Semiconductor R&D spending by company

[Daniel Nenni]

To make a list of the top 12 companies that spend the most on semiconductor R&D, we initially found the largest semiconductor companies. The largest semiconductor companies were separated based on their market cap. We made a list of the top 30 companies, building on the hypothesis that larger companies spend more on R&D as well. We then individually looked up their trailing twelve-month research and development expenses from Macrotrends. The companies have been ranked based on the trailing twelve-month research and development expenses for the latest data available:

1. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $16.52 Billion

2. QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of June 30, 2023: $8.86 Billion

3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of July 31, 2023: $7.81 Billion

4. Advanced Micro Devices Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMD)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $5.73 Billion

5. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $5.53 Billion

6. Broadcom Incorporated (NASDAQ:AVGO)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of July 31, 2023: $5.06 Billion

7. Micron Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MU)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of August 31, 2023: $3.11 Billion

8. NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of June 30, 2023: $2.25 Billion

9. Marvell Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MRVL)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of July 31, 2023: $1.85 Billion

10. Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $1.84 Billion

Semiconductor R&D spending by company: Top 12

In this article, we will talk about the top 12 semiconductor companies that spend the most on research and development. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to Semiconductor R&D Spending By Company: Top 5. The Global Semiconductor Shortage Semiconductors are vital for...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[hskuo]

View attachment 1535

To make a list of the top 12 companies that spend the most on semiconductor R&D, we initially found the largest semiconductor companies. The largest semiconductor companies were separated based on their market cap. We made a list of the top 30 companies, building on the hypothesis that larger companies spend more on R&D as well. We then individually looked up their trailing twelve-month research and development expenses from Macrotrends. The companies have been ranked based on the trailing twelve-month research and development expenses for the latest data available:

1. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $16.52 Billion

2. QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of June 30, 2023: $8.86 Billion

3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of July 31, 2023: $7.81 Billion

4. Advanced Micro Devices Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMD)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $5.73 Billion

5. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $5.53 Billion

6. Broadcom Incorporated (NASDAQ:AVGO)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of July 31, 2023: $5.06 Billion

7. Micron Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MU)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of August 31, 2023: $3.11 Billion

8. NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of June 30, 2023: $2.25 Billion

9. Marvell Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MRVL)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of July 31, 2023: $1.85 Billion

10. Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN)​

Trailing Twelve Months R&D Expense as of September 30, 2023: $1.84 Billion

Semiconductor R&D spending by company: Top 12

In this article, we will talk about the top 12 semiconductor companies that spend the most on research and development. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to Semiconductor R&D Spending By Company: Top 5. The Global Semiconductor Shortage Semiconductors are vital for...

finance.yahoo.com

It seems too low for TSM CapEX. So I checked TSM's earnings call. CapEx for Q2+Q3 2023 will be ~$15B vs Q1+Q2+Q3 $5.53B here. Something wrong in this report.

 

[lilo777]

It seems too low for TSM CapEX. So I checked TSM's earnings call. CapEx for Q2+Q3 2023 will be ~$15B vs Q1+Q2+Q3 $5.53B here. Something wrong in this report.
View attachment 1536

You are confusing R&D with capital expenditures.

 

[hskuo]

You are confusing R&D with capital expenditures.

No. Updated, I was confused. Thanks.

 

[Arthur Hanson]

Efficiency of capital and research expenditures is key. Bang for the buck as they say and there are radical differences in application, use and effectiveness of expenditures. Strategy is also key, business can be like a game of chess or go.

 

[nghanayem]

Shame we can’t see SK, Samsung memory, and Samsung logic r&d. I am curious how Micron compares given their current technological leadership. Or Samsung logic vs MTK+TSMC for an apples vs oranges but still fruit comparison.

 

[Jumper]

It's funny how AMD and Nvidia don't even invest half of the R&D Intel does yet they have so much better products.

 

[count]

Are Intel numbers correct? They did like $53b in revenue but spent $16b+ on R&D?

 

[Xebec]

Are Intel numbers correct? They did like $53b in revenue but spent $16b+ on R&D?

Intel is technically competing against: the entirety of Nvidia (GPU, AI, server), AMD (CPU, GPU, AI, server), and TSMC (fabrication, packaging, etc.) so it makes sense they’d have pretty high R&D relative to the others. I’m a little surprised TSMC is as low as shown given the amount of work on packaging and advanced nodes they have in play.

 

[blueone]

Intel is technically competing against: the entirety of Nvidia (GPU, AI, server), AMD (CPU, GPU, AI, server), and TSMC (fabrication, packaging, etc.) so it makes sense they’d have pretty high R&D relative to the others.

