A California-based chip company just took a $2 billion hit following Trump's Huawei ban

Advertisement
A California-based chip company just took a $2 billion hit following Trump's Huawei ban

US President Donald Trump speaks to medias before boarding Air Force One at Shannon Airport in Shannon, Ireland, on June 6, 2019 and fly to Normandy, France, to attend the 75th D-Day Anniversary. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump.

Advertisement
  • Chipmaker Broadcom slashed its annual revenue outlook by $2 billion, marking one of the first instances in which the financial impact of Huawei's blacklisting on a US company have been partly quantified.
  • In its earnings report, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan attributed the slowdown to "geopolitical uncertainties" and "the effects of export restrictions on one of our largest customers."
  • "With respect to semiconductors it is clear that the U.S.-China trade conflict, including the Huawei export ban, is creating economic and political uncertainty and reducing visibility for global [manufacturing] customers," Tan reportedly said in a call with analysts.
  • Broadcom shares were down over 6% in Friday morning trading.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Chipmaker Broadcom lowered its revenue outlook for the fiscal year 2019 to $22.5 billion, a decrease of $2 billion from its previous forecast of $24.5 billion, the company said in its second quarter earnings report on Thursday.

It marks one of the first instances in which the financial repercussions of President Trump's decision to blacklist Chinese smartphone giant Huawei have been partly quantified.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

"We currently see a broad-based slowdown in the demand environment, which we believe is driven by continued geopolitical uncertainties, as well as the effects of export restrictions on one of our largest customers," Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom, said in a press release. "As a result, our customers are actively reducing their inventory levels, and we are taking a conservative stance for the rest of the year."

About 4.3% of the San Jose, California-based semiconductor firm's total revenue for its previous fiscal year came from Huawei, Tan said on an analyst call, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Advertisement

"With respect to semiconductors it is clear that the U.S.-China trade conflict, including the Huawei export ban, is creating economic and political uncertainty and reducing visibility for global [manufacturing] customers," Tan told analysts, according to the Journal.

Ever since Huawei was placed on the US Commerce Department's entity list last month, there have been mounting concerns over how US companies that work with the Chinese electronics maker would be impacted.

US chip companies have seen a major hit to their stock in recent weeks, with a number of exchange-traded funds that monitor semiconductor firms underperforming over the last month, as CNBC reported in early June. One ETF with top individual stock holdings that include Qualcomm and Texas Instruments was down 34% in the last month, while another that has Intel as a top holding was down by almost 25%.

But Broadcom's $2 billion hit is one of the first times in which the financial impact of the ban and ongoing uncertainties around the escalating trade war has been spelled out.

Broadcom shares were down over 6% in trading on Friday morning, and shares of chipmaker Qualcomm also dropped by more than 2%.

Advertisement

It's unclear how and if Huawei's blacklisting will impact other US chipmakers such as Intel and Qualcomm, considering both companies are expected to report earnings in July.

Get the latest Intel stock price here.

{{}}