According to industry insiders, as the stay-at-home economy triggered by the epidemic gradually subsides, IC design companies expect that shipments of consumer electronics products will return to a traditional single-season in the first quarter of 2022, and business operations in this quarter will hit the lowest level this year.

According to DigiTimes, sources said that IC design companies can no longer enjoy the strong shipment momentum from downstream customers in the traditional off-season, and their revenue in the first quarter will decline accordingly, but it will still be better than the corresponding pre-pandemic situation. level.

The person said that in response to the slowdown in terminal demand for consumer electronic devices, since the end of 2021, customers have adjusted their inventory of chips and components, except for some specific chips, such as power management ICs (PMICs), USB transmission interface chips and Network chips, which are still in severe shortage.

Chip demand for Chromebooks and TVs will remain subdued in the first quarter of 2022, although customers are already starting inventory adjustments for such chips as early as the second half of 2021. Chip shipments for Chromebooks are expected to pick up gradually from the second quarter of 2022 to meet demand for the September school season, while shipments of chips for TV applications will not pick up until panel prices bottom out.

The design house's notebook customers will limit their shipment momentum in the first quarter of 2022, but they are relatively optimistic about the sales outlook by the end of the year, citing upgrades in notebooks and higher-end business models, the sources said. High shipment rates will drive up demand for high-performance chips such as OLED DDI, and customers tend to maintain high inventory levels during peak seasons.

Meanwhile, chip shipments for automotive, industrial, and high-performance computing applications will remain unaffected by seasonality, with suppliers of automotive TDDI and Ethernet controller chips expected to experience significant sales growth in 2022.