GIGABYTE held an online earning call on November 1st, during which General Manager Etay Lee expressed optimism about the company’s performance. The growth momentum in server and motherboard sectors remains robust, allowing GIGABYTE to potentially reach the significant milestone of NT$100 billion in annual revenue ahead of schedule. Additionally, the company is increasing its server revenue contribution this year, aiming for a remarkable double-digit growth.

As reported by Anue, Lee focused on the server sector, noting that the third quarter demonstrated impressive server revenue, and this momentum is expected to continue into the fourth quarter. The company is poised for high double-digit revenue growth in the server sector this year, with the ambition to challenge triple-digit growth. These developments have led to an upward revision of the annual revenue target.

Etay Lee emphasized the current high demand for AI servers, with a majority being shipped as units or racks. These include high quality networking, high efficiency storage, and High Performance Computing (HPC) integration. The increased components in AI server systems has led to a boost in revenue and gross profit; however, there is a slight decrease in the gross profit margin.

Regarding the expanded chip ban controls imposed by the United States, Lee clarified that GIGABYTE’s AI server products have a limited presence in the Chinese market, thereby minimizing the impact of these restrictions. Furthermore, in regions such as the Middle East and Vietnam where approvals are required, the company will also submit applications, and the overall impact is minimal.

In terms of graphics cards, GIGABYTE reported that inventory adjustments are completed, and channels have returned to normal levels. This, coupled with competitive pricing for the company’s main products, the 4060Ti and 4070, has generated strong demand starting from late in the third quarter. Notably, the European and American regions have witnessed a resurgence in growth, with demand surpassing that of the Asia-Pacific region.
(Image: GIGABYTE)

On October 30th, major memory manufacturer Western Digital unveiled its financial results for the first quarter of 2024. During this quarter, the company achieved revenue of $2.75 billion, marking a 3% increase compared to the previous quarter but a 26% decrease compared to the same period last year.

The Potential for Sustained Growth in the Cloud Market

Taking a closer look at end-market dynamics in this quarter, flash memory prices continued to decline, but a surge in product shipments drove quarterly growth in specific business segments.

Western Digital’s cloud business revenue was $872 million, accounting for 32% of total revenue, with a 12% quarterly decrease and a significant 52% annual drop. On client revenue, revenue reached $1.147 billion, comprising 42% of total revenue, showing an 11% quarterly growth but a 7% annual decrease. Consumer revenue stood at $731 million, constituting 26% of total revenue, with a 14% quarterly increase and an 8% annual increase.

Looking forward, Western Digital expects its Q2F24 to range from $2.85 billion to $3.05 billion.

Western Digital’s CEO, David Goeckeler, credited the Q1F24 to the team’s dedication. He said, “Our ability to develop differentiated and innovative products across a broad range of end markets has resulted in sequential margin improvement across both flash and HDD businesses.”

Goeckeler also noted that consumer and client markets continue to perform well, and the cloud market is expected to sustain growth. As market conditions improve, Western Digital’s refined cost structure empowers the company to leverage enhanced profitability.

Data from TrendForce, as of September 12th, places Western Digital fourth in the global NAND Flash market for Q2 2023, with a market share of 14.7%. This positions the company closely behind industry giants like Samsung Electronics, Kioxia, and SK Group.

Regarding the merger with Kioxia, media reports suggest that Western Digital, following stalled negotiations, plans to divest its flash memory business, accompanied by a new round of financing to address part of its debt. This strategic separation allows the company to maintain its traditional hard drive business and create two distinct publicly traded entities.

Goeckeler also explained, “However, given current constraints, it has become clearer to the board in recent weeks that delivering a stand-alone separation is the right next step in the evolution of Western Digital.”

Is the Storage Industry Poised for a Revival?

The storage industry has been facing a period of stagnation due to economic challenges and sluggish demand in the consumer electronics sector. Major players in the storage market, including Western Digital, Micron, Samsung, and Kioxia, have been compelled to reduce production and investments to address the issue of oversupply.

