Although Dell and HP reported quarterly revenues that exceeded estimates, both companies announced that the shortage of semiconductors will be a factor that could generate a reduction in the production of laptops throughout this year, as “the supply of components continues being limited, ”said Thomas Sweet, Dell’s chief financial officer.
Sweet also added that rising costs to source the semiconductors would have a negative impact on operating income for the current quarter. Following this statement, Dell shares fell 1%.
For its part, HP, which is second among global PC suppliers, said the chip shortage would impose a limit on its ability to supply computers and printers at least until the end of the year. In his case, the shares fell as much as 6%.
The reason why both companies exceeded the estimates is because the population continues to purchase equipment due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic. Data from the research firm IDC indicated that in the first three months of the year, worldwide shipments of PCs (laptops and desktops) grew 55.2%.
In specific terms, Dell’s revenue grew 12% to $ 24.49 billion, topping the estimated $ 23.4 billion, while HP posted overall revenue of $ 15.9 billion, above the expected $ 15 billion.
Although the year started well for these companies, the industry knows that it will be difficult to overcome the shortages. A couple of weeks ago, Dell CEO Michael Dell released his forecast for this crisis, noting that “the shortage is likely to continue for a few years. Even if chip factories are built around the world, it will take time. “
Faced with this situation, some companies in the sector, such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Intel have come together to pressure the United States government and thus obtain financing for the manufacture of inputs.
They even formed the Semiconductors in America Coalition , where Amazon Web Services also participates, through which they have asked the legislators of that country to provide funds for the CHIPS for America Act, for which President Biden has asked Congress for 50,000 millions of dollars.
“Strong funding from the CHIPS Act would help the United States build the additional capacity needed to build stronger supply chains and ensure critical technologies are there when we need them,” the group said in a letter to leaders in both houses of Congress.
This crisis has affected different industries, such as the automotive, video games and also telecommunications operators in Mexico, because according to data from the consulting firm Select, the sale of mobile equipment and services fell 2% during the first quarter of 2021 and they even achieved lower income compared to the same period of the previous year.
And it is that during the most critical stage of the pandemic, the chip factories were forced to close to prevent the spread of the virus, which prevented the supply of global orders and after the return to work, the excess demand for equipment generated a shortage in the industry.
