Qorvo Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 2, 2023

There are 13 speakers on the call.

Operator

Thanks, and welcome to Qorvo Inc. Q1 2024 Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

Operator

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Douglas Toledo, Vice President, Investor Relations. Thank you, Mr. Toledo. You may begin.

Speaker 1

Thanks very much. Hello, everybody, and welcome to Qorvo's fiscal 2024 Q1 earnings conference call. This call will include forward looking statements that involve risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially For management's current expectations, we encourage you to review the Safe Harbor statement contained in the earnings release published today as well as the risk factors associated with our business And our annual report on Form 10 ks filed with the SEC because these risk factors may affect our operations and financial results. In today's release and on today's call, we provide both GAAP and non GAAP financial results. We provide this supplemental information to enable investors to perform additional comparisons of operating results and to analyze financial performance without the impact of certain non cash expenses or other items that may obscure trends in our underlying performance.

Speaker 1

During our call, our comments and comparisons to income statement items will be based primarily on non GAAP results. A complete reconciliation of GAAP to non GAAP financial measures, please refer to our earnings release issued earlier today available on our Investor Relations website at ir.qorvo.com under Financial Releases. Joining us today are Bob Bruggeworth, President and CEO Grant Brown, CFO Dave Fullwood, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and other members of Qorvo's management team. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Bob.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Doug, and welcome everyone to Qorvo's fiscal 2024 Q1 call. Revenue, margin and EPS We're all above the midpoint of the outlook we provided on our May 3 earnings call. End market demand in the June quarter was consistent with our expectations. Within the Android ecosystem, channel inventories continue to be consumed and Qorvo continued to under shift to end market demand. We expect continued reduction in channel inventories in the September quarter and we see Android channel inventories normalizing by calendar year end.

Speaker 2

In other markets, relative strength in the areas like defense and aerospace and automotive Was offset by inventory consumption across consumer markets and weak demand in 5 gs infrastructure. In some of these markets, we expect inventory consumption to extend into next year. Qorvo has worked diligently since last fall to aggressively drive down channel inventories in multiple markets, while at the same time Prioritizing new product development and securing customer designs. This has enabled us to drive growth in large customer programs And it positions Qorvo for incremental growth as end markets recover. As we have stated in the past, Qorvo's growth targets by segment are for strong double digit growth in connectivity and sensors, double digit growth in high performance analog And mid to high single digit growth in advanced cellular.

Speaker 2

Design wins during the quarter in HPA were diversified across customers and markets and included large defense programs extending multiple years. In connectivity and sensors, Design activities span a variety of applications, including highly integrated IoT connectivity solutions, WiFi 7 RF front ends and force sensing touch sensors. We have a broad range of growth drivers in CSP And we are pleased with our increasing design activity in new growth areas like sensors and ultra wideband. Over time, we see HPA and CSG contributing increasingly to growth, diversification and margin expansion. In advanced cellular, design activity continued to be favorable across all leading smartphone OEMs.

Speaker 2

We are growing our content in next generation 5 gs smartphones at our largest customers and we are capturing new content In the Android ecosystem, as 4 gs units transition to 5 gs and enter our SAN. In calendar 2023, approximately 45% of Android smartphones will be 5 gs And we expect Android 5 gs smartphone unit growth to post double digit CAGR for several years. Now let's turn to some quarterly highlights. In automotive applications, Qorvo was selected by an automotive Tier 1 To supply ultra wideband connectivity for upcoming EV launch by a U. S.-based manufacturer, We are pleased with this win and the growing content opportunity in automotive where the ultra wideband content inside the car will typically include 5 to 7 placements, plus 1 placement in each key fob.

Speaker 2

We also secured touch sensor design wins, Enabling force level detection in a range of smart interior applications, including center console, door panel, Steering wheel and display, these are multiple design wins totaling multiple 1,000,000 of dollars. In automotive connectivity, we were selected by a leading automotive antenna supplier to provide cellular VDACS front end modules And BAW coexistent filters for use by a major European based OEM. Lastly, we expanded our automotive footprint with an automotive radar design win to supply a receive amplifier for a major U. S.-based Automotive OEM. Qorvo's automotive opportunities include DC to DC converters, onboard chargers, Smart interiors, RF front ends for 5 gs, Wi Fi and VDEX connectivity, radars and ultra wideband secure car access For key fobs and inside cars.

