News: Markets
30 September 2022
RF GaAs device revenue declining in 2022 with softening of handset demand
After turning the tide in 2020 from the first decline in more than a decade, revenue for RF gallium arsenide (GaAs) devices continued its upward trajectory in 2021, summarizes the ‘RF GaAs Device Technology and Market Forecast: 2021 – 2026’ from Strategy Analytics Advanced Semiconductor Applications (ASA).
The report identifies 5G devices and networks as the primary reason for this growth, but it also points out some trouble on the horizon, forecasting that revenue will decline in 2022 as inflation, trade sanctions, supply chain issues and global economic uncertainty prove too much to overcome.
Beyond 2022 however, growth will resume, with RF GaAs device revenue approaching $9.3bn by 2026. Wider deployment of 5G handsets and networks will be the growth engine for future RF GaAs device revenue growth.
“The RF GaAs device market has been pretty impervious to the forces affecting global economies the past few years,” notes Eric Higham, director of the Advanced Semiconductor Applications (ASA) and Advanced Defense System (ADS) service. “GaAs device revenue ties so strongly to the cellular market, and the uptake of 5G with more RF content has powered revenue growth these past two years,” he adds. “However, we now see substantial softening of handset demand in 2022 that will cause RF GaAs device revenue to drop in 2022. Fortunately, the underlying growth trends remain strong and, as inflation subsides and global economies get back to growth, RF GaAs device revenue will turn upward.”
