Quantenna Communications (QTNA +0.00%) reported strong results in Monday. The beat-and-raise report was met with market enthusiasm as Quantenna shares rose as much as 8% in after-hours trading.
Here's a closer look at the advanced Wi-Fi networking specialist's first-quarter results.
Quantenna's first quarter by the numbers
|
Metric |
Q1 2018 |
Q1 2017 |
Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Revenue |
$45.1 million |
$37.9 million |
19% |
|
Adjusted net income |
$1.16 million |
$1.22 million |
(5%) |
|
Adjusted earnings per diluted share |
$0.03 |
$0.03 |
0% |
Data source: Quantenna.
The average Wall Street analyst would have settled for earnings of $0.01 per share on sales near $44 million. Quantenna passed these targets without breaking a sweat.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, management projected an earnings range centered on $0.08 per share. That would be slightly above the $0.07 per share that was reported in the same period of 2017. The goal is also above the current Street consensus, which points at earnings of roughly $0.06 per share.
Quantenna will give change a chance. Image source: Getty Images.
What's going on with Quantenna?
Quantenna stands in the middle of a generational switch, as the aging 802.11n and 11ac wireless-networking standards move off the map to make way for newer and faster 802.11ax technology.
Besides offering higher networking speeds, the 11ax standard can run on lower electric power feeds. That makes it a good fit for embedded and mobile devices, where hardwired power lines don't exist and battery space is limited. So Quantenna's management sees the new generation of Wi-Fi products as a perfect play on the Internet of Things. That changeover should spell fantastic sales and bottom-line profits for this company.
On the downside, 802.11ax technologies are still a work in progress. The final standards are not expected to see daylight until 2019, even if preliminary devices have already been demonstrated at Silicon Valley trade shows.
So Quantenna's older products are sliding into obscurity while core clients prepare to make the leap to 802.11ax -- next year.
What's next?
Against that backdrop, 19% year-over-year revenue growth is nothing to sneeze at. The current top-of-the-line product line, which offers 10-gigabit speeds through a Quantenna-specific version of the basic 802.11ac standards and won't necessarily work with hardware from other companies, is pulling its weight at the moment.
So 2019 should provide a springboard for Quantenna's main business and a good takeoff platform for its struggling stock. By Monday's closing bell, Quantenna shares had fallen 25% over the previous 52 weeks. The 10-gigabit line saw some delays in the second half of 2017, causing a disappointingly modest round of guidance targets in November's third-quarter report. Share prices fell 35% the next day.
I think it's clear that Quantenna's 10-gigabit business is back on track and that the long-term future should offer plenty of growth opportunities.