However, recent reports indicate that memory chip prices are set to experience a significant upturn in the fourth quarter of the challenging year 2023. Experts suggest that the industry is gradually moving towards a phase of growth.

In terms of pricing, TrendForce forecasts a general price increase in both DRAM and NAND Flash products, starting in the Q4. For DRAM, a seasonal price increase of approximately 3-8% is expected. The sustainability of this upward trend will depend on suppliers’ commitment to production reduction strategies and the extent of demand recovery, particularly in the general server domain.

As for NAND Flash, TrendForce anticipates a comprehensive price increase of around 8-13% in the fourth quarter. Looking forward to 2024, the continuation of this upward trend for NAND Flash may face challenges unless original manufacturers maintain production reduction strategies and demand for Enterprise SSDs in the server domain experiences a revival.
(Image: Western Digital)

Explore more:

• NAND Flash and DRAM Spot Prices Upward in Late September, DRAM Price Stabilizes until Year-End
• Q2 NAND Flash Revenue Up 7.4%, Anticipated to Exceed 3% Growth in Q3, Says TrendForce
• NAND Flash Prices Expected to Stabilize and Rebound in Q4, Projected to Remain Steady or Increase 0-5%, Says TrendForce

According to CTEE, NVIDIA’s forthcoming AI server, the GB200 (B100), slated for a 2024 release, has entered the certification phase in the supply chain. Recent market rumors suggest that Foxconn, originally intended to secure orders for the B100 board, faced certification challenges. As a result, Wistron has maintained its initial order share.

Additionally, it is worth noting that Ingrasys, a subsidiary of Foxconn, is actively manufacturing the H100 product and is a strong contender to secure orders.

Unofficial sources indicate that NVIDIA initially considered making Foxconn the second supplier for AI-GPU server baseboard in the upcoming B100 series. However, due to yield concerns and other factors, Wistron is still expected to receive 100% of the orders. Wistron has also capitalized on the opportunity to secure orders for the front-end AI-GPU module, which appears to be a successful move.

The rapid evolution of AI has intensified competition among assembly plants. Wistron and Foxconn play crucial roles as suppliers for NVIDIA’s current mainstream H100 series GPU modules and baseboards.

Wistron, as the exclusive supplier for H100 baseboards in the NVIDIA DGX and HGX architectures, also holds the exclusive role of providing mainboards and assembling AI servers for DGX. As shipments of the H100 series AI servers, built on the NVIDIA DGX and HGX frameworks, steadily increase in the latter half of the year, Wistron’s AI server-related product business shows consistent growth.

It’s worth noting that Ingrasys is responsible for manufacturing the H100. NVIDIA’s founder, Jensen Huang, and Foxconn’s Chairman, Young Liu, jointly attended a technology event, highlighted the close collaboration in between, underscoring Foxconn’s determination to secure B100 orders.

(Image: Wistron)

At this year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit, the company announced its latest PC processor, the Snapdragon X Elite. With impressive performance metrics, this development is poised to shake up the PC processor market as Arm architecture gains ground, posing a substantial challenge to the established x86 architecture.

At this year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit, the company announced its latest PC processor, the Snapdragon X Elite. The launch of laptops featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite is expected in mid-2024, marking an opportune moment for a “counteroffensive.”

TrendForce indicates that Arm architecture PC processors have secured around an 11% market share this year, primarily propped up by Apple’s laptop processors. Industry insiders reveal that, in light of the growth potential in the PC processor market, semiconductor giants are increasingly adopting ARM architecture to venture into the market.

2024 Sees Laptop Upgrade Surge, Desktop Market Shrinks                  

Statistics reveal that the surge in remote work during 2020 prompted a shift in consumer preferences from desktop computers to laptops. Moreover, the ongoing establishment of cloud platforms by businesses in 2021 and 2022 has generated positive momentum, signaling a shrinking desktop market and an expanding PC market.

