Asetek Stock Tanks 40% as Company Suspends Profitability and Revenue Guidance for 2024

[btarunr]

Liquid cooling solutions OEM Asetek saw its stock price drop by over 40% on Wednesday (12th June 2024), as investors responded to the company's announcement of suspending its profitability and revenue guidance for 2024. The release offered an explanation behind this decision. "Based on these new forecasts, the expected increase in demand in the second half of 2024 of the company's liquid cooling products may not materialize. This will result in a significant decline in Group revenue and profitability for 2024 compared to the revenue and profitability guidance issued on March 8, 2024."

The company also stated that it expects the negative trend in the company's revenue may continue into 2025. "The management team and board of directors of Asetek will consider the long- and short-term consequences of the weakened and uncertain market situation. The assessment today is that the negative trend in revenue may continue into 2025. Based on this, a plan containing initiatives to navigate the short and long-term challenges will be developed and then communicated as soon as possible," it said. Asetek is a pioneer in the all-in-one, closed-loop liquid CPU cooler that's popular in the gaming PC segment, but the company should also be in a position to lead the server CPU cooling market given the upward trend in processor cooling needs; but the company is underperforming. This is probably also due to intense competition in the space.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Solaris17]

Arent these guys dbags? I cant remember which cooling company litigates everyone else for various pump designs.

 

[Chaitanya]

Arent these guys dbags? I cant remember which cooling company litigates everyone else for various pump designs.

Its Asstek which sued everyone and made enemies across the industry. Their latest attempt has been sueing Corsair(who stopped selling Asstek AIOs in favour of CoolIT units). Also they sat on laurels while competition in order to skirt around Patents innovated with better performing products.

 

[dj-electric]

Nature is healing. This is exactly what should happen when you patent-bully essential \ semi essential technology. People will work hard to circumvent it and your value will tank

 

[thestryker6]

I believe their patent, which should have been invalidated, also expires next year. Turns out litigating instead of innovating doesn't end up being good for the health of the company. Not only has their retail business suffered, but the OEM has as well.

 

[mb194dc]

Signs of the recession start to mount up?

 

[watzupken]

It is not unexpected when the company’s main income stream is to sell AIO cooling solution or design. People don’t buy a new AIO every year and with more competent competitors that’s also selling their AIO cheaper, no reason to get an Asetek designed ones.

 

[64K]

Never paid any attention to the company or it's products but from the sound of it looks like the old saying is true, "Karma is a bitch".

 

[Roph]

Well deserved for a patent troll

 

[natr0n]

asetek is street fighters btw

 

[TheLostSwede]

Well deserved for a patent troll

They're not a patent troll. Please read up on what that means.
Yes, they are suing the competition, but they actually produce products based on their own patents, something a patent troll does not.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Arent these guys dbags?

Yes, yes they are. EK levels of dbaggery.

Yes, they are suing the competition, but they actually produce products based on their own patents, something a patent troll does not.

Um..

They're not a patent troll. Please read up on what that means.

Please do take your own advice.

Asetek sues ANYONE who produces a design with ANY similarity to their own regardless of whether or not the design is actually similar. That is, by definition, patent-trolling.

What Is a Patent Troll? A patent troll is a derogatory term used to describe a company that uses patent infringement claims to win court judgments for profit or to stifle competition.

 

[freeagent]

I hope they fail miserably. This is exactly what they deserve.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Signs of the recession start to mount up?

Convenient timing and it may play a factor, but the biggest factor was Asetek being douchecanoes and pissing off pretty much everybody, to where no OEMs will use their designs now out of spite. Now they've fallen behind and likely will never catch up.

OH for them to copy a Corsair design and get sued over it. The dramatic irony would be *chefs kiss*.

Yes, yes they are. EK levels of dbaggery.


Um..

Please do take your own advice.

Asetek sues ANYONE who produces a design with ANY similarity to their own regardless of whether or not the design is actually similar. That is, by definition, patent-trolling.

