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Samsung loses $10 billion market value on Apple report

South Korean electronics giant loses $10 billion in market value -- all because of a report in DigiTimes.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Samsung DRAM.
Samsung DRAM. Samsung

An Apple-related report from Taipei-based DigiTimes lopped $10 billion off Samsung's market value, according to Reuters.

The Taipei-based publisher said on Tuesday that Apple has placed "huge orders for mobile DRAM" chips with Elpida, a Samsung rival.

That news alone drove Samsung's shares down 6 percent, wiping the $10 billion off the market value on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

It also drove memory maker Hynix's shares almost 9 percent lower, the biggest one-day drop in nine months.

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Taipei-based DigiTimes is known generally as an Asian manufacturer mouthpiece, with a flair for airing supplier grievances and regurgitating gossip.

But the Elpida report could have some merit. Apple does have an appetite for Elpida DRAM chips -- used in the third-generation iPad, for example.

And the Reuters report quotes an financial analyst, who said that Apple wants to keep Elpida around, lest it rely too much on Samsung and Hynix for DRAM.

Which leads to the next twist in the story. Elpida filed for bankruptcy in February, claiming $5.6 billion in debt. And U.S.-based Micron Technology confirmed last week that it is in discussions to acquire Elpida,. Meaning that Micron could emerge as a major chip supplier to Apple and an even bigger competitive threat to Samsung.

Via Cult of Mac.