Acer Profits Up on High Laptop Computer Demand

Acer is known as the top PC vendor in Taiwan, but here in the United States Acer doesn’t give much competition to likes of HP and Dell.

In August, Global Tech News reported that Acer announced it would purchase Gateway for $710 million USD. The move specifically allows Acer to gain market share in the United States. The purchase price raised the ire of some Gateway shareholders who claim that Gateway was worth well over the selling price Acer paid.  In September,   Gateway shareholders had filed two separate lawsuits over the purchase.

Acer wasn’t content to snap up Gateway alone and opted to purchase Packard Bell, which Global Tech News covered this month. The purchase of Packard Bell will also help improve Acer market share in countries other than America.

Reuters reports that Acer and Lenovo have been fighting it out for the title of the world’s third largest PC maker with Lenovo reportedly carrying a reported 8.2% share of the PC marketplace worldwide and Acer reportedly carrying 8.1% of the worldwide PC market share.

Reuters says that with the Gateway purchase finalized this month Acer may now own the world’s third largest PC manufacturer title. With the acquisitions and increased demand for laptop computers, Acer profits are soaring.

Acer reported on Thursday its net profit of $90 million USD for the third financial quarter that ended in September. Analyst David Chang from Macquarie told Reuters that Acer sales growth was expected to grow in the fourth quarter on higher than expected laptop demand, but that long-term concerns about the Gateway purchase was keeping the neutral rating for Acer.