Chip makers expect demand slowdown to expand beyond PCs, smartphones

Intel Corp shocked the market two weeks ago with a quarterly loss and cut its full-year outlook. Advanced Micro Devices Inc days later issued a muted outlook, and Nvidia Corp on Monday warned that sales would come in below its own forecast. — Electronic board photo created by xb100 - www.freepik.com

The chip industry that was bracing for a difficult period with laptop sales slumping is adjusting to a wider and sharper slowdown even as semiconductor companies prepare to spend billions of dollars on new factories.

"The market is worse than we thought it would be," Mark Murphy, chief financial officer at memory maker Micron Technology Inc, said Tuesday. On the same day, President Joe Biden signed an investment plan that allocates more than US$50bil (RM222.85bil) to finance future US chip development and production.