Speaker 2

In Wi Fi, we secured several Wi Fi 7 design wins With access point providers for our Wi Fi 7 BAW filters enabling full coverage of 2.4, 5 and 6 gigahertz bands. We also began sampling Tier 1 customers for our next generation Wi Fi 7 FEMs, which pair with multiple chipsets. In our Connectivity Systems business, we were among the first to achieve MATTER 1.1 certification for our Concurrent Connect Integrated solutions for gateways and devices. This expands our market opportunity in support of the top smart home ecosystem customers whose installed base exceeds 150,000,000 home networks. In Silicon Carbide, we booked a multimillion dollar customer order for silicon carbide power devices supporting AI servers and other data center applications.

Speaker 2

The zine win funnel for Qorvo silicon carbide power devices is increasing And we continue to expand our supply base to support our customers. In addition to the previously announced supply agreement with SK Siltron, We also have agreements in place with Wolfspeed and Coherent. For broadband applications, We extended our leadership in DOCSIS 4.0 with customer sampling of our 1.8 gigahertz hybrid power doubler. This solution delivers more RF power with lower power consumption than competing solid state solutions. In cellular infrastructure, we released the highly integrated 3.4 to 3.8 gigahertz 8 watt PAM That simplifies 5 gs massive MIMO system design.

Speaker 2

We also began sampling the industry's first C band discrete BAW band pass filter for 5 gs small cell radios. For defense communications, We began sampling the industry's first 2 to 18 gigahertz transmit received front end module delivering 10 watts of transmit power. This highly integrated wideband solution integrates the PA, switch, LNA and limiter. It leverages Qorvo's advanced packaging And process technologies to maximize power efficiency in a miniaturized footprint. The form factor and functional density of our solution It's especially critical given the trend in our defense and aerospace business of 1 to many.

Speaker 2

In addition to manned aircraft, There will be many more drones. In addition to large Chiyo satellites, there will be many more LEO satellites. These future communication systems and system upgrades incorporate more electronics, requiring greater integration across higher volumes. For smartphone OEMs, we began sampling Android smartphone customers Qorvo's newest highly integrated pad, which combines in a single placement, the low, mid and high band main path functionality that is currently offered in 2 placements. This new architecture reduces surface area by 40% To meaningfully simplify design and decrease time to market for mass tier 5 gs phones.

Speaker 2

This follows on the heels of our announcement last quarter that we've begun sampling a mid high band pad that combines the main pad And diversity received content for the mid and high bands. Both placements leverage a broad range of Qorvo process technologies, including Our newest BAW and SAW filters. Lastly, we commenced customer sampling of our next generation antenna tuners, which deliver best in class linearity, the industry's smallest solution size and compatible with all major chipsets. I want to thank the Qorvo team for continued operational excellence. We have made significant progress clearing channel inventories, while developing new technologies and securing new design wins that enhance our customers' products and expand our addressable market.

Speaker 2

In the September quarter, our outlook primarily reflects new products ramping at our largest customer. Later in the year, We expect Android revenues to reflect a healthier channel and Qorvo shipments that are more closely aligned with end market demand. We are very encouraged by customer design activity we've seen so far this year. We expect revenue growth and margin expansion As product mix favors our high growth investment businesses and we are positioned for incremental growth as end markets recover. And with that, I'll hand the call off to Grant.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Bob, and good afternoon, everyone. Revenue for the quarter was $651,000,000 Non GAAP gross margin was 42.9 percent and non GAAP EPS was $0.34 Relative to our expectations as provided on our May earnings call, results exceeded the midpoint of guidance despite the macro environment and Channel inventory reduction efforts. Consistent with our guidance, factory production levels improved modestly but remained low, Which created an underutilization impact during the quarter of approximately 800 basis points. The sequential improvement in gross margin And upside to the midpoint of our guidance was due to higher production levels and product mix. Non GAAP operating expenses in the quarter were $233,000,000 approximately in line with our expectations.

