What you need to know
- Several PC manufacturers have reportedly lowered forecasts and expect lower PC sales in upcoming quarter due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
- HP, Dell, and Asus have told suppliers to lower production, according to a report by Nikkei Asia.
- HP, Dell, Samsung, and Microsoft have stopped sales in Russia during the war.
Inflation and the war in Ukraine are affecting PC sale forecasts, according to a report by Nikkei Asia. The outlet cites several sources claiming that PC manufacturers are lowering forecasts for the upcoming quarters. HP, Dell, and Asus have reportedly told suppliers to lower production for the next six months.
An executive of a supplier to Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo spoke to Nikkei Asia about the potential drop in PC sales. "We started to receive notices from some clients to build less components and parts since the middle of February and we've been in constant communication with the clients in the past one month over the dynamic market situation since the war...Now one of their priorities is to carefully manage their inventory level at retail channels."
Nikkei Asia predicts that PC shipments will drop by at least a single digit on the year over the next three months. This would be in contrast to the PC growth seen throughout the pandemic. It would also be a notable difference compared to recent forecasts.
"One month ago, our internal forecast still saw a mild growth from last year. But now we really don't see that growth momentum, and for the next two quarters, we now revert to seeing a year-over-year decline," said a manager at an unnamed U.S. PC maker to Nikkei Asia.
MSI Chairman and President Joseph Hsu echoed similar sentiments to investors, warning that the quarter covering April to June will be the lowest of the year due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Several major companies, including HP, Dell, Samsung, and Microsoft, have stopped or suspended new sales in Russia. Nikkei Asia reports that Acer, Asus, and MSI have also suspended sales in Russia, though there haven't been any public statements announcing a stop of sales.
