1. Counterpoint: Smartphone AP/SoC inventory will return to normal in the second half of the year
According to IT House, Counterpoint released an analysis report saying that the smartphone market will remain flat year-on-year in 2023, inventory will be adjusted in the first half of the year, and demand is expected to pick up in the second half of the year. Excess smartphone AP/SoC inventory is expected to return to normal levels by the end of the second half.
In addition to high-end chips, Qualcomm also has opportunities in the more affected low-end AP/SoC market. Qualcomm will try to regain some of the mid-to-low-end market share from MediaTek.
2. Canalys: It is expected that the overall inventory days of computer manufacturers will further improve in the first quarter
According to a report from IT House, Canalys released a report that in the fourth quarter of 2022, global shipments of desktop and notebook computers fell by 9% to 65.4 million units. The report noted that days of inventory at HP and Asus have begun to decrease, while Dell, Lenovo and Acer have seen slight increases. As all manufacturers reduce production, it is expected that the overall inventory days will further improve in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, and it is expected to return to normal levels in the second quarter of 2023.
Among PC components, memory and display screens are the most volatile, and their price movements will signal a recovery in the PC market. Display prices have reached cash cost in the third quarter of 2022 and are not expected to continue to decrease until the second quarter of 2023. As manufacturers cut production, memory prices will soon bottom out. Following PC and smartphone makers’ inventory revisions, component makers’ inventory levels are expected to continue to rise and peak in the second quarter of 2023 before purchasing volumes pick up.
3. Mobile phone demand is sluggish, MLCC leader Murata closes two branches
According to the Science and Technology Board Daily News on the 22nd, the official website of the global MLCC leader Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. announced that due to the sluggish demand for smartphones, two subsidiaries of Saitama Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. will be closed.
The announcement shows that Murata has closed its overseas subsidiary Huacheng Electronics Co., Ltd. in Taiwan on January 31 this year, and will close its subsidiary COILTEC in Japan on April 30. Both bases are subsidiaries of Saitama Murata Manufacturing Co.
4. The world’s leading: the “coldest” in the first quarter, and it is expected to gradually recover from the second quarter
According to the Science and Technology Board Daily on the 21st, the wafer foundry World Advanced held a law conference, and it is estimated that the revenue in the first quarter will decline by about 15% from the previous quarter, and the gross profit rate may face a 30% defense battle.
Chairman Fang Lue said that the first quarter was “the coldest quarter of this year”, and it is expected that the temperature will recover from the second quarter, and the gross profit margin will also improve quarter by quarter. From the perspective of segmented business, the inventory correction of large-size TV panel driver IC customers has come to an end in the fourth quarter of last year, and gradually recovered in the first quarter; Seasonal demand will stabilize; demand related to power management, data center/cloud, etc. continues to face inventory correction.