Motherboard sales 'collapse' amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI
Source: Hacker News
Image credit: Future, Matt Safford
AI‑Driven Component Shortages
Motherboard sales are collapsing amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI. Over the past six months, prices for many major PC components have risen, with memory modules and storage drives leading the way. Chipmakers such as Nvidia, Intel, and AMD are reducing production of consumer chips to manufacture more AI processors. The AI infrastructure build‑out is also causing shortages for Intel and AMD CPUs (and even high‑end Macs, see Apple quietly axes 128 GB Mac Studio amid supply constraints), especially as interest in agentic AI soars.
Impact on Consumers
Because of these shortages, users without deep pockets are postponing PC upgrades and holding onto their current devices longer. The delayed purchases are now being felt by motherboard manufacturers.
Revised Sales Forecasts
Asus
- Sold 15 million motherboards in 2025.
- Shipped just over 5 million in the first half of 2026.
- Expected to reach fewer than 10 million units by year‑end, a 33 % year‑on‑year decrease.
Gigabyte
- Sold 11.5 million motherboards in 2025.
- 2026 forecast revised to 9 million, a 22 % drop.
MSI
- Sold 11 million motherboards in 2025.
- 2026 forecast revised to 8.4 million, a 24 % contraction.
ASRock
- Projected shipments to fall from 4.3 million in 2025 to 2.7 million by the end of 2026, a 37 % decline.
Overall Market Contraction
The four major manufacturers together indicate a market contraction of roughly 28 % for motherboards. This downturn reflects the broader impact of AI‑driven component shortages on the enthusiast PC market.