KOSDAQ gaming company Abko is emerging as a beneficiary of artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. With Microsoft (MS) announcing that a new AI key will replace the keyboard’s Control key, replacement demand is expected.
According to industry sources on the 15th, Microsoft will change the keyboard layout for the first time in 30 years. The main point is that the new AI key will replace the Control key.
With Windows 10 service ending in 2025, corporate PC replacements are expected to increase starting this year. Accordingly, demand for keyboard replacements due to the layout change is also anticipated.
It is forecasted that replacement demand may arise this year in corporate stores (PC bangs), including government offices where entire PCs are often replaced. The PC bang industry, which has a high proportion of business loans, is also expected to improve due to interest rate cuts.
Abko mainly produces gaming and office keyboards, headsets, and PC cases, achieving cumulative sales of 65.5 billion KRW up to the third and fourth quarters of last year. Operating profit for the same period turned positive at 1.6 billion KRW.
Since keyboards and headsets account for about 50 billion KRW of Abko’s sales composition, institutional investors are anticipating benefits from increased replacement demand.
An investment industry official said, "Microsoft holds 74% of the global computer operating system market, so if it changes the layout of the new standard PC keyboard, all keyboards may need to be replaced," adding, "The new AI generative 'Copilot' key could be released as early as the end of this month."
Junseo Park, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "Abko has been working on improving its structure by internal restructuring and organizing its Chinese subsidiaries, maintaining quarterly selling and administrative expenses at 3 to 4 billion KRW, and achieved operating profit for two consecutive quarters for the first time in two years since the second and fourth quarters of 2021."
He also added, "Recovery in the PC bang industry and increased gaming gear sales due to the booming e-sports market, along with expected orders from the consortium for the metropolitan area education office’s full-scale charging locker project this year, are anticipated."
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