Asetek, the creator of the all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler, has just dropped its share value by 1% in 40 days. It's a nightmarish fuel for most companies, and not so surprising. The company said it expected lower-than-expected demand for liquid coolers in the second half of 2024, which resulted in a "significant decline in group revenue.""

"Asetek A/S has received updated purchase forecasts from a number of the company's largest OEM customers," the company said in May 11 (via Overclock3D). "Based on these new forecasts, the expected increase in demand for the company's liquid cooling products in the second half of 2024 may not materialize."

The company has suspended its 2024 guidance, effectively throwing its hands in the air, saying it doesn't know what the future holds.

The company is published on Nasdaq Copenhagen. When the news reached the exchange, the company's share price fell 40% in one day — from 5.02 DKK to 3.00 DKK. Since then, it has declined even slightly. Today it sits at 2.62DKK.

You may not know Asetek as a brand, but you are probably using 1 of its products. The company invented the all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler and produces many popular models today, including popular models such as Thermaltake, Lian Li, NZXT, Phanteks and Asus ROG. It also works with system builders such as Alienware, iBUYPOWER, Falcon and Overclockers UK.

It is these component manufacturers and system builders that create demand for Asetek products, and they are not biting right now. The PC market is a bit sluggish and most companies want AI to drag them out. But most "AI-enabled" devices today, such as Copilot+ PCs, are laptops today.

While Asetek's liquid coolers are primarily intended for desktops, liquid coolers are also used in data centers.

"Asetek's management and Board of Directors will consider the long-term and short-term effects of weakened and uncertain market conditions. Today's assessment is that a negative trend in earnings could continue into 2025."

It's not entirely clear whether this is a general malaise for liquid coolers in the wider market or something localized to Asetek.

When I spoke with the hardware manufacturer at Computex, I was told that they invested in the new cooler without Asetek because of the price of Asetek. Even for customers of all sizes, the prices will probably vary greatly. Ultimately Asetek's cooling business is tied to PC demand, which has been sluggish for some time. However, the new generation could spark renewed interest in PCs and expect both AMD Ryzen9000 series Cpus and Intel's Arrow Lake Cpus in the near future. In addition, Nvidia and AMD are working on new graphics cards to congratulate our gaming PCs at some point in the near future. So this slump towards the tail end of 2024 is a bit surprising.In fact, new hardware is coming out in large quantities to bolster demand. 

Or maybe everyone is really excited about Noctua's pumpless AIO concept.

Asetek also designs sim racing gear, a SimSports division. So it's not all bad news.