Speaker 3

We continue to invest in new product development that targets multiyear growth opportunities across all three segments as well as in the teams that directly support our customers. In total, non GAAP operating income in the quarter was $47,000,000 or 7% of sales, which increased modestly relative to last quarter. Breaking out operating margin by each segment, ACG was 11%, HPA was 17% and CSG was negative 20%. During the quarter, Qorvo Biotechnologies reduced CSG operating income by approximately $2,000,000 As a reminder, we are currently in the process of seeking strategic alternatives for this business. Non GAAP net income was $34,000,000 Representing diluted earnings per share of $0.34 Moving on to the cash flow statement.

Speaker 3

Free cash flow was $5,000,000 And capital expenditures were $39,000,000 During the quarter, we repurchased $100,000,000 worth of shares at an average price of $96.81 The rate and pace of our repurchases is based on our long term outlook, Free cash flow, low leverage, alternative uses of cash and other factors. Turning to the balance sheet. As of quarter end, we had approximately $2,000,000,000 of debt outstanding with no near term maturities and $744,000,000 of cash and equivalents. Cash benefited from the sale of our Farmers Branch campus, which was completed during the quarter. Consistent with our expectations and commentary from our prior earnings call, our net inventory balance ended the quarter was up $121,000,000 To $917,000,000 driven by the seasonal ramp at our largest customer.

Speaker 3

Turning to our current quarter outlook. We expect quarterly revenue of approximately $1,000,000,000 plus or minus $15,000,000 Non GAAP gross margin between 45% 46% and non GAAP diluted earnings per share of approximately $1.75 at the midpoint of the revenue range. Our outlook contemplates the current demand environment, Further consumption of channel inventory and seasonal factors. Our non GAAP guidance for fiscal Q2 excludes any costs Related to the divestiture of the Biotech business, but includes ongoing operating expenses until it is divested. We project non GAAP operating expenses in the September quarter will be approximately $240,000,000 In addition to growth oriented investments across our product and technology portfolios, we are also targeting enterprise wide productivity initiatives.

Speaker 3

We are simplifying and rationalizing processes and upgrading the core systems we use to run the business. We will present these productivity investments as non GAAP other operating expenses. These multi year efforts We'll support future growth and enhance profitability as we upgrade, modernize and standardize around the latest tools and best practices. Below the operating income line, non operating expense is expected to be approximately $10,000,000 Reflecting the interest paid on our fixed rate debt offset by interest income earned on our cash balances, FX gains or losses along with other items. Our non GAAP tax rate for fiscal 2024 is expected to be within a range of 13% to 15%.

Speaker 3

We expect our inventory balance will decrease in the September quarter as we support a seasonal ramp at our largest customer. In terms of channel inventory, the environment continues to improve. Inventories of our components in the Android channel were reduced During the June quarter by approximately 20%. This follows greater than 20% reductions in the prior two quarters. We anticipate channel inventories will continue to decline this quarter.

Speaker 3

Later this calendar year, we expect the Android channel inventories will normalize. Outside of the Android ecosystem, there are smaller pockets of channel inventory that will take longer to digest. For the full year, there is no change to the full fiscal 2024 commentary provided last quarter. To reiterate, we forecast fiscal 2024 revenue will be above fiscal 2023 and expect to benefit from strong dollar content growth at our largest customer. For the full year, fiscal 2024 non GAAP gross margin Is expected to be approximately 44% with variability on a quarterly basis, primarily tracking utilization and mix.

