Market watchers expect demand for memory chips to drop in the second half of the year due to sluggish PC, data servers, and smartphone shipments. Samsung warns that the sharp downturn in memory chip sales could extend into 2023.
In a media briefing earlier this week, Samsung co-CEO and head of the semiconductor unit, Kyung Kye-hyun, said: “The second half of this year looks bad, and as of now, next year doesn't really seem to show a clear momentum for much improvement.” (via WSJ)
Samsung won't be the only company affected by sluggish demand in Q3 2022. Analysts expect this to be the case for the entire chipset market, as consumer spending on IT devices is taking a sharp downturn in Q3.
Earlier this summer, market watchers predicted DRAM prices in Q3 to drop by around 10% as suppliers brace for a drop in demand. GPU memory chip sales are dropping due to a decline in the cryptocurrency market. The data server market has an oversupply of memory chips, and PC sales are expected to drop further. (via WCCF TECH)
Samsung's semiconductor business performed well in Q2 2022 and contributed to a rise in operating profits of more than 15% year-on-year. And speaking of semiconductors, Samsung's Exynos division had reasons to celebrate in Q2 2022, as the Exynos brand of mobile chips was the only one to have not suffered from a decline in quarterly shipments.
Samsung recently began chip production at its largest chip manufacturing facility ever, where its most advanced NAND flash chips are planned to enter production. Meanwhile, the company is trying to avoid becoming collateral damage in the China-USA chip war. The conflict could prevent Samsung from shipping new manufacturing equipment to its factories in China — explained Kyung Kye-hyun during a recent media tour of its Pyeongtaek facilities.
