The list of semiconductor industry companies that are posting banner numbers these days is short and thin. Every firm is in trouble, to some degree.
But EE Times has assembled a list of 10 companies (or more) that seem in particular danger of continuing to spill red ink, being acquired, seeking bankruptcy protection or just not being around in current form a year from now. We've also listed some ''honorable mentions'' as well. The list is just our opinion. Post a comment if you want.
In alphabetical order, here's our "10 companies in trouble:"
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD is now a fabless company and it remains to be seen if that model will work for the processor vendor. It's also unclear if it can stop the bleeding and keep up with Intel. What happened in Q1?
(tie) Automatic test equipment (ATE) industry All vendors are in bad shape. Advantest, Credence/LTX, Teradyne, Verigy and others are losing vast sums of money. How long can the pain last? Look for more consolidation.
Cadence Design Systems Inc. After being the No. 1 EDA vendor for most of two decades, Cadence hit a rough patch last year and lost its No. 1 standing (along with a lot of money and its management team). The company reported a loss of $1.85 billion for 2008, much of which was due to a non-cash impairment charge of $1.36 billion. Cadence reported a first-quarter GAAP net loss of $63 million on revenue or $206 million (down from $271 million in the year ago quarter), and some analysts responded favorably.
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. Rumors have been flying that the loss-ridden foundry is the subject of a takeover bid. The latest one is from the Middle East, of which Chartered denied. That story can be read here.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. The chip vendor has posted a string of big losses over the past several quarters and is saddled with crushing debts. The company's long-term debts have fallen to $7.5 billion from almost $10 billion, but the cost of servicing that debt still amounts to several hundred million dollars per year.
