Memory prices squeeze device makers: Switch 2 quarterly shipments fall 41% as Intel and Apple issue warnings

Nintendo: a decline against a high base

In second-quarter results released Nov. 5, Nintendo said it shipped 2.67 million Switch 2 units in July-September. That compares with 4.54 million in the same quarter a year earlier and 3.82 million in the previous quarter. The year-over-year decline, calculated from Nintendo’s quarterly chart, is 41.2%; CNBC put it at 41%. The figure reflects Nintendo’s shipments into its sales channels (sell-in).

The comparison base is high: July-September 2025 was the console’s first full quarter after its June 5, 2025, launch. First-half shipments fell 37.4% to 6.49 million. Cumulative shipments since launch reached 26.35 million. Nintendo kept its full-year forecast of 16.5 million units, compared with 19.86 million in the previous fiscal year. According to the company, “many consumers continued to adopt the system.”

Memory costs and price increases

Nintendo spells out the cost impact: “An impact of approximately 100.0 billion yen due to rising component prices, particularly for memory, and tariff measures has been factored into cost of sales.” Even so, first-half net sales fell 12.1% to 966.0 billion yen, while operating profit rose 49.1% to 216.5 billion yen. In the first quarter, refunds of IEEPA tariffs had reduced cost of sales by about $300 million.

The console also got more expensive. According to a May 8 notice from Nintendo, the price in Japan rose from 49,980 yen to 59,980 yen from May 25. From Sept. 1, the U.S. price rose from $449.99 to $499.99. In Canada it went from C$629.99 to C$679.99, and at the My Nintendo Store in Europe from 469.99 euros to 499.99 euros. The notice cited “changes in market conditions” and did not mention memory.

CNBC reported price increases in the U.S., Canada and Japan during the quarter. According to Nintendo’s notice, however, the Japan increase took effect in the previous quarter. The increases during the quarter were in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Intel: a warning on PCs

On Oct. 29, Intel reported third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion, up 21%. Its data center and AI unit (DCAI) grew 78% to $7.3 billion, which the CFO called the strongest data center growth in 15 years. The PC unit (CCPG) fell 5% to $8.1 billion. Intel Foundry revenue rose 58% to $6.7 billion.

For the fourth quarter, Intel guided for revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, a GAAP gross margin of 37.1% and adjusted earnings of 25 cents a share. The third-quarter gross margin was 43.0%. Analysts had expected $17.1 billion in revenue and 43 cents a share, according to LSEG data cited by CNBC. CFO David Zinsner said, “Looking ahead, we see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year.” In the release, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said that despite near-term headwinds across the PC industry, demand for Intel’s CPUs remains robust.

On the call, Tan said, “Our customers began signaling a PC slowdown based on the memory prices and availability,” TechCrunch reported. Tan added that system prices have risen significantly this year, putting more pressure on already limited IT budgets. The weak forecast also reflects an explosion in early October at Intel’s fab in Israel that killed two workers. Zinsner put the lost revenue at about $600 million over two quarters. Tan said the “extended shutdown” affects shipments of 10-nanometer chips.

Apple: “unprecedented” memory pricing

On Nov. 2, on the first earnings call with John Ternus as Apple’s CEO, Ternus said, “What we’re seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented.” Ternus added, “Looking beyond the December quarter, we see the pricing for memory purchases continuing to increase.” Apple expects “even higher memory costs” in the December quarter. Price increases on Mac and iPad in late June and on iPhone in September offset part of the pressure.

Apple guided for a gross margin of 45% to 46% in the December quarter, compared with 47.9% in the September quarter. CFO Kevan Parekh cited memory and Siri AI cloud costs. Tariff refunds added about 1 point to the September-quarter margin. Without them, the margin would have fallen about 1 point from the June quarter, mainly because of memory. According to COO Sabih Khan, Mac and iPad supply is constrained in the December quarter, mainly because of memory.