Electronic System Design Industry Achieves Record Q1 Revenue Growth

Article By : SEMI

The electronic system design (ESD) industry revenue rose by 17% to $3.16 billion in the first quarter of 2021, the strongest first-quarter growth ever.

Electronic system design (ESD) industry revenue increased by 17% to $3.157 billion in the first quarter of 2021, the strongest first-quarter growth ever, according to the Q1 2021 Electronic Design Market Data (EDMD) report by the ESD Alliance, a SEMI Technology Community. The first-quarter revenue compares to $2.698 billion in Q1 2020. The four-quarter moving average, which compares the most recent four quarters to the prior four, rose by 15%—the highest annual growth since 2011.

“The industry reported substantial, double-digit year-over-year revenue growth for Q1 2021,” said Walden C. Rhines, Executive Sponsor, SEMI Electronic Design Market Data report. “All product categories significantly contributed, with double-digit growth in the computer aided engineering (CAE), IC physical design and verification, printed circuit board and multi-chip module (PCB and MCM), and semiconductor IP (SIP) segments.

“Geographically, the Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific (APAC) also reported double-digit growth. Q1 2021 marked a new high for quarterly growth of total license and maintenance revenue, as well as IC physical design and verification.”

The companies tracked in the EDMD report employed 49,024 people in Q1 2021, a 6.7% increase over the Q1 2020 headcount of 45,938 and up 1.1% compared to Q4 2020.

The quarterly EDMD report contains detailed revenue information with the following category and geographic breakdowns.

Revenue by Product and Application Category

• CAE revenue increased by 14% to $974.1 million compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter CAE moving average increased 12.5%.
• IC Physical Design and Verification revenue surged by 34.4% to $682.5 million compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter moving average for the category rose 23.6%.
• Printed Circuit Board and Multi-Chip Module (PCB and MCM) revenue increased by 15.3% to $289.2 million compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter moving average for PCB and MCM increased 5.3%.
• SIP revenue rose by 12.9% to $1.11 billion compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter SIP moving average grew 17.1%.
• Services revenue slightly increased (0.1%) to $98.9 million compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter Services moving average held steady with no growth.

Revenue by Region

• The Americas, the largest reporting region by revenue, purchased $1,285.3 million of electronic system design products and services in Q1 2021, a 15% increase compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter moving average for the Americas rose 13.5%.
• Europe, Middle East, and Africa revenue increased 14% to $447.3 million compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter moving average for EMEA grew 6.7%.
• Japan revenue decreased 3.7% to $258.8 million compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter moving average for Japan rose 4.3%.
• Asia Pacific revenue increased 26.9% to $1,166.3 million compared to Q1 2020. The four-quarter moving average for APAC increased 23.8%.