The company blamed the miss on a NAND flash memory chip shortage.

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Shares of flash memory chip maker Spansion are taking a beating Friday after the company disclosed weaker than expected Q3 results and highly disappointing guidance for the fourth quarter.

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Mr. Lam said that could indicate a decision by Apple not to buy memory from Samsung, the world's biggest supplier of flash memory chips, amid continuing patent litigation between Apple and the chip maker's parent.

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This obviously spells opportunity for chip makers such as Intel and AMD, along with flash memory players like SanDisk.

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