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Apple Supplier NXP Semiconductors Earnings Beat Amid ‘Challenges’

Apple ( AAPL ) supplier NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) reported much-better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and revenue late Wednesday, despite some “challenges.” Fellow iPhone chipmaker Qorvo ( QRVO ) on tap after the market close Thursday. NXP Semiconductors earned $1.25 a share excludng various items, down 7% vs. a year earlier but easily exceeding Wall Street estimates for $1.07. Revenue climbed 4.5% to $1.61 billion. Analysts had expected a 16% drop to $1.29 billion. The fourth-quarter results include one month of contribution from newly acquired Freescale Semiconductor. The Freescale deal is aimed at making NXP an automotive chip powerhouse. Automotive-related sales rose 45% to $422 million. The deal also halves its Apple iPhone exposure. For the current Q1, NXP expects revenue of $2.15 billion to $2.27 billion with non-GAAP EPS of $1.05-$1.15. Analysts expect Q1 EPS of $1.09. Revenue also was in line. “Looking forward, our task is to continue to outgrow the market despite the uncertain environment,” said CEO Richard Clemmer. NXP stock rose 6.2% in morning trading On Wednesday, shares closed down 3.1% on the  stock market , near 52-week lows set last month. Apple rose 0.6% intraday. On Wednesdsay, its shares rallied 2%, as Apple regained its market cap crown from Alphabet ( GOOGL ) after Alphabet took the lead on Tuesday.  (Alphabet lost 4% Wednesday.) Late Thursday, Qorvo should report a 16% sales decline to $620.3 million, with non-GAAP EPS down 37% to 94 cents. Qorvo slashed its revenue forecast in December. Goldman Sachs downgraded Qorvo Wednesday, saying it’s losing out to rival radio frequency chipmaker  Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), yet another Apple supplier. Qorvo stock rose 3.4% after losing 0.2% Wednesday. Skyworks Solutions dipped 0.4% intraday after falling 0.4% on Wednesday.

Apple Suppliers NXP, Qorvo Fall On iPhone 6S Weakness

Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) iPhone 6S tornado hit shares of chipmakers  NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) and Qorvo ( QRVO ), a Goldman Sachs analyst wrote Wednesday ahead of the duo’s quarterly earnings reports. Both are expected to report 16% dips in December-quarter sales and earnings that fell by double digits during the holiday season. “Smartphone-exposed stocks have been under pressure recently after a slew of negative pre-announcements among suppliers with heavy Apple exposure,” Toshiya Hari of Goldman Sachs wrote in a research report. But Hari sees the potential for a “snap-back” as “investors digest Apple’s weak Q1 and begin to look at what we believe will be a relatively strong 2016 overall.” NXP Semiconductors fell 2.9% on the stock market today  ahead of its late Wednesday Q4 earnings report. Qorvo stock closed down 0.2% and is scheduled to report fiscal Q3 earnings late Thursday. Apple for its part, rose 2% on Wednesday. For its December quarter, NXP is expected to report $1.29 billion in sales and $1.07 earnings per share ex items, down 16% and 21%, respectively, vs. the year-earlier quarter. The consensus view of 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was relatively in line with NXP’s three-months-ago guidance for a sales decline of “low to mid-teens,” sequentially. For the year, analysts model $5.78 billion in sales and $5.43 EPS minus items, up 2% and 14%, respectively, vs. 2014. Hari rates NXP stock a neutral as it continues realizing synergies from its recently completed acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor. The merger reduced NXP’s Apple exposure by essentially half, Hari noted. He expects NXP to mount up on its automotive content, expected to grow by 9% CAGR over the next three years. Advanced driver assistance systems, infotainment and autonomous vehicles will drive that growth. Late Thursday, Qorvo is expected to report $620.3 million in sales and 94 cents EPS ex items for its fiscal Q3. On a year-over-year basis, sales would dip 16% and EPS would be down 37%. Qorvo, Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ) and Dialog Semiconductor drove smartphone pressure with their negative pre-announcements late last year. Qorvo reduced its fiscal Q3 sales guide to $620 million from earlier views for $720 million to $730 million. The company didn’t reduce its EPS ex items guide for $1.25 to $1.30. Hari downgraded Qorvo stock to neutral from a buy rating on its “disadvantage to Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ) … given (Qorvo’s) ongoing integration and Skyworks’ ability to leverage its portfolio of adjacent analog products to provide more complete solutions to handset (smartphone-makers).” Qorvo was created in January 2015 with the merger of RFMD and TriQuint, and competes against radio-frequency (RF) chip suppliers Skyworks and Avago Technologies ( AVGO ). RF content in smartphones is expected to grow 9% and 14% in 2016 and 2017, Hari estimated. That’s against an 0.4% decline in smartphone unit growth in 2016 vs. 1.4% growth in 2015, he wrote. Although Qorvo’s portfolio is more complete post-merger, Hari questioned the timeline on synergies. The company guided to $150 million in synergies in 2017 with $75 million realized in 2015.

Apple Supplier Skyworks Poised For Q1 ‘Relief Rally’

Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) will shuck Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone weakness on Jan. 28 when the chipmaker reports its Q1 earnings, a Needham analyst said Tuesday as he upgraded the stock. Needham analyst N. Quinn Bolton upgraded Skyworks stock to a buy rating from hold and established a 73 price target. Ahead of the closing bell on the stock market today, Skyworks stock was down about 0.5% near the closing bell, around 60.50, while Apple stock was off