AI-powered PCs and Windows 12 next year are expected to ride a fresh wave of upgrades in 2024. Therefore, when PCs featuring ARM architecture become widespread, Intel and AMD may not be predominantly affected in the laptop processor business based on the x86 architecture. Instead, the desktop processor segment could face the most significant impact.

Kedar Kondap, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Compute and Games Division, foresees an upgrade wave fueled by AI PCs next year, with further growth anticipated in 2025. It is expected that consumers will lean towards AI PCs for their next computer purchases.

The initial wave of products equipped with Qualcomm’s AI PC processors has been unveiled, aligning with the upcoming wave of device upgrades in next year. While Intel is set to launch its first AI acceleration engine, the Intel Core Ultra, featuring integrated NPU in December, its Microsoft Windows 12 certification remains a point of observation.

In a broader perspective, Intel and AMD are positioned to follow up with the AI PC trend by 2025. This coincides with the ending service of Windows 10 and the gradual implementation of Wifi 7 and 6G technologies. By 2028, they are expected to play a pivotal role in driving AI PC growth.

On another note, a South Korean analyst anticipates that the growth momentum in AI PCs hinges on when Apple incorporates AI features into Mac computers.

ARM vs. x86, Microsoft’s Crucial Role                                    

This is because Microsoft is set to launch Windows 12 next year, featuring the built-in Copilot AI assistant. It will collaborate with operating systems and software such as Windows, Edge, Microsoft 365, Outlook, and the Bing search engine, ushering in an entirely new AI-driven user experience.

Several tech giants are fiercely competing in the AI PC market, with NVIDIA and AMD investing in the development of Arm architecture processors. It’s worth mentioning that in 2016, Microsoft agreed to let Qualcomm exclusively develop Windows-compatible chips, and this agreement is set to expire in 2024. Consequently, Qualcomm may gain a strategic advantage. In contrast, the collaboration between NVIDIA and MediaTek on Arm processors might only begin to bear fruit in 2025.

As for AMD’s foray into Arm architecture research and development, whether this indicates a less optimistic outlook for the x86 market is a matter for ongoing observation. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger expressed that he isn’t concerned about Arm architecture processors vying in the PC market. From a different perspective, Intel may even consider assisting with manufacturing.

(Image: Qualcomm)

As Jiwei reported, AMD, although trailing NVIDIA in AI, has recently clinched significant deals, earning the trust of two major clients, Oracle and IBM. Oracle plans to integrate AMD’s Instinct MI300X AI chips into their cloud services, complemented by HPC GPUs. Additionally, as per insights from Ming-Chi Kuo, TF International Securities analyst, IBM is set to leverage AMD’s Xilinx FPGA solutions to handle artificial intelligence workloads.

Oracle’s extensive cloud computing infrastructure faces challenges due to a shortage of NVIDIA GPUs. Nonetheless, Oracle maintains an optimistic outlook. They aim to expand the deployment of the H100 chip by 2024 while considering AMD’s Instinct MI300X as a viable alternative. Oracle has decided to postpone the application of their in-house chips, a project with a multi-year timeline. Instead, they are shifting their focus to AMD’s high-performance AI chip, the MI300X, well-regarded for its impressive capabilities.

Reports indicate that Oracle intends to introduce these processor chips into their infrastructure in early 2024.

Similarly, IBM is exploring chip options beyond NVIDIA. Their new AI inference platform relies on NeuReality’s NR1 chip, manufactured on TSMC’s 7nm process. AMD plays a pivotal role in NeuReality’s AI solution by providing the essential FPGA chips. Foxconn is gearing up for AI server production using this technology in the Q4 2023.

Guo also pointed out that, although Nvidia remains the dominant AI chip manufacturer in 2024, AMD strengthens partnerships with platform service providers/CSPs like Microsoft and Amazon while acquiring companies like Nod.ai. This positions AMD to potentially narrow the AI gap with Nvidia starting in 2025. This collaboration also affirms that AMD remains unaffected by the updated U.S. ban on shipping AI chips to China.

(Image: AMD)