Do you invest in computer stocks? Get ready for a rocky ride.
That's the upshot of a new report out of Compal Electronics, Taiwan's second biggest maker of notebook PCs, and a supplier to Dell
Predicting this year will close with 42 million units shipped (rather than the 48 million previously expected), Compal shaved 12.5% off the near-term prospects for the world's PC makers. And the damage won't end there. In addition to PCs, Compal also makes LCD televisions, and is cutting its forecast for that product by nearly 19%. (If you're invested in an LCD panel maker like LG Display
Who's to blame?
The most obvious suspect in the case of the disappearing PC demand is Apple
What's it mean to you?
So is that it? Should you just put all your money in Apple stock and give up the "real" PC industry for lost? Not necessarily. Turns out, there is a light at the end of the tunnel -- it's just farther away than you might want. According to Compal, longer-term trends suggest a rebound in PC demand shifting into 2012, where notebook shipments from the company could grow as much as 20% over 2011 levels, to 50.5 million units.
If you think you can wait that long, though, then now might be a good time to start "accumulating" (as the Wall Street analysts term it) cheap shares of Dell and maybe even Intel
Want to see how Compal's predictions play out?
- Add LG Display to My Watchlist.
- Add Intel to My Watchlist.
- Add Hewlett-Packard to My Watchlist.
- Add Dell to My Watchlist.
- Add Best Buy to My Watchlist.
- Add Advanced Micro Devices to My Watchlist.
- Add Apple to My Watchlist.