Cherry Struggles Amidst Keyboard Market Battles

The German company Cherry is primarily known for its switches for mechanical keyboards. This market actually became mainstream thanks to Cherry. However, now Cherry is experiencing significant difficulties and may be sold to someone. Photo by Mark Mantel/ heise medien

According to the latest financial data, Cherry’s revenue for the period from January to September 2025 reached 70 million euros. The company recorded a net loss of around 20.4 million euros and now has more borrowed funds than equity. As per conversion, this translates to approximately $75, and $22 million respectively. The production of mechanical switches in Auerbach is closed, and overall production has been outsourced to trusted partners in China and Slovakia.

Problems for the company began long ago. In fact, they started in 2014 when the patent for Cherry MX switches, issued in the early 80s, expired. Over time, Chinese companies learned to create switches just as good as Cherry, and today mechanical keyboards truly became mainstream thanks to affordable models and a vast assortment.

At a recent management meeting, CFO Jurjen Jongma stated that the company has depreciated so much that there are practically no alternative options left. According to him, Cherry will either have to merge with another company or sell itself to whoever offers the highest price.