RIP swede.

It is not unexpected when the company’s main income stream is to sell AIO cooling solution or design. People don’t buy a new AIO every year and with more competent competitors that’s also selling their AIO cheaper, no reason to get an Asetek designed ones.

Well it also doesnt help when you SUE your customers over similar designs and ensure they will never buy your stuff again. that kind of action tends to snowball.

 

[Chrispy_]

Good. Asetek deserve failure for being litigious patent-trolls since 2004.

F*ck em, hope they rot in pieces.

I believe their patent, which should have been invalidated, also expires next year. Turns out litigating instead of innovating doesn't end up being good for the health of the company. Not only has their retail business suffered, but the OEM has as well.

It's been invalid outside of the US since 2017, I believe. 7 years of competition out-designing Asetek's stagnant, 20-year old premise has caught up to them.

 

[bonehead123]

And just to reiterate:

Yes, Karma is definitely a finnicky, gob-smackin, cahoney-crushin biotch

Take that, AsSetek !

 

[Vayra86]

They're not a patent troll. Please read up on what that means.
Yes, they are suing the competition, but they actually produce products based on their own patents, something a patent troll does not.

Well, I think there's shades of grey there. It really depends what you're sueing for.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Well, I think there's shades of grey there. It really depends what you're sueing for.

Only as far as being a shitty company goes. The definition of a patent troll is a company that buys up patents, doesn't produce anything and sues random companies for patent infringement, usually over something really fringe that most companies have already taken for granted that it's common knowledge.

 

[Vayra86]

Only as far as being a shitty company goes. The definition of a patent troll is a company that buys up patents, doesn't produce anything and sues random companies for patent infringement, usually over something really fringe that most companies have already taken for granted that it's common knowledge.

They evolve too, you know, producing nothing is too easy to identify, so you produce something. Doesn't make the end result any different to the rest of the market. I don't think its a set definition, more of an air that is around a company name.

 

[TheLostSwede]

They evolve too, you know, producing nothing is too easy to identify, so you produce something. Doesn't make the end result any different to the rest of the market. I don't think its a set definition, more of an air that is around a company name.

Well...

Patent troll - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Chrispy_]

Well...

Patent troll - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

IMO they're patent trolls if what they patented shouldn't have ever been a patent in the first place. It was about as dumb as Apple's famous "rectangle with rounded corners" patent.

As the PC water cooling segment was maturing in the early '00s, it moved away from aquarium pumps to dedicated options like the Liang D5. I bought one in 2002 or 2003 I think. There were a bunch of mounting options for it, ranging from drive bay mounts, case floor mounts, radiator mounts, and I even saw a CPU block for Socket 939 Opterons that used the bolt holes for the original CPU retention frame to add a universal pump mounting plate above the block. It wasn't integrated, per se - like Asetek's patent but it definitely predated Asetek's AOI patent and Asetek's design was the only logical way to optimise that layout for mass-production.

Asetek's patent was basically taking parts that existed already, were connected already, and patenting the only logical next step.

Asetek took this

and patented this

The fact the patent was nullified in most markets outside the US (eventually) is some indication of how dumb the USPTO was in the first place.

 

[TheLostSwede]

IMO they're patent trolls if what they patented shouldn't have ever been a patent in the first place. It was about as dumb as Apple's famous "rectangle with rounded corners" patent.

That's more of a patent system issue though. Also a patent office approval issue.

 

[Vayra86]

Well...

Patent troll - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thank you and I quote

"Patent trolls often do not manufacture products"

And bit further down

"Other related concepts include patent holding company (PHC), patent monetization entity (PME),[3] patent assertion entity (PAE), and non-practicing entity (NPE), which may or may not be considered a "patent troll" depending on the position they are taking and the perception of that position by the public."

 

[trsttte]

 

[Totally]

Swede, you sure picked an odd hill to die on. Got sniped twice before I even showed up.