Did PC Makers Overbuild in Anticipation of Windows 7?
Comments by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) yesterday apparently have triggered worries on the Street that the PC manufacturers, in their zealous optimism about the prospects for Microsoft Windows 7 (MSFT), may have built too many PCs.
As I noted last night, AMD said on its post-earnings conference call with the Street that it expects a less-than-seasonal sequential increase in Q4 revenues, due in part to the “the big build we’ve seen of PCs in anticipation of the Win 7 launch.”
That has triggered concerns that the PC industry has built too much inventory–and that it could result in both reduced component consumption in Q4 and beyond, and lower pricing for memory, which has benefited in recent weeks from higher NAND and DRAM prices.