PC demand is falling, and Acer's chairman believes the worst is yet to come

PC demand is rapidly declining, and Chen Junsheng, chairman of the brand giant Acer, said yesterday that the worst is yet to come.

Acer predicts that the PC industry market will "bottom out" by the middle of next year but not rebound. Shipments in the first half of 2022 are still high, and shipments are expected to decline by double digits in the first half of 2023 and stabilize in the second half, but it does not mean a rebound.

Chen Junsheng said that Acer's operational goal is to be "slow and steady", focusing on the two indicators of inventory amount and cash level. In terms of inventory, Acer's inventory in the second quarter of this year is about NT$60 billion, and the goal is to drop to the normal range of NT$40 billion to NT$50 billion.

Taiwan media pointed out that despite the overall weak market conditions in the industry, Acer still made gains in individual fields. Data shows that Acer Chromebook has gradually increased its market share since Q1 this year, and ranked first in the world with a market share of 24% in the third quarter.