Analyst: 3 Chip Makers Put More Gear In Latest Samsung Phone

Three specialty chip makers have probably picked up significant business related to the newly unveiled Galaxy S6 smartphone from Samsung Electronics Ltd. (OTC: SSNLF).

The phone debuted with generally favorable reviews at a trade show March 1 and is expected to go on sale April 10.

Citi's Atif Malik said significant new content in the new phone relative to Samsung's earlier S5 model was picked up by Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) and Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NASDAQ: FCS).

Malik maintained Buy ratings on all three companies.

Avago doubled the content it provides to the new Samsung phone and Fairchild's is up by between 20 percent and 30 percent, according to Malik.

The analyst didn't offer a similar estimate for Rambus, but noted that the company is a major Samsung customer for security licensing, memory and so called systems-on-a-chip.

Rambus will benefit from an increased emphasis on cryptography as the need for secure elements within hardware becomes increasingly important, Malik said.

Radio frequency chip maker Avago will benefit from carrier aggregation as well as increased complexity of components.

Fairchild brand adaptive and wireless charging technologies are likely included in Samsung's new phone.

But Malik expects Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will become a larger customer than Samsung for Fairchild, if adaptive charging technology which speeds battery recharging, becomes more widely adopted.