ARM: Smartphone Sales Drop, but Recovery Is Coming

Kevin Fogarty, EETimes
4/23/2014 06:33 PM EDT

Smartphone chip giant ARM Holdings, PLC reported slightly disappointing financial results for the first quarter of 2014 due to what it called an "inventory correction" following a global dip in smartphone sales during the final months of 2013.

The number of smartphones shipped worldwide during 2013 topped 1 billion for the first time, but global sales grew only 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to market research firm IDC, which had expected to see an increase of 2.8% in unit sales during the period.

The 1,004.2 million smartphones shipped during the full year 2013 was 4.8% higher than 2012, but the unexpected dip left ARM resellers and chip-design licensees with unsold inventory that not only caused first-quarter sales to slow, but raised fears that the market for smartphones had become saturated and would begin to decline, according to an April 23 Reuters story.

To read the full article, click here