A quick look at last night's third-quarter report from MIPS Technologies
- Revenue fell 23.5% year-over-year to $15.3 million.
- License holders of MIPS' processor architectures shipped 7.5% fewer chips.
- Last year's $0.01 non-GAAP profit per share turned into a $0.01 loss.
Yet these stale numbers fell at the high end of management guidance, and they were enough to beat Wall Street's estimates.
Management seems excited that Google
But it's a long, uphill battle. ARM has such a solid first-mover lead that even mighty Intel
And the MIPS story never changes. There's always a big breakthrough just around the corner even as sales and profits run down the drain. I used to believe the big talk, but I'm running out of patience with the lack of concrete results.
The rumor mill would have it that the entire company is up for sale, which adds another twist to the story. (No, management won't confirm or deny the gossip.) Do you believe the buyout story and hold on for an acquisition premium? Or maybe you should sell right now to take advantage of the rumor-fueled pop?
I'm sitting on the fence. My bullish CAPScall on MIPS stays in place just a little while longer. But if the company can't show a solid catalyst or two before the next quarterly report, I'll probably remove that optimistic vote at a loss. There are just too many better, more believable growth stocks in this market to carry the torch for a turnaround that never comes.