Speaker 3

During the second half of the fiscal year, we expect sequential declines in gross margin during Q3 and again in Q4, primarily related to utilization and mix. Non GAAP operating expenses for Q3 and Q4 are Expected to be approximately $240,000,000 to $245,000,000 per quarter with variability related to the timing of product development spend, Investments in core systems and related productivity initiatives, incentive compensation based on our Expectations for improved financial performance, the timing of the biotechnology business disposition as well as other items. Qorvo enjoys multi year growth drivers across our 3 segments. We are leveraging a broad portfolio of technologies and capabilities to grow content This year on large customer programs and we are uniquely positioned across leading customers in large markets. We're investing to drive outsized growth in diverse

Operator

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer The first question comes from the line of Karl Ackerman with BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Yes, thank you. Two questions, if I may, gentlemen. First, could you comment on your ability to secure gallium and germanium substrates for your products? And I guess what are your thoughts on the ability to pass along higher substrate costs if that were to occur going forward?

Speaker 3

Sure. Thanks for the question, Karl. This is Grant. We currently don't believe the export ban will have a meaningful near term impact. Took effect yesterday as you know, but it was communicated well in advance.

Speaker 3

And I credit our ops and sales team for acting quickly to assess The supply needs and communicate with customers and suppliers and ultimately for increasing our raw material coverage with our direct suppliers wherever needed. But We have not observed any notable changes in our customers' behavior or supplier lead times. We remain in close contact with our suppliers and they have Sure to us of their ability to support our demand down to individual purchase orders on committed delivery dates. In terms of pricing, we had again haven't seen anything abnormal there as of today.

Speaker 4

Very helpful. I guess if I could just maybe zoom out for a second. I was hoping you could discuss the timing Of the automotive design wins you've mentioned in your prepared remarks across many applications really silicon carbide, Ultra wideband, forward sensing, my understanding was that automotive represented kind of a mid single digit portion of your sales. I Could be wrong, but that clearly appears to be expanding. So could you comment, and whether maybe your automotive business doubles for you by 2025?

Speaker 4

Thanks.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Karl. This is Bob. Appreciate the question. As you well know, the nice thing about automotive is when you win, you get great visibility for multiple years unlike the smartphone industry, Where today, we get a little bit of visibility, but you have to then earn it the following models where in automotive, as you pointed out, you go out several years, We've got great visibility. At this time, we're not sizing it, but I think based on the volume of opportunities that we shared in my prepared remarks Plus in the press release, it is our expectations as you pointed out, as we move out into calendar year 2025 and 2026, It will become a much more meaningful part of our business.

Speaker 2

But as you pointed out, we're already participating in some of the automotive applications today. I will comment, the electric vehicle manufacturers do seem to move a little bit more a little bit faster Than the traditional gas engine manufacturers. But we do look forward to continue to report our progress.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Ruben Roy with Stifel Nicolaus. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Thank you. Bob, if I can follow-up right where you left off on auto. Can you talk about or characterize Types of automobiles where you're winning, is it sort of flagship versions or flagship autos or mid tier, high end or across the board? And At this point, is there a way to think about content per auto in dollars?

Speaker 2

Sure. Thanks. I'm going to have Dave get into some of the details on that, Ruben.

Speaker 6

Yes. And so you can imagine some of these products that we're talking about, they're going to start in the higher tier of the auto from ultra wideband Or the sensors that are going into the cockpit, electric vehicles certainly Our focus there, but even some of the higher end gas powered vehicles. And over time, we expect that to go down market. On some of the connectivity side, that can go more broadly across the portfolio in the OEMs because there you're talking about Connectivity within the vehicle, connectivity from vehicle to outside of the vehicle. So some of those are more Driven by the governments and those requirements are going to be across all vehicles regardless of the tier where that model sits.

Speaker 5

Got it. Thank you. And as a follow-up, Grant, I caught the operating margin numbers you gave for the segments. I don't know if I missed this, but I don't have it. Can you give us the dollars or kind of the performance for the segments in the June quarter?

Speaker 5

And Obviously, you've got strong content gains at the largest customer driving the September revenue expectation. But if you can give us any granularity in how you're Thinking about the other segments as you proceed, any changes to how you're thinking about those segments through the rest of the year? Thanks.

