The GameStop saga has made big headlines over the past month when shares of the video game retailer surged thanks to a bit of short squeeze mania. But if you're one of those who missed out on the stock's meteoric rise in January 2021 (and fall in February 2021), there's no need to be disappointed; there are plenty of solid investment opportunities out there to take advantage of without getting exposed to the risks of chasing a short squeeze.
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS 0.22%), for instance, is one of the best ways investors can take advantage of the growing adoption of 5G wireless technology. The chipmaker recently delivered stellar results for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 -- in stark contrast with the struggling GameStop, which is witnessing a decline in business thanks to changing trends in video gaming. The good part is that Skyworks looks all set to build upon its recent success and deliver more upside to investors. Let's see why.
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Skyworks Solutions is on a roll
Skyworks exceeded expectations when it reported its fiscal 2021 first-quarter results. The chipmaker was originally expecting year-over-year revenue growth of 18% to a range of $1.04 billion to $1.07 billion, but it sprang a big surprise with a 69% jump in the top line to a record $1.51 billion. Adjusted earnings doubled year over year to $3.36 per share, cruising past the company's estimate of $2.06 per share.
What's more, Skyworks' blistering second-quarter guidance indicates that its recent performance was not a flash in the pan. It expects revenue between $1.125 billion and $1.175 billion in the current quarter and non-GAAP earnings of $2.34 per share. The midpoint of that revenue guidance range means that Skyworks is anticipating 50% revenue growth this quarter over the prior-year period. Substantial bottom-line growth is also in the cards: Skyworks had generated non-GAAP earnings of $1.34 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Skyworks Solutions has clearly hit a purple patch, which is not surprising, since the chipmaker's biggest customer -- Apple (AAPL 1.93%) -- is witnessing massive demand for its latest iPhone 12 smartphone lineup. The iPhone maker accounted for 56% of Skyworks' sales in the fiscal year that concluded on Oct. 2, 2020. An examination of the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro shows that the chipmaker is supplying as many as eight radio frequency (RF) modules to Apple.
This is going to be a massive tailwind for Skyworks in 2021. The iPhone 12 didn't take much time to become the top-selling 5G smartphone in the world. That dominance helped Apple record a 22.2% year-over-year jump in shipments in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to IDC.
The 5G smartphone market is expected to become even bigger in 2021. This bodes well for Skyworks, because Apple is expected to remain a top player in this space with a 35% market share. Quoting an investor note by Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives, AppleInsider reports that the Cupertino-based company could move as many as 250 million iPhones in 2021. That implies a jump of more than 21% over Apple's 2020 shipments of 206 million units.
Sharing in Apple's success, however, is not the only way Skyworks can benefit from the booming 5G smartphone market. Skyworks CEO Liam Griffin remarked on the latest earnings conference call that "Specifically, in mobile, we accelerated the ramp of our Sky5 portfolio, supporting the next wave of 5G launches at Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and other Tier 1s."
The mobile business produced 78% of Skyworks' total revenue last quarter. The segment's revenue jumped 80% sequentially as the adoption of its 5G chips increased across several smartphone OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Skyworks' management also pointed out that the 5G transition is having more than just a volume-related impact on its business, saying, "These gains are being driven by both a growing device count and an expanding content per device, in some cases, doubling or even tripling for Skyworks."
That's not surprising, as 5G smartphones are creating additional revenue opportunities for RF chip suppliers like Skyworks. A strong customer base and the budding 5G smartphone market that's expected to account for two-thirds of annual smartphone sales by 2023 -- up from 34% in the fourth quarter of 2020 -- are going to be tailwinds for the company.
Don't miss this opportunity
Skyworks Solutions is trading at an attractive valuation relative to its growth. The stock has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 28.2 and a forward P/E multiple of 19.7. These multiples are lower than 2020's average trailing P/E ratio of 31.8 and the forward P/E ratio of 20.4.
What's more, Skyworks stock trades at 7.6 times sales as compared to 2020's average multiple of 7.7. The interesting thing to note here is that Skyworks' growth in fiscal 2020 was nowhere near the current levels. So Skyworks is a much better deal now that it has officially stepped on the gas and continues to trade at reasonable multiples, making it a top 5G stock for investors to buy instead of going after speculative bets.
