In 2023, the global economic recovery after the end of the epidemic was slow, regional differentiation intensified, and the semiconductor industry was sluggish due to weak downstream demand. According to SIA data, the global semiconductor industry's total sales in 2023 were $526.8 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.2%. However, sales have rebounded in the second half of 2023, with Q4 sales increasing by 11.6% year-on-year and 8.4% month on month. The semiconductor industry is entering a new stage of bottoming out and rebounding.

At the same time, the global distribution and supply chain industry has undergone significant changes in 2023 and needs to address the impacts of technological progress, market fluctuations, policy changes, and other factors. The semiconductor distribution industry has transitioned from a sustained shortage to a sluggish state, which has brought new challenges and opportunities to distributors.

The top tier of global electronic component distribution

In 2023, in terms of revenue, as the global leader in electronic component distribution, iResearch Electronics ranked first with a revenue of 33.11 billion US dollars. Anfuli, Dalian University of Science and Technology, and Wenye followed closely behind, occupying 2-4 places.

  Among them, American manufacturers such as Airui Electronics and Anfuli started early and have a long history. For example, Anfuli has been established for over a hundred years and has strong capabilities. The second is Taiwan, China manufacturers' congress and Wenye.

From the perspective of sales regions, Airui Electronics and Anfuli, as the first tier international distributors, have businesses covering the world. Da Lian Da and Wen Ye, as the first tier regional agents and distributors, mainly focus on the Asian market.

As a global leader in electronic component distribution, Airui Electronics has been deeply affected by the downturn in the semiconductor industry. Airui Electronics achieved a total revenue of 33.107 billion US dollars in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 11%. In Q4 of 2023, sales of iResearch Electronics decreased by 16% year-on-year, but the month on month decline narrowed, with a 2% month on month decline in Q4. Airui Electronics stated that the Q4 industrial terminal market continued to be weak, with relatively strong vertical sectors in aerospace, defense, and medical equipment, as well as month on month growth in the Asian data center and transportation markets. Airui Electronics adopts a dual wheel drive strategy of strategic acquisition and internal growth, continuously expanding its product line and market coverage, investing in high profit margin products and solutions, and enhancing market competitiveness and profitability. The synergistic effect between component business and ECS business is also significant, with component business as the main source of income, stable cash flow, supporting ECS business growth, and relatively stable performance.

Anfuli is composed of two major groups, Electronic Components (EC) and Farnell, covering the world. EC focuses on distributing electronic components, serving customers in multiple industries, and providing full lifecycle support, including design chain support and supply chain solutions.. Farnell mainly targets small batch customers and provides tools, components, and testing equipment through e-commerce platforms. In the fiscal year 2023, Anfuli's operating revenue increased, with Q4 sales increasing from $6.4 billion to $6.6 billion and annual sales increasing from $24.3 billion to $26.5 billion. However, in the second quarter ending December 30, 2023, Anfuli's revenue was $6.205 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.63% and a month on month decrease of 2.06%.

Da Lian Da is the third largest electronic component distributor in the world and the largest in the Asia Pacific region. The total revenue of the University of Hong Kong in 2023 was NT $672.18 billion, a decrease of 13.4% compared to the same period last year, which was NT $776.11 billion. Q4 revenue exceeded the financial forecast range of 170 billion to 180 billion yuan, reaching NT $183.38 billion, an annual increase of 3.4% and a quarterly decrease of 2% compared to the same period last year, which was NT $177.36 billion. According to the United Nations University, Q4 revenue exceeded financial expectations, mainly due to the continuous demand for non 3C market applications such as industrial electronics and automotive electronics driven by automation demand, as well as the continuous production of customers in North America and Southeast Asia.

Under the continuous downturn in the chip industry, Wenye Technology has staged a counter trend explosion and achieved a historic high in performance. In 2023, the combined revenue for the entire year was NT $594.519 billion, an annual increase of approximately 4% compared to 2022, setting a new record for annual revenue. Q4 merged revenue of NT $189.7 billion, a quarterly increase of 13.41% and a growth of about 20% compared to the same period in 2022, setting a new quarterly revenue record. In September 2023, Wen Ye announced the acquisition of 100% stake in Fuchang Electronics for $3.8 billion, with delivery expected to be completed in the first half of 2024. Undoubtedly, the acquisition of Fuchang Electronics is like adding wings to Wen Ye, and both the richness of the product line and the scale of revenue will be further improved in 2024.

In 2023, global semiconductor market sales were sluggish, with industry sales declining by 8.2% year-on-year. According to SIA data, semiconductor sales are expected to break free from contraction and turn to growth in 2024, with an estimated year-on-year increase of 13.1% to $588.4 billion. With the semiconductor industry bottoming out and rebounding, the performance of the top 4 global electronic component distributors in 2023 has improved quarter by quarter, and it is expected to further stabilize and recover in 2024. It should be noted that the specific strength of market rebound requires close attention to the actual recovery of the global and major economies, as well as market demand.

About The Author

This is reported by Top Components, a leading supplier of electronic components in the semiconductor industry. They are committed to providing customers around the world with the most necessary, outdated, licensed, and hard-to-find parts.

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Name: John Chen

Email: salesdept@topcomponents.ru