Acer takes a loss in Q4 as execs accept slash in pay

By Konrad Krawczyk January 17, 2014

Acer Aspire R7 tablet 1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

These days, times are tough for Acer, the manufacturer of typically budget-friendly PCs and tablets. It turns out that the firm has reported a $251 million loss for the fourth quarter of 2013. As a result of the big dip, multiple Acer executives agreed to a big slash in their paychecks as well — 30 percent to be exact. Part of this downturn in Q4 resulted due to a $43 million write off for raw materials and assorted business costs.

This comes as no surprise to us. While Lenovo and Dell upped their shipment levels in Q4 2013 when compared to Q4 2012, Acer’s shipments fell significantly. In Q4 2012, Acer shipped 7,703,752 units, while shipping only 6,474,738 systems during the fourth quarter of 2013. As a result, growth between the two quarters dipped to -16 percent.

When speaking recently at a press conference in Taiwan, newly-appointed Acer CEO Jason Chen commented on what he thought the company’s biggest mistakes have been as of late with respect to the PC business. Here’s what he had to say.

“We wanted to stimulate demand using new technology and we took the initiative more aggressively than anybody else, to the point where we got hurt,” Chen said. “Hopefully we won’t repeat the same mistake we made before.” Chen also stated that “We need to dig ourselves out of a hole,” according to Bloomberg.

It’ll be interesting to see what moves Chen will make as Acer’s new head cheese to help boost the company’s fortunes as we march deeper into 2014.

What do you think? Do you think Acer can rebound? Why or why not? Sound off in the comments below.

Editors' Recommendations

Acer’s TV-sized Predator gaming monitor is OLED, 4K, and living room-ready

Topics

Konrad Krawczyk

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…

Computing

How to undervolt a CPU: Complete guide to undervolting

Intel Core i9-12900K in a motherboard.

Undervolting your CPU can be a great way to improve its operating temperatures and reduce its power draw, but if your chip is running too hot and heavy most of the time, undervolting can actually boost its performance too. Intel's top CPUs, like the 13900K and 14900K are prime candidates, but other CPUs can benefit from being undervolted too.

Interested to see how your CPU performs when it isn't redlined with all the power? Here's how to undervolt your CPU in just a few quick steps.

Computing

AMD’s gaming revenue is down by 48%, and it won’t get better

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card.

AMD has made some of the best graphics cards in the last few years, and yet its gaming GPU market still appears to be fairly niche when compared to Nvidia's gigantic share. This sentiment is backed by AMD's most recent earnings call, which revealed that its gaming revenue is down by a staggering 48% year-over-year.

Things have been looking kind of grim ever since rumors started spreading that AMD may be giving up on the high-end portion of the GPU market. There have been whispers that AMD may have had a perfectly viable high-end graphics card that it decided not to launch, instead focusing on the mainstream segment. The earnings call gives some context to these rumors.

Computing

Best MacBook deals: Get an Air for $605 and save on M3 MacBook Pro

A MacBook Pro M2 sits on a wooden table with a nice bokeh background.

Apple has been in the laptop game for quite a while now, and its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lineups are some of the best laptops on the market, especially since Apple has started using its own chips. Of course, you do have to pay a premium for the brand name and the product, and if you're thinking of grabbing one of these, then you may need to rely on some solid Apple deals to get you through. That's why we've scoured some of the biggest retailers online and found the best deals we could, whether you want an early-model MacBook Air M1 or the latest M3 MacBook Pro. That said, if you're not really feeling any of these MacBooks, be sure to check out these other great laptop deals instead. To complete your full Apple suite, pair a new MacBook with AirPods deals, Apple Watch deals and iPhone deals.
Best MacBook Air (M1) deals

The Apple MacBook Air (M1) started a seismic shift for Apple being the first of its Airs to have an Apple-based processor. We took a look at the differences between the M2 and M1 and the M1 is still looking pretty great. It's also a touch nearer to affordable than anything else here. Fast yet fanless so it's silent to use, you gain an 18-hour battery life, a gorgeous looking 13.3-inch Retina display along with all the effortless style you'd expect from an Apple device. These laptops are best for students or those who want something stylish yet reasonably powerful to use on the move. Nowadays, deals are becoming a little harder to come by unless you're willing to consider a refurbished/renewed model.