Speaker 3

Sure, Ruben. Revenue by segment was $412,000,000 for ACG, dollars 140,000,000 for HPA and $99,000,000 for CSG. In ACG, our fiscal Q1 is the lowest seasonal point For those largest customers, but despite that the top line for ACG was approximately flat or down about 1% or so. Both HPA and CSG saw Sequential growth in the quarter up 5% 21% sequentially. As I commented in the prepared remarks, operating income was 11% just For ACG, 17% for HPA and then negative 20% for CSG, which was a notable sequential improvement Chris, DSG.

Speaker 3

We don't guide by segment, but looking out into September, the primary driver is the content gains at our largest customer within ACG. Revenue is not supported by existing inventory. It's built and shipped in line with the seasonal ramp. So it's not burdened with those higher Costs of some of the Android inventory, for example, so that benefits gross margin and has been factored into our guidance.

Speaker 6

Appreciate it.

Speaker 3

Operator, are you there?

Operator

This is the operator. Should I is the question over?

Speaker 2

Yes, please. Next question, please.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Gary Mobley with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Hey, guys. I wasn't sure if I was getting my question in. Good afternoon. I was Observing that your first half of fiscal year 'twenty four appears to be running about 3% above Your May commentary and or about $50,000,000 What's driving that minor variance? And is there anything to call out There may be offsetting that.

Speaker 3

Sure. Thanks, Gary. Good to get the question. I I think it's fair to say that the quarter played out better than we had forecast when we provided our May guidance. If you look into that revenue, it was strength in the areas that we had talked about.

Speaker 3

So at our largest customer and then within Having cleared some of the channel inventory, we're still benefiting to a modest degree there. But generally speaking, the quarter played out better. In terms of the drivers on maybe the EPS beat to go a little further than just revenue, that was Primarily gross margin improvement, which was partially driven by the revenue upside, but was also Factor there of lower factory variances, including utilization, better utilization and continuing cost reduction efforts. Those were partially offset by some inventory related charges and typical price erosion along with inflation. But generally speaking, the quarter Was better than we had forecasted in May.

Speaker 4

Got it. Thanks, Grant. And so you're guiding The September quarter revenue at about $1,000,000,000 which takes us back to a similar level to the June quarter fiscal year 2023. Wind gross margins were 4.50 basis points higher. And I presume the difference today is that You just have too much inventory and you just can't fully utilize the manufacturing operations.

Speaker 4

But under my question is under what circumstances Can we see a return to that 50% gross margin?

Speaker 3

Sure. We still have visibility to 50%. As I pointed out on the call, we have about an 800 basis point headwind from utilization in the prior quarter. And looking forward, We still have those same issues from a utilization perspective, as you pointed out on inventory. I think as we clear the channel inventory across Android and utilization returns to a level in which we're shipping to end market demand, We should have a clear path back towards the 50% gross margins we've enjoyed in the past.

Speaker 3

Those are really twofold. There's the inventory we have on hand, which is already burdened with the cost of that underutilization in the past. And then there's the forward looking utilization Within the current quarter as we meet future demand or build product for future demand, both of those can weigh on the quarter and are in that 800 basis points that I quoted. The underutilization of the current period can if it's extreme, can hit as period charges and we've experienced some of those as well. So it's really as we Resynchronize our factories to end market demand, we should have a clear path back.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Srini Pajjuri with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Thank you. Bob, on the Android inventory, you seem pretty optimistic that it's going to normalize by end of the calendar year. So I guess as we look out to the March quarter and next calendar year, what's the, I guess, strategy for, I guess, Whether you call it refilling the channel or maybe, just trying to think about how the seasonality might get impacted once the inventory normalizes?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Srini for your question. And yes, we are getting pretty comfortable with the progress we're making. And as Both Grant and I have commented. The team has done a great job of managing the inventory down, working with our customers, working with some of our distributors to do that. And our expectations are now we should be able to by the end of the calendar year, things will normalize.

