Texas Instruments forecasts upbeat current-quarter earnings on strong chip demand
FILE PHOTO: A Texas Instruments Office is shown in San Diego, California, U.S., April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Chipmaker Texas Instruments on Tuesday (Jul 26) forecast current-quarter revenue largely above expectations, betting on sustained demand from industrial and automotive customers and an improvement in shipments as supply-chain bottlenecks start to ease.
Share of the Dallas, Texas-based company rose 4 per cent in extended trade, with chipmakers Intel Corp and Nvidia Corp seeing gains as well.
Some of the bigger chip companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Texas Instruments, have weathered the downturn from lockdowns in China, supply chain snags and a tough macroeconomic environment globally, supported by growth in newer areas such as data centers and electric vehicles.
TSMC earlier this month projected quarterly revenue growth that could be its highest in 10 quarters.
Texas Instruments said revenue in industrial and automotive segments, its top earners, rose high-single-digit and 20 per cent, respectively, in the quarter ended Jun 30.
The company projected sales in the range of US$4.90 billion to US$5.30 billion in the current quarter, compared with analysts' estimate of US$4.97 billion.
However, projections for the seasonally-strong third quarter were affected by weaker demand "particularly from customers in personal electronics market," Chief Financial Officer Rafael Lizardi said in a post-earnings call.
Research firm Summit Insights Group's Kinngai Chan said further weakness in electronics end-markets was likely.
"We clearly see a correction happening in the personal electronics (PC, smartphones and the TV) market today," Chan told Reuters.
In the second quarter, Texas Instruments reported a net income of US$2.29 billion, a 19 per cent rise from a year earlier. Excluding items, it earned US$2.45 per share, higher than analysts' estimate of US$2.12 per share.
Texas Instruments' revenue grew 14 per cent to US$5.21 billion in the quarter, higher than analysts' estimate of US$4.62 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
