Cirrus Logic Guides December Revenue To $510 Million-$570 Million And Adds $500 Million Buyback
One customer was about 93% of September-quarter sales, and the December revenue midpoint sits 3% below that quarter.
Cirrus Logic, which designs the low-power chips that handle sound and other signals in phones and other electronics, forecast December-quarter revenue of $510 million to $570 million, a midpoint 3% below September's sales. The company also authorized up to an additional $500 million in share repurchases and blamed PC market weakness for the cautious near-term outlook.
Flat year on year, up 22% in the quarter
September-quarter revenue was $559.5 million, up 22% from the prior quarter and flat from a year earlier, the company said in its shareholder letter. Higher smartphone volumes and more Cirrus content per phone drove the sequential gain. Audio brought in 56% of revenue and the high-performance mixed-signal line 44%.
Earnings were $2.23 a share by standard accounting and $2.70 on an adjusted basis, against $2.83 adjusted a year earlier. Gross margin was 53.7%, up from 52.5% a year earlier, helped by product mix and a temporary benefit from wafers bought under earlier GlobalFoundries agreements.
For December the company guided to a gross margin of 51% to 53%. The revenue range is down 7% from a year earlier at the midpoint.
A customer at 93% of sales
One customer made up about 93% of revenue in the quarter. The company called the relationship "outstanding" and said its policy is not to discuss specifics of that business.
Cirrus is a fabless chipmaker, meaning outside foundries make its wafers. Its latest custom boosted amplifier and 22-nanometer smart codec appeared in newly launched smartphones, and a higher share of those phones used its third-generation camera controller. It taped out its fourth-generation camera controller, which it expects to begin production in calendar year 2028.
In PCs, the letter says memory and other component shortages are cutting unit volumes and delaying new models that would carry more Cirrus content. "While these headwinds are impacting our near-term outlook," management wrote, the design wins behind those models remain in place.
Buybacks and a new acquisition
The board authorized up to an additional $500 million of repurchases on October 26, according to an 8-K. The company bought back 991,983 shares in the quarter at an average of $126.51, returning $125.5 million, and had $114.1 million left on its prior authorization at quarter end.
After the quarter it spent $18.6 million to buy 170,757 shares at an average of $108.67. Cash and investments ended at $1.1 billion, down $90.9 million from the prior quarter.
Cirrus also completed its purchase of INVENTVM, an Italy-based fabless chip company focused on mixed-signal power management and audio chips. The company hosts a call at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday.
The company's guidance for combined operating expenses is $184 million to $190 million, including about $9 million of acquisition-related costs.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — CIRRUS LOGIC, INC. (CRUS) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit shareholderletter.htm — CIRRUS LOGIC, INC. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit pressrelease.htm — CIRRUS LOGIC, INC. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