Speaker 2

And then obviously as that happens, We're not expecting end demand to change at all from where we are. In fact, as we sit here today reporting The most recent quarter, and we were a quarter ago, our numbers for units of Android phones, smartphones has not changed. So we think things are stabilizing some. Yes, the market's been down here a little bit up there, but overall. So as we look out into 'twenty four Calendar 2020 4, fiscal 2025 for us, we're not ready to make any calls on what's going to happen with the macro economy and things like that.

Speaker 2

But clearly, as we've come down to normalized inventories, that headwind turns into a tailwind. So we'll watch how that plays out.

Speaker 7

Yes, that's great. And then maybe one for Grant. Grant, you kind of highlighted underutilization as one of the issues with the With the gross margin, but I guess the other issue is the high cost inventory. So I guess at what point that stops Become a headwind to your gross margin and maybe potentially a tailwind?

Speaker 3

Sure. We haven't commented beyond Fiscal 'twenty four, so I won't do that here. But in our guidance, with a sequential drop in Q3, you start to see Some improvement there. And then in Q4, again, you start to see even more improvement as we sell through some of the channel inventory. Now gross margin will be sequentially down In the sense that we're selling through some of that inventory, but we do expect to resynchronize utilization towards the end of our fiscal year and into Fiscal 2025, but we haven't commented specifically beyond that.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Vivek Arya with Bank of America Securities. Please go ahead.

Speaker 8

Thank you for taking my question. Bob, you are sounding more confident about the top line growth, but since the last time Corvo reported, there has been Kind of this pronounced slowdown in China. And even if the Android customer inventory might be getting cleaned up, your large customers still has China As an important end market. So I'm curious, that on the last call, you suggested that December sales could be flattish, right, and March would be down just kind of seasonal. Is that still the right way to think about December March?

Speaker 8

Or do you think we should be reflecting any macro effects that we are seeing by way of sell through and just consumer demand.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Vivek. This is Grant. Let me take that one. Beyond the specific September quarter guidance that we just provided, there's no change to the fiscal 2024 commentary that we provided last quarter. So as Bob pointed out, our expectations for sell through and in the channel remain the same.

Speaker 3

Absent any macro related disruptions, which we're Predicting, we do forecast and continue to think fiscal 2024 revenue will be above fiscal 2023, as you mentioned, and we're benefiting from Some strong dollar content growth at our largest customer and then later in the year, we'll benefit from the actions we've taken in connection with our customers to clear that channel inventory. To be clear, we are calling for very modest growth on the year, which is consistent. But in fact, Our forecast does not anticipate a significant rebound in Android units. It's the Qorvo specific situation as we process through the channel inventory and then return to shipping to end market demand. Beyond revenue, just for the year, there's also no change Our fiscal 2024 non GAAP gross margin still expected to be approximately 24% plus or minus with some variability on a Quarterly basis tracking utilization and mix, which I've already talked about.

Speaker 3

This is important to understand. Mix will shift seasonally Over fiscal Q3 and even more so in fiscal Q4 towards higher cost inventories and utilization is also important as I pointed out because it supports That incremental forward looking demand, but also because severe underutilization can lead to period costs, as I mentioned earlier. We've been very transparent there and continue to expect those sequential declines in gross margin and that's backed into our 44% guide. I covered OpEx a bit in my prepared remarks, but it's important to know that we are investing for the future. We're investing in large customer programs where we have The technologies to win, we're investing in diversifying businesses like silicon carbide, UWB, matter, SoCs and power management.

Speaker 3

And finally, we're investing in ourselves by upgrading our core systems and numerous productivity initiatives. So on the whole, there's no change to our Fiscal 20 24 guidance and our view of the market remains the same.

Speaker 8

Thanks, Grant. Very helpful. And then on gross margins, Apologize if you had answered this before, but again from the last call, I think you had mentioned December could be down 100, 150 basis points and then March would be down another 200 to 300 basis points as you work through some of the higher priced component inventory. What would make that Component inventory costs go down, right? I imagine there has been more inflation over time.

Speaker 8

So I guess this is a long winded way of asking that as we start the next fiscal year, What is the right baseline of gross margins we should think about? Is it that 43%, 44% level as you're exiting March? Is it the average level that you have in this fiscal year or what is the right way to just think about the baseline level of gross margin as you enter the next fiscal year?

