those businesses at EUR 40M.

Average sales are influenced by the overall number of semiconductor businesses operating in individual countries. For example, Germany’s semiconductor producers’ average sales are at EUR 40M, while their median sales (half of companies have higher sales and half of companies have lower sales) are at EUR 770K. Austria’s semiconductor businesses have average sales at EUR 79,1M, while their median sales are at EUR 1,3M.

Average sales could be driven by a smaller number of companies with very high sales. Therefore, that average could be much higher than sales of the majority of businesses. Median sales, on the other hand, represent the point where one half of companies have lower sales and another half have higher sales than the median.

Dutch semiconductor manufacturers generate the highest sales

The Netherlands and Germany have the highest share of the total sales generated by companies included in our report - 44% and 38% respectively. These two countries are followed by England, Austria, and France. Malta, Norway and all other countries covered in our analysis have less than a 1% share.

Dutch semiconductor manufacturers generate EUR 17,7B in sales; most of it is generated by 4 businesses. Germany is second with EUR 15,2B. England is third with EUR 2,7B.

Germany is a clear leader in the number of semiconductor manufacturers with annual sales of over EUR 1B

Europe has 8 semiconductor manufacturers which have annual sales of more than EUR 1B - three of them are based in the Netherlands, 2 in England, 2 in Germany, and 1 in Austria.

Top 3 companies generate more than 60% of all sales generated by semiconductor manufacturers covered in our analysis. STMicroelectronics N.V. from the Netherlands is leading with its annual sales of EUR 8,6B, followed by Infineon Technologies AG (Germany) with EUR 8,5B and NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Netherlands) with EUR 7,2B.

Our analysis identified 17 semiconductor manufacturers which generate less than EUR 1B but more than EUR 100K in sales per year - 12 of them are based in Germany while France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, and Austria each have 1 company.

European semiconductor manufacturers are relatively weak compared to global leaders

European semiconductor manufacturers often focus on designing and developing semiconductors while production is then moved to Asia. Back in the 1990s, Europe supplied 30-40% of all semiconductors globally. Today this number is at 9%. The US produces around 12%. Around 63% of all semiconductors are from countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. Around 8% of all semiconductors are produced in other countries.

The global market is dominated by companies like Intel (EUR 66B in revenues), Samsung (EUR 55B), and TSMC (EUR 40B). Compared to them, even European leaders like STMicroelectronics N.V., Infineon Technologies AG, and NXP Semiconductors N.V. are relatively small.