“It’s important to avoid painting semis with a broad sector brush,” said Brent Fredberg, portfolio manager at Brandes Investment Partners. “The concern is that the industry may now be entering a period of excess inventory digestion.”
This year’s AI stock frenzy has papered over cracks in the semiconductor market. Beyond the enthusiasm for the likes of Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, it’s a mixed picture for investors.
Recent earnings pointed to slumping industrial and networking chip markets, while some on Wall Street are bracing for the impact of a potential economic slowdown on automobile chips. On the flip side, smartphone components and personal computers look set for recovery, according to Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp.
