ROUNDUP: The Chip Shortage Has Turned Into a Chip Glut
Plus: Don't call them NFTs and you'll sell plenty and what actually happened at Twitter
Wccftech's source say since the Nvidia RTX 4090 went on sale last month, Nvidia has shipped around 100,000 GPUs to partners in order to ready them for RTX 4090 designs. A worry about shortages has proved to be unwarranted. In fact, we may be facing a chip glut. The Wall Street Journal reports that chip execs are pausing hiring and cutting costs due to high inventory levels.
Wednesday, Qualcomm noted it was "making further reductions to operating expenses as needed". Qualcomm's CFO said "we went from a period of supply shortages to demand declines." Last week Intel said it was preparing layoffs, slowing down production at some plants, and deferring purchases of the most costly chip-making equipment until demand warranted it. And this week AMD said it was slowing down hiring in the face of slumping demand.
Electronics manufacturers stockpiled chips during shortages to make sure they could meet demand. Now many chip makers report that those manufacturers have not stocked up on chips in advance of holiday sales, as they burn through that built-up inventory.
During the shortage, companies planned big capacity increases. Now those plans are being curtailed. Micron reduced its current fiscal year capital expenditure plans by 30%. Intel lowered its by $2 billion. And TSMC cut its capital spending forecast for the year by 10%. Government subsidies are keeping new construction going though, leaving some to wonder if new factories built with those subsidies will stand idle.
But there's some hope. While economic uncertainty will remain into next year, companies are also anticipating new demand to come from rising sales of TVs, internet-of-things and AR glasses. Those are chips that need to be built on new processes, so those new plants might yet get some use.
Here are some more topics I wrote about this week.
Netflix and HBO take Different Approaches to Streaming Survival
To Succeed at NFTs, Reddit Doesn't Call them NFTs
What Actually Happened at Twitter: Layoffs, Ad Pauses, and a Lawsuit
PSVR2 Preorder November 15th, Ships February 22nd
YouTube Lets You add Cable Channels Without Needing YouTube TV
How The Google Watch Predicted an Earthquake in San Francisco
Amazon Expands Free Music for Prime Members, Reduces Functions
Etsy Enables the Ability to Search Using a Picture
Holoride Ties an AR Experience to the Car You're Riding In
Paid subscribers can scroll down for more details on these.
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