Weak PC Demand Hits Chip Makers’ Earnings
Asia’s major memory-chip makers continued to post weak results in the third quarter as personal-computer demand waned, with consumers switching to mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones.
Makers of dynamic random access memory chips for PCs have been struggling in recent years with falling prices and slack demand as PC manufacturers cope with the slowdown. And while DRAM prices had recovered some as oversupply temporarily eased with the bankruptcy-protection filing in February of Japan’s sole maker, Elpida Memory Inc., they have resumed their downward trend in recent months.
