On Thursday, after trading had safely ended for the day, semiconductor maker Marvell Technology (MRVL -2.64%) dropped a bombshell: Sales for the third quarter of 2012 will probably come in between $765 million and $785 million -- as much as 10% short of management's prior projection of $800 million to $850 million.
Management blamed "the continued slowdown in the global economy" in general for its troubles, and weak demand for personal computers and hard disk drives (into which its chips are incorporated) in particular. But it also appears to blame its finance chief. Alongside the earnings warning, Marvell announced that Chief Financial Officer Clyde Hosein has resigned from the company ... "to pursue other opportunities." Marvell Corporate Controller Brad Feller will take over CFO duties on an interim basis as Marvell seeks out a permanent replacement.
On the plus side, solid state drives, as well as chips sold for use in networking and mobile devices, appear to be relatively healthy -- or at least "in line with prior expectations." It's not exactly all's well that end's well, but at least it's not all bad news.
