What They Say
Despite the weakening market conditions for finished sets, the equipment makers are doing well, reported DSCC in a blog post (registration needed). Q4 2021 was a record quarter for the segment, with total revenues for the 19 companies tracked reaching $22.9 billion., up 4% on a quarterly basis and 10% from 2020. 11 of the 19 companies had Q/Q growth with seven declining and one flat.
However, the overall revenues disguised the trend that looking at display equipment only (and excluding other semiconductor equipment), revenues were $1.6 billion, down 43% annualkly and 19% for the quarter, after a high result at the end of 2020.
As usual, there’s lots more detail in the article.
What We Think
Good quarters, in this case as the industry started to get over the early impact of Covid at the end of 2020, make it harder to show strong results. Over the longer term, Q4 2021 was down my much less on Q4 2019, before the impact of Covid.
Pretty well all of my business experience has been in or around what I would call ‘run rate’ businesses, which, crises and pandemics apart, would tend to change by certain percentages every year. The PC market in the ’80s was good growth, but it was consistent, every year. I’m not sure how companies in the capex markets cope with the huge swings in value and profitability! (BR)
