Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ:MRVL) makes semiconductor chips predominantly used in hard drives. Their chips also can be found in a wide range of communication applications such as network routers, Microsoft Xbox, and smartphones. Marvell's semiconductor chips power electronics such as Research in Motion’s Blackberry, the Amazon Kindle, and Apple’s iPhone and iPod with wireless-internet capabilities.^[1] The company earned $2.8 billion in revenue and $353 million in net income in 2009.^[2]

Marvell is a fabless semiconductor company, meaning that they outsource the actual production of their semiconductors to other factories. Marvell’s revenue growth has primary come from sales of its semiconductors designed for data storage.^[3] Although headquartered in the United States, Marvell generates 96% of its revenue from outside the US (mainly in Asia).^[4] The slowdown in the global economy has led to lower sales growth for Marvell's storage products. As a result, revenue growth for the company's semiconductor products have fallen during the slowdown.

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