Semiconductor (chip) stocks

The chipmakers power much of the world's technology, making it possible for loved ones to talk face-to-face from across an ocean or for Wall Street to move billions of dollars in the blink of an eye. Never has the sector been more competitive, with more than 750 companies vying globally to build the insides of the next hot device or power future megacomputers.

6/2015: In two separate record deals recently, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) agreed to purchase Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) for $17 billion in cash, and Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO) agreed to buy Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) for $37 billion in cash and stock.
In March 2015, NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI) announced it was buying Freescale Semiconductor Ltd. (NYSE: FSL) for $12 billion.

(by market cap)                
Ticker       Company name Mkt Cap▼

• INTC     Intel Corp.  157.4B; California-based; stable PC market, strong growth in digital color graphics, improved profitability in mobile and a very large share repurchase plan.
• TXN    Texas Instruments    62.22B
• AVGO    Avago Technologies 32.59B; Singapore-based Apple supplier
• BRCM   Broadcom Corp.  27.09B; California-based; top supplier to both Samsung and Apple
• ARMH ARM Holdings  25.12B :  United Kingdom; Apple supplier; maker of chips used in smartphones. A dominant player in the smartphone tablet market. It licenses its chip technology to some tech heavyweights like Apple, Samsung and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), among others, that also pay royalties.
• NXPI      NXP Semiconductors N.V.     21.39B: Netherlands-based; the world’s number one supplier for small-signal discretes; will supply the near field communications (NFC) module and secure element NFC booster chip. NFC is a set of standards for smartphones and other devices like the Apple Watch to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimeters.
• SWKS    Skyworks Solutions   16.74B : Woburn, Mass.-based; The company makes radio frequency chips used in Apple's iPhone 6, Samsung's Galaxy GS5 as well as many other wireless devices. 
• FSL    Freescale Semiconductor   11.06B: Bermuda-based.  March 1, 2015:  NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) to buy Freescale Semiconductor (FSL) for in an $11.8 billion.
• QRVO Qorvo 10.30B: North Carolina; radio frequency (RF) solutions for mobile, infrastructure, and aerospace and defense applications.
• MXIM Maxim Integrated Products 10.25B
• STM STMicroelectronics NV 9.07B; Switzerland -based
• ONNN ON Semiconductor Corp. 5.46B
• CY Cypress Semiconductor 4.98B
• AUO AU Optronics Corp.; 4.92B Taiwan-based
• CAVM Cavium, Inc. 3.84B
• ATML Atmel Corporation 3.57B
• MPWR   Monolithic Power Systems  2.05B:  California-based; designs high-performance, energy-efficient analog semiconductors for use in cloud computing, telecom, automotive and other industries.
• CRUS     Cirrus Logic   1.90B ; Austin, Texas-based; Apple supplier; makes audio integrated circuits and microphones used in smartphones.
• Lam Research (LRCX)
• Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Nova Measuring Instrument (NVMI)
• Cascade Microtech (CSCD)
• Tessera Technologies (TSRA)
• Cabot Microelectronics (CCMP)
• Advanced Energy (AEIS)
• PDF Solutions (PDFS)
• Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC)
• MKS Instruments (MKSI)
• PMC-Sierra (NASDAQ:PMCS)