In the 1990s and even early 2000s, growth booms in the industry with annual sales growth of 30 to 40 percent were the norm. Thanks to the sharply increasing demand in the consumer market for PCs, laptops, and mobile phones, many smaller technology companies were able to grow into giants in the semiconductor business. However, since 2011, the industry has had to manage its growth expectations for the consumer market. With an average annual growth rate of 3.4 percent expected from 2015 to 2020, the strong growth period seems to be over and the dynamic start-up atmosphere of the past appears to be more or less history. The entire industry already has a market size of over 350 billion euros, with intense rigid competition among existing players. M&A mega deals are currently reshaping the industry and consolidating the market.

Here are the top 10 wealthiest companies in the world and their sectors in 2018:

So there we have it, Apple topped as the highest earner for the Semiconductor and various other industries. If they manage to stay on top and Samsung Electronics move up in rankings then the Semiconductor industry could look to really rule the world!