Speaker 3

Sure. I might think about it 2 different ways. I wouldn't characterize Q1 of fiscal 2025 as baseline revenue, but I think it's appropriate to build off of what you Our modeling in Q4 of fiscal 2024, but we haven't provided explicit guidance to that. Thank

Operator

you. Next question comes from the line of Tim Arcuri

Speaker 9

This is Aman calling in for Tim. Just one question from me.

Speaker 10

I just wanted to ask

Speaker 9

The used phone market for iPhone has potentially changed the trajectory of recovery on the Android side, Because I know that the iPhone market, the used phone market is growing substantially. So I just wanted to Try to get a sense for it if that's sort of like a headwind to the recovery on the Android side.

Speaker 2

The iPhone refurbished market has been around for quite a long time. So at least when we model that coupled with everything else that we do in our normal research For phone usage, different segments, all those things that we feed into our model, we've taken all that into account for all the comments that We've made this evening, last quarter, the quarter before that and the quarter before that. So, it's all in our calculus already.

Speaker 11

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Matt Ramsay with TD Cowen and Company. Please go ahead.

Speaker 11

Thank you, guys. Good afternoon. There's a couple of calls going on at the same time. So I apologize if I missed a little bit of this. Got it.

Speaker 11

I heard all the comments going into the back half of the year regarding inventory in the handset market and also Your sales potentially getting better with a large customer. I wanted to ask, the Qualcomm guys mentioned tonight not Having a license to ship into Huawei for 5 gs and there's some pretty well documented reports about HiSilicon doing a modem with SMIC for some of those phones and it's uncertain about volumes. But could you guys Tell us if you would be allowed to participate in those handset builds and if you have sort of export license to do so? Thanks.

Speaker 2

Matt, thanks for the question. I don't believe there's any company in the U. S. That has a license to ship to Huawei for a 5 gs phone. They become a very small customer of ours, so there's no real impact from that perspective.

Speaker 2

And as you pointed out, we'll see if they're successful or not, Won't impact our business at this time.

Speaker 11

Got it. No, that was my assumption, but I had a few people ask me to clarify that. I guess as my follow-up, you guys have spent a lot of time talking about diversification of the company Outside of the wireless market and it's not lost on us through the press release and some of your communications that the first bunch of bullets was about things in the auto market and In aerospace and defense and a bunch of markets, silicon carbide, a bunch of things outside of the handset market. But there's also been some pretty dynamic Macroeconomic conditions in all of those markets as well, like nothing is really immune from the macro. So maybe you guys could give us a little bit of an update Outside of the handset market, how inventory for the company is overall, at customers in the channel, Are there any it's well documented what the inventory headwinds are to gross margin and the recovery in your handset business and we all follow that closely.

Speaker 11

But are there any things that we should know about Outside of the handset market from an inventory perspective, or do you feel like things are relatively clean there? Thank you.

Speaker 3

Sure. This is Grant. Let me take maybe the 2 part question and then I'll ask Dave to step in if I missed anything. The question about The growth drivers, if you look at or think about the phases of growth that we're looking at right now, you could, as we've commented on, Return to shipping to end market demand is relatively near term. Beyond that, we're continuing to work with our customers and believe that we'll benefit As the volume levels return, so beyond just shipping to end market demand, we should see some growth and return to normalcy over the coming years.

Speaker 3

And then Maybe beyond that even into the longer term, we should see the benefits from the investments we're making. That would be sort of beyond 5 gs and And you're looking into the migration to DOCSIS 4.0 within HPA, the one to many phenomenon Bob commented on in defense and aerospace will continue. Within CSG, there's a move to WiFi 7 and among many other things that we're investing in and expect to see growth there. In the near term, on inventory, to that piece of the question, we are seeing pockets, which we've talked about before in base station and partially in WiFi And some consumer areas, which will take longer for us to work through versus Android. And Dave, I don't know if you have anything further.

