It has been reported that Broadcom is one of the biggest gainers from Apple’s huge demand for parts used in iPads and iPhones, providing solace for the semiconductor industry which has suffered much from weak demand. The biggest supplier of Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., stated last week that the sales in the third quarter will surpass earlier expectations because the company had received huge orders from a customer which wasn’t named.
As the results disclosed by the other clients of Taiwan Semiconductor have been largely disappointing, it is being suggested that this unnamed customer is Broadcom, which is rushing to complete the orders from Apple, according to an analysis of the supply chain. An analyst named Richard Davenport stated that the largest link between Taiwan Semiconductor and Apple is Broadcom, and it appears to be the likeliest candidate for the rush orders placed with Taiwan Semiconductor.
As the overall demand for electronics is slowing down, suppliers for Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iPods including Broadcom may end up better off than the producers of PC parts due to the better demand for the former. This week, Broadcom reiterated its forecasts for the third quarter, whereas Altera and Texas Instruments were some of the chip manufacturers which decreased their estimates, citing slow growth in the economy.
It is highlighted by the contrasting reports that the surging sales of the Apple devices have the potential to benefit the whole supplier chain of the company. An analyst named Michael Burton said that Apple suppliers are doing pretty well and the mobile space is in a very good shape on the whole.
A Broadcom spokesperson named Karen Kahn refused to comment and there was also no comment from Apple’s Steve Dowling. Even Taiwan Semiconductor declined to comment as the company has a policy which restricts the public discussion of its customers and the orders that they place. According to the expectations of analysts,
Apple might succeed in selling 12.5 million iPads and 19.5 million iPhones during the quarter which ends this month, against the 4.19 million iPads and 14.1 million iPhones which were sold during the same time last year. However, the manufacturers of PCs are suffering in contrast, as their growth rate decreased by almost 6% from last year.
