Shares of Cirrus Logic (CRUS -0.65%) have shot up an impressive 25% in the past month amid the broader rally in technology stocks, and this rally isn't surprising considering the terrific fiscal 2023 first-quarter results (for the three months ended June 25, 2022) that were released on Aug. 2.
The company, which counts Apple (AAPL -0.81%) as its largest customer with 79% of the total revenue last quarter, crushed Wall Street's expectations. Even better, its outlook indicates that the demand for its chips, which power key Apple products such as iPhones and iPads, remains healthy.
Let's see what's working for Cirrus Logic and check why this tech stock remains an attractive bet despite rallying over the past month.
Cirrus Logic crushed Wall Street's expectations last quarter
Cirrus Logic's outstanding performance in the fiscal first quarter isn't surprising. The chipmaker reported record revenue of $393.6 million, an increase of 42% over the prior-year period. The company's gross margin increased by 1 percentage point to 51.5%, sending its non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings to $1.12 per share from $0.54 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts would have settled for $0.83 per share in earnings on $366.7 million in revenue, but Cirrus benefited from the healthy demand for flagship smartphones. More specifically, Cirrus witnessed higher average selling prices (ASPs) and content gains in the high-performance mixed-signal (HPMS) business. This segment has been gaining solid traction in recent quarters thanks to the company's move to diversify into new markets beyond the traditional audio business.
As a result, Cirrus was able to beat the broader slowdown in the smartphone market by shipping more components to key players such as Apple. Sales of Apple's iPhones, for instance, were up 3.3% year over year to 47.5 million units in the second quarter of calendar 2022. That was an impressive performance considering the smartphone market contracted 7.3% in the second quarter.
Cirrus is supplying more content to each unit of the iPhone 13 lineup. It won the contract to supply power conversion chips to Apple last year in addition to the audio codecs that were present in the iPhone 12. So, the growth in iPhone shipment volumes and higher revenue from each iPhone unit were the reasons behind Cirrus' solid showing.
The adoption of Cirrus' power conversion chip in the iPhone has given the former's HPMS business a big shot in the arm. This segment produced $139 million in revenue last quarter, up significantly from $60 million in the prior-year period. The audio business, on the other hand, produced $255 million in revenue and increased 17% year over year.
Cirrus forecasts revenue between $450 million and $490 million this quarter. The midpoint of that range represents a slight improvement over the prior-year period's revenue of $466 million, but don't be surprised to see the company beat that thanks to several factors.
Things are about to get better for the chipmaker
Apple is going to be Cirrus' biggest catalyst in the current quarter and beyond, due to the iPhone maker's huge influence over the chipmaker's top line. While such massive reliance on a single customer may not be ideal, the relationship with Apple should pay off handsomely for Cirrus Logic.
That's because Apple has reportedly started ramping up the production of its next-generation iPhones. Supply chain rumors suggest that Apple could keep iPhone production flat in 2022 at 220 million units due to supply chain issues and COVID-19-related shutdowns in China. The company is expected to produce 91 million units of the next-generation iPhones, which would be nearly identical to the number of iPhone 13 models produced in 2021.
But don't be surprised to see Apple increase its production targets as its supply constraints are easing, according to CEO Tim Cook on the July earnings conference call. Additionally, Cirrus' moves to diversify its business could improve growth. For example, the chipmaker says it is witnessing strong customer engagement in the laptop market for its audio chips. Cirrus points out that 40 laptop models could be using its components in fiscal 2023.
Meanwhile, Cirrus management added on the earnings call that "the close engineering collaboration with our customer around camera controllers continues to strengthen as we work together to identify new opportunities to enable advanced functionality and to improve the camera experience." Cirrus didn't point out who this "customer" is, but if it's Apple, then the chipmaker could make even more money out of each iPhone unit.
What's more, the market for camera modules is expected to hit $86 billion in 2030 from $33 billion in 2020. So, Cirrus could unlock yet another massive opportunity that could supercharge its growth in the long run.
With the stock trading at just 15 times earnings, buying Cirrus stock looks like a no-brainer considering its impressive pace of growth and sunny long-term prospects.