Speaker 6

Yes. And I think you hit it right, Grant. And the inventories in the channel for most of the components outside of Android will probably be On a similar cadence maybe into early next year other than base station. We don't have as good a visibility into our customers' end markets and how much inventory may be there that they need to work So that's probably a little bit of uncertainty for us.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Christopher Rolland with Susquehanna. Please go ahead.

Speaker 12

Hey guys, congrats on the great guidance and sorry if these were answered. But December, did you still expect that to be flat revenues, flattish from September? Any other thoughts on seasonality moving forward? And then Grant, I know you expect revenue Grow fiscal year on year, any chance that EPS could grow as well or is that a little too far of a long shot?

Speaker 3

Sure. Thanks, Chris. And I'm glad you asked the question actually on December. So when we made the comment to a flattish December, it was On our previously anchored to our last quarter guidance, so I would expect that right now given that we're not anticipating significant growth in fiscal 2020 I would couch that with the comments we made last quarter. It could end up being slightly down to flattish.

Speaker 3

And then of course some seasonal decline in March, potentially less than normal as we clear the channel. So, That question hasn't been asked. I'm glad you went there. In terms of EPS, I've given majority of the P and L, but haven't commented specifically On annual EPS relative to fiscal 2023.

Speaker 12

And then I thought it was interesting you mentioned silicon carbide, I believe it was for AI servers, if I got that right. And Is that like DC to DC or into power supplies or any other detail there would be great, if I got that right?

Speaker 6

Yes, yes, you got that right. It's for power supplies into servers. And of course, AI and any type of application like that is going to drive demand there. So that's good Perhaps, but, yes, that's a strong market for us as we grow our silicon carbide business.

Operator

Thank you. Next question comes from the line of Edward Snyder with Charter Equity Research. Please go ahead.

Speaker 10

Thanks a lot. Based on everything you said here and you're a bit stronger than expected guidance in September, everything you said about Android, you're not Recon, etcetera. That suggests that the extra strength is coming from your content gains, your largest customer. And doesn't that imply, Given your share and all that, that you're going to see well year over year in content is going to have to be up much more significantly than 40% overall. If I get that math right?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Ed. I think you're consistent with what we've been saying. We're going to have significant Content gain in our largest customer and as I've said in other public forums that primarily in products that we already participated in where we've been able to Grow our share as well as they're adding content.

Speaker 10

Right. So that was my second question, because you have been clear that the content gains are kind of a mix of both, Share gains and new content, does that mean that we'll see you in sections of the ARPA fee that we haven't seen in the past when you're talking about new content? Or is it just additions to areas you've been very strong in previously? And how sticky do you feel those share gains will be over the next year or so, especially the ones that You're taking from other folks, just curious.

Speaker 2

Yes. Thanks, Ed. Again, what I've said publicly is in which I know it's hard for many of you to find in the antenna tuner space along with some of the other small components that are in there that Quite honestly, a lot of you missed. They're not on the motherboard. They're in various other flex circuits and things like that.

Speaker 2

It's Ed Gaining there. And in the Ultra Hi, Ben. We've talked it's a PA and BAW filter and we've been in for about 3 years. So that's the area. So it's Really in those two areas primarily.

Speaker 10

Those areas that you guys actually been quite strong in, they're expanding given all the new Connectivity going on here makes sense. And we've highlighted every 10 tuners. I think you're up to like 12 to 15 In the last model, it was a couple of impedance tuners too. So that's generally what we're talking about in most of the games.

Speaker 2

Your number is not mine. I'm not going to comment on the units number of units per phone. I will say you're in the right area. I'd also point out we publicly said the last couple quarterly calls as well that we still believe there's lots of opportunity for us to grow with that customer As we look forward in the coming years.

Speaker 10

Great. Thank you, Bob.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back over to the management Closing comments.

Speaker 2

We want to thank everyone for joining us on today's call. We appreciate your time and look forward to speaking with you at upcoming investor events. Thank you, and hope you have a good night.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for

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Earnings Conference Call
Qorvo Q1 2024
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