Cherry's iconic MX switches aren't enough to save the company from steep losses

[Alfonso Maruccia]

TL;DR: Cherry is traditionally known for producing high-quality "Cherry MX" switches, used in premium mechanical PC keyboards. However, today's market is a very different landscape, and PC peripherals aren't as popular as they were just a few years ago. As a result, Cherry AG could soon become a shadow of its former self.

After enjoying decades of competitive advantage thanks to its Cherry MX mechanical switch line, Cherry AG is now preparing to divert a significant portion of its remaining operations. The German firm is reportedly drowning in debt, and the most viable strategic options to keep the company afloat now include a merger or an acquisition.

According to the latest financial data, Cherry's revenue reached €70.0 million between January and September 2025. The company recorded a net loss of around €20.4 million and now carries more debt than equity. Chief Operating Officer Udo Streller also confirmed that the mechanical switch production unit in Auerbach has been discontinued, with manufacturing shifted to "established" partners in China and Slovakia.

Cherry's "Mechanical X-Point" (MX) switches were developed and patented in the early 1980s, with the first MX keyboard models arriving around 1985. Cherry MX switches were once considered the de facto standard for a pleasant, reliable, and extremely durable typing experience, but the original design patent expired in 2014, opening the door to competition.

I've been torturing my trusty Corsair K70 Lux mechanical keyboard with its Cherry MX Brown switches since 2017, and I'll eventually get another MX-based board in the not-too-distant future. But the market is now flooded with affordable Chinese peripherals, and many established keyboard manufacturers are using Chinese-made switches that can rival Cherry's originals.

Cherry has long been accused of squandering the technological edge it once held. More recently, the company attempted to innovate in the switch business, but those efforts failed to gain traction. The Auerbach plant will now operate as a "cost-effective" service hub, handling logistics and product development while outsourcing manufacturing to China.

In a recent management meeting, Cherry CFO Jurjen Jongma said the company is so devalued – now trading at less than one euro per share – that very few alternative options remain. Cherry will either need to merge with another organization or sell itself to the highest bidder, he said.

In fact, the divestment process has already begun. Cherry has sold its hygiene peripheral division ("Active Key") and its washable keyboard lineup for €12.5 million. The company previously saw a significant boom during the pandemic in 2020, when revenue climbed to €168.5 million.

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Cherry's iconic MX switches aren't enough to save the company from steep losses

 

[VariableSpike]

Considering the gaterons and the like can produce equivalent switches or better these days and cherry didn't really create much in the space of hall effect and analogue keys, their demise is not entirely surprising considering they mainly spent their life just sitting on patents

 

[toooooot]

If you make something that can be easily replicated at a fraction of the cost in China, you are always in trouble.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I remember buying a new keyboard and mouse back in ~2012, and finding an actual "cherry" keyboard was a PITA. Like, if you wanted a keyboard with red MX keys, you couldnt just buy a "cherry MX red" keyboard, you had to find a keyboard that used MX red switches. That cant have been great for their name recognition over the years.

They waited WAY too long to get into the peripheral game and once they moved production to china, there wasnt much separating them from other brands. German quality is what sold them.

 

[Subset6]

I jumped on the mechanical keyboard hype with one purchase, but honestly never got the appeal, even for gaming. Give me a solid chiclet keyboard any day—it's miles better to type on, more compact, and silent. Ever work in an office with folks that have these monstrosity's? Maddening is what it is. CLICK, CLACK, CLICK, CLACK. Uhg. Should have left these back in the 80's where they belong.

 

[RudyBob]

"ICONIC" Oh Stop please. Time to move on from this "aging", another word to move on from, trite word. Try and do better. Look up a synonym.

 

[Axeia]

I jumped on the mechanical keyboard hype with one purchase, but honestly never got the appeal, even for gaming. Give me a solid chiclet keyboard any day—it's miles better to type on, more compact, and silent. Ever work in an office with folks that have these monstrosity's? Maddening is what it is. CLICK, CLACK, CLICK, CLACK. Uhg. Should have left these back in the 80's where they belong.

You might have to do some research if you want a keyboard that suits your needs. Unless you want to stick to chiclet, to each their own.
Mechanical switches come in many variants, when sticking to the originals from Cherry only Blue clicky (purposefully engineered to be noisy) all the other ones are more quiet and mainly differ in how hard you have to press and if they press down the same way all the way down (linear - black, red, silver) or have an actuation point to 'overcome' (brown).
Then there's the 'speed variants' that are more 'shallow' so they bounce back faster.
Silent variants which you would probably prefer have a little rubber dampener on the part you push down so they're kinda like the speed switches as well as in that they're more shallow but also quieter because rather than plastic hitting plastic it's rubber hitting plastic (and a bit of rubber to dampen the return to default on the top similarly).
If your switches are hot swappable you can also stick a thin membrane on the very bottom of the switch to dampen the sound some more. And all switches can be O-ring modded so the keycap doesn't collide with the switch casing.

