Macronix Plans To Wind Down ROM Business Behind Switch Game Cards
Macronix said at its October 27 earnings briefing that it will gradually scale down its ROM manufacturing business, the segment tied to the flash memory in Nintendo Switch game cards.
2 sources 1h ago
Reporting from 2 sources: Automaton, Game Spark.
Why it matters
The ROM segment that supplies Switch game card memory is shrinking inside a company now chasing AI-driven memory demand, so the physical card supply chain depends on how Macronix's remaining ROM output and other chipmakers cover the gap.
Key Facts
- Macronix announced its fiscal 2026 third-quarter results on October 27 and reported net profit of NT$10.95 billion, a record high.
- Chairman Miin Wu said at the briefing that Macronix plans to gradually scale down its ROM manufacturing business.
- ROM sales fell 39% year on year in the fiscal 2026 third quarter and dropped to 5% of total sales, from 26% a year earlier.
- MST Financial analyst David Gibson said no new ROM products are planned at Macronix and this term is the last with separately reported ROM sales.
- A Rohm-made chip has previously been confirmed in a Nintendo Switch 2 game card.
Chairman Miin Wu disclosed the policy as the company reported record quarterly net profit of NT$10.95 billion. ROM sales fell 39% year on year and dropped to 5% of total sales.
Chairman Miin Wu gave the policy at the October 27 briefing, where Macronix reported fiscal 2026 third-quarter net profit of NT$10.95 billion, a record high, on strong demand for generative AI memory chips. ROM accounted for 26% of total sales in the same quarter a year earlier; this quarter it fell 39% year on year and its share dropped to 5%. NAND and NOR flash sales are growing instead.
MST Financial analyst David Gibson wrote on social media that Macronix plans to withdraw from ROM manufacturing, that no new ROM products are planned, and that this term is the last in which the segment's sales are reported separately. Switch game cards do not rely on Macronix alone: a Rohm-made chip has been confirmed in a Nintendo Switch 2 card.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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