Not all vendors did so well, as NEC Electronics and Infineon Technologies underperformed their respective markets by more than 10 percent and were placed at the bottom of the RIP ranking of top 25 vendors.

For NEC Electronics, it suffered from intense competition in mobile phone and data processing markets, as well as a more fundamental lack of strategic direction.

Infineon's poor performance was due to falling revenue in the communications market because of a decline in demand for its products from struggling BenQ Mobile, which acquired Siemens' mobile phone arm during 2005.

While the industry has reached new levels in revenue, Gartner analysts said major risks still exist for vendors.

"Semiconductor manufacturers need to watch the performance of their end customers ever more closely as a major part of the industry becomes increasingly tied to consumer spending patterns," Norwood says.