Thrifty shoppers could bruise gadget maker profits

By Anupreeta Das

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Fears that belt-tightening consumers will bruise third-quarter earnings for makers of MP3 players, cell phones and other gadgets, pummelled the stocks of consumer electronics companies like Apple Inc and SanDisk Corp on Tuesday, a day after they issued grim forecasts.

Apple gave a lower-than-expected third-quarter outlook on Monday, but said wider economic woes have not directly affected its results. Still, Apple shares fell 2.6 percent to $162.02 on Nasdaq Tuesday as several analysts cut their price targets on the stock. The stock fell as low as $146.53.

SanDisk, which makes flash memory for digital cameras and other devices, posted a second-quarter loss on Monday, sending its shares down 24 percent to $13.62 Tuesday on Nasdaq.

On Monday, SanDisk Chief Executive Eli Harari blamed the poor results on "the rapid deterioration in consumer confidence," which hurt sales to U.S. retail customers and cell-phone makers.

Texas Instruments Inc, the No. 1 cell-phone chip maker, cut its revenue forecast on Monday.

Global Crown Capital analyst David Wu said that with TI's distributors apparently seeing normal sales to their customers, its weaker-than-expected outlook did not give any new insight into demand for consumer electronics.

But Wu said the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons could see weakness in the United States due to high gasoline prices and consumer jitters about the economy.

"Consumer electronics is probably going to be tough in the U.S., but there's a big world out there," Wu said.