Then there's keyboards that are filled with foam (or rubber, or silicone) to reduce echoes and overall noise. Putting your keyboard on top of a deskmat can also be extremely effective.
And then there's some other tweaks people can do to prevent other sorts of noises.

Tldr: Try a mechanical keyboard stuffed with dampening materials and silent type (preferably prelubed) switches. If you don't like them you're a Chiclet user for life.
Funny thing is that cheap Asian keyboards have been doing a lot of that stuff for ages whilst only in the last few years the western (and stupidly expensive brands) are doing so.
Something like an Aula F99 might be something you'd like and it's not stupidly expensive either and very full featured. Wireless (Bluetooth and 2.4ghz) enormous 8000mah battery, USB C, per key RGB, fancy PCB cutouts, multiple layers of dampening. And a knob to play with.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EuFGPPK
About the the third of the cost of Razer, Corsair etc

 

[amghwk]

Don't know why I was never interested in "mechanical" keyboards. I prefer the soft, smooth, non-clicky, quiet, membrane keyboards' feel.

 

[NumberNine]

There are so many switches around now with so much personality that Cherry can't corner the game anymore but it is unfortunate to seem them fall to a value brand. It's been at least 10 years since I've last used their switches. Holy Panda clones with rubber rings are my choice currently.

 

[bviktor]

Apparently selling the same patented crap for 3 decades isn't enough to stay competitive forever.

Shocker indeed. Just the usual legendary German "excellence".

The closer you look, the more unfathomable their current economical performance becomes. Their leadership is so astronomically atrocious in almost all aspects of business and government that it really is a miracle their demise isn't an order of magnitude faster. 2 of my friends live there, trust me, their incompetence and dysfunctional ways of life are beyond belief, mixed with a good (and growing) dose of xenophobia and national pride over nothing.

 

[bviktor]

I jumped on the mechanical keyboard hype with one purchase, but honestly never got the appeal, even for gaming. Give me a solid chiclet keyboard any day—it's miles better to type on, more compact, and silent. Ever work in an office with folks that have these monstrosity's? Maddening is what it is. CLICK, CLACK, CLICK, CLACK. Uhg. Should have left these back in the 80's where they belong.

IKR and it's one thing to constantly having to listen to the coworkers' blabbing about how "great" these are, it's another when I have to endure their constant click-clack-click-clacking on these in the open office, all day, everyday.

"Great".

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Apparently selling the same patented crap for 3 decades isn't enough to stay competitive forever.

Shocker indeed. Just the usual legendary German "excellence".

The closer you look, the more unfathomable their current economical performance becomes. Their leadership is so astronomically atrocious in almost all aspects of business and government that it really is a miracle their demise isn't an order of magnitude faster. 2 of my friends live there, trust me, their incompetence and dysfunctional ways of life are beyond belief, mixed with a good (and growing) dose of xenophobia and national pride over nothing.

You were SO close to getting it before falling off in the last sentence.

I jumped on the mechanical keyboard hype with one purchase, but honestly never got the appeal, even for gaming. Give me a solid chiclet keyboard any day—it's miles better to type on, more compact, and silent. Ever work in an office with folks that have these monstrosity's? Maddening is what it is. CLICK, CLACK, CLICK, CLACK. Uhg. Should have left these back in the 80's where they belong.

In an office setting, this is what headphones were invented for. I dont particularly want to hear my coworkers anyway, keyboards are the least of my worries.

I will neve understand why people like chicklet keyboards. Almost no travel, mushy keys, and no noise? You get better tactile response out of pretending to type on a table.

 

[Axeia]

You get better tactile response out of pretending to type on a table.

Why pretend when you can actually do so? ;}

For the masochists that think that it's a good idea, just search for laser keyboard.

 

[Tantor]

Don't blame Cherry. Germany itself is rapidly de-industrializing. They're paying the price for Net-Zero energy policies, shutting down nuclear power, and shutting down access to cheap Russian gas.

https://energynewsbeat.co/how-is-ge...dustrialization-and-net-zero-energy-policies/

 

[hahahanoobs]

Analog switches took over.
Mechanical switches are limited in comparison. At least for online FPS.

 

[AnilD]

The irony is that mechanical keyboards have never been more diverse or more enthusiast-driven, yet the original brand behind the MX boom is struggling the most. Once MX became a blueprint anyone could copy and iterate on, the competitive moat vanished almost overnight.

What’s happening to Cherry is a reminder that hardware companies can’t survive on legacy goodwill alone.