Chips: Needham Cuts Estimates; Sees Q1 Revs Off 15-20 Percent

Now that we’re experiencing Q4 earnings reports in all their glory, the time has come to shift focus to Q1. That’s what Needham chip analyst N. Quinn Bolton did this morning. And the picture is not pretty.

Bolton says he now expects Q1 revenues for most of the companies he covers to be down 15-20 percent sequentially, with Q2 sequentially flat. (His previous theory was that Q1 would be down about 10 percent.) He says that currently depressed orders have been depressed by supply chain-wide inventory reductions, but that “visibility into a snapback in orders remains uncertain.” His current theory: Slash estimates to the bone, and hope the companies can start to beat them in the second half.

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