Agreed, at a high level. As a percentage of revenue, Intel and Nvidia have similar R&D expenditures.

I’m a little surprised TSMC is as low as shown given the amount of work on packaging and advanced nodes they have in play.

Most of Intel's R&D is spent in high cost geos, like the US. Some is spent in lower cost geos like India, Malaysia, Central America, and eastern Europe (e.g. Poland). But most of Intel's R&D is in the US and Israel. TSMC's fully loaded cost per engineer in Taiwan is probably much lower than Intel's average, so TSMC gets more engineers per million US dollars than Intel (and I'm sure Nvidia).

 

[lilo777]

Are Intel numbers correct? They did like $53b in revenue but spent $16b+ on R&D?

It does look unlikely but according to Statista the number is correct.

 

[SPQR54]

When you compare you have to take into account that for IDMs you have both process and product development spending, fabless only product and foundries only process.

 

[count]

It does look unlikely but according to Statista the number is correct.

Wow, I can't imagine that level of R&D can be sustained. I'm guessing it will probably drop a fair bit since I'm sure some of it is in businesses that Intel has exited or spun out over the last year.

 

[IanD]

Wow, I can't imagine that level of R&D can be sustained. I'm guessing it will probably drop a fair bit since I'm sure some of it is in businesses that Intel has exited or spun out over the last year.

No, it's because they're throwing huge -- and unsustainable -- amounts of money at their process and fabs to try and catch up with TSMC.

 

[blueone]

No, it's because they're throwing huge -- and unsustainable -- amounts of money at their process and fabs to try and catch up with TSMC.

Capital expenditures (building and outfitting fabs) are not included in R&D.

 

[count]

Capital expenditures (building and outfitting fabs) are not included in R&D.

Yeah that is the crazy part. Capex on buildings and equipment is usually a different bucket. I just checked and it looks like PPE spending is $24b last year, that's in excess of the $16b in R&D.

 

[hist78]

Assume Intel Foundry Service needs to match TSMC US$5.53 billion(TTM) R&D spending in order to catch up TSMC and to achieve the stated 4-year/5-node goal. The following is my Intel R&D allocation estimate.

All in US$ billion.

You can change the allocation percentage to your own number but the overall situation doesn't change too much. I believe Intel R&D expense has been stretched too thin into multiple directions. Most Intel competitors and those system companies who are deploying in-house designed chips are very focused on developing a few semiconductor products. In many cases they can easily spend more in R&D than Intel does for a particular product. This is probably one of the reasons why Intel keeps missing or arriving late for new market opportunities, such as smartphones, 4G/5G modems, Chiplets, GPU, advanced packaging, and AI. Intel even allowed AMD to catch up or surpass in client computing and server products. To keep this post short, I will post some analysis in another post.

Another way to evaluate the possible $5.62 billion R&D Intel spent on IFS is to compare it with IFS revenue. If IFS can reach $10 billion non-Intel revenue by 2026 and Intel will still maintain the same level of yearly R&D expenses on IFS, will $5 billion IFS R&D on a $10 billion IFS revenue make sense? To put it into perspective, Samsung Foundry 2022 revenue was US$5.39 billion.

Intel definitely can choose to spend less on IFS R&D. But how can Intel catch up TSMC with less R&D budget than TSMC has?

 

[hist78]

In terms of percentage of revenue spent on R&D, Intel's $16.52 billion R&D spending is the second highest among the top 11 semiconductor companies by R&D spending. At such 31.25% high level, Intel doesn't really have any room to spend more on R&D unless it can increase its revenue much faster and bigger. Intel needs new killer products/services to increase revenue quickly but new products and services also require more R&D. Then it goes to the Chickens or the Eggs dilemma.

In US$ Billion
TTM = Trailing 12-month
Sorted by R&D Expense

I estimated Samsung Semiconductor 2022 R&D Expense by using the following calculations:

 

[hist78]

In the coming months and years, those system companies who develop chips in-house will dilute the demand on Intel and AMD products. They clearly have a lot room to spend more on semiconductor R&D. They probably already spent more than Intel and AMD did on products related to AI, VR, networking, or image processing. The percentage of R&D spent by the following companies in semiconductor development are based on my own assessment on their semiconductor product types, market, and scale.

 

[hist78]

It's funny how AMD and Nvidia don't even invest half of the R&D Intel does yet they have so much better products.

Although it's the largest R&D spending in the semiconductor industry, Intel's R&D budget has been allocated to too many places. I suspect Intel may actually spend less R&D on AI, VR, GPU, DPU, and networking than some of its competitors such as Nvidia, AMD, Google, or Microsoft.