Skyworks Solutions (SWKS 1.83%) released fiscal 2022 fourth-quarter results (for the three months ending Sept. 30) on Nov. 3, and it is surprising to see that shares of the Apple supplier have gained 11% since then.
While Skyworks delivered better-than-expected results and posted steady growth at a time when smartphone sales are on the decline, the outlook indicates that the chipmaker is about to hit a speed bump. With that said, let's take a closer look at the chipmaker's latest results. A closer look will show if its stock can sustain its newfound momentum after losing 43% of its value in 2022 so far.
Skyworks Solutions delivers solid results with non-mobile business
Skyworks' fiscal Q4 revenue increased 7% year over year to a record $1.4 billion. The company also posted non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings of $3.02 per share, an increase of 15% over the prior-year period. Skyworks easily cleared analysts' estimate of $2.91 in earnings per share. The company's full-year revenue increased by 7% to $5.5 billion, while earnings increased by a similar amount to $11.24 per share.
The chipmaker's resilient Q4 growth was the result of its successful diversification into new markets such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive, as well as its relationship with major smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that helped it offset the weakness in the smartphone space. However, it was the non-mobile business that did the heavy lifting for Skyworks last quarter.
The company generated $500 million in revenue from its broad markets segment (under which it counts sales of chips for non-mobile applications such as IoT and others), up 30% over the prior-year period, as CFO Kris Sennesael pointed out in the latest earnings conference call. The broad markets business accounted for 36% of Skyworks' top line last quarter, up from 29% in the year-ago period.
It is also worth noting that Skyworks' revenue from this segment stood at $2 billion for the full fiscal year, up nearly 43% over the preceding fiscal year's revenue of $1.4 billion. The good part is that the company's broad markets business can sustain its momentum. That's because Skyworks has been gaining new customers in fast-growing niches such as IoT, as the company pointed out on the earnings call:
"In IoT, we continue to gain new customers and extend the content. We partnered with Vodafone to launch the U.K.'s first WiFi 6E platform. We shipped into tri-band platforms for Frontier Communications, and we launched connectivity solutions with Amazon, supporting their WiFi 6 power-over-ethernet access points."
Skyworks is also enabling the deployment of O-RAN (open radio access network) and witnessed record quarterly results in the automotive business, both of which are fast-growing niches. The O-RAN market, for instance, is expected to clock 42% annual growth through 2030. The demand for connected vehicles, on the other hand, is expected to see annual growth of 19% through 2027, according to Mordor Intelligence.
These catalysts explain why Skyworks expects the broad markets business segment to "be a key driver going into FY23 and beyond."
The mobile business wasn't in great health last quarter
Skyworks' mobile business generated around $907 million in revenue last quarter (arrived at by deducting the $500 million revenue generated by the broad markets business from the total revenue). For comparison, the mobile business had produced 71% of Skyworks' revenue of $1.31 billion in the year-ago period, which would translate into nearly $931 million.
So, the company's mobile business, which produces most of its revenue, shrunk year over year last quarter. That's not surprising as sales of smartphones have been declining for the past five quarters. Skyworks counts Apple as its largest customer, with the smartphone giant producing 58% of its revenue last fiscal year.
Apple shipped 48.5 million smartphones last quarter, an increase of 6.4% over the year-ago period. However, the overall smartphone market fell 9% year over year. And now, things could get worse for Skyworks as Apple has warned that the shipments of its latest iPhones could take a hit following curbs enforced on its factory in China to contain a COVID-19 outbreak.
All this explains why Skyworks' guidance points toward a sharp drop in its top and bottom lines. The chipmaker anticipates revenue between $1.3 billion and $1.35 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, along with adjusted earnings of $2.59 per share. Those numbers point toward a double-digit decline in both revenue and earnings from the prior-year period.
So, the smartphone market's weakness is going to weigh heavily on Skyworks this quarter, and analysts expect the trend to continue for the rest of the fiscal year. The chipmaker's top line is expected to drop 7.3% to $5.08 billion in fiscal 2023, while earnings could shrink to $9.80 per share from $11.24 in the previous year.
All this indicates that Skyworks Solutions' post-earnings rally may not last, which is why investors looking for tech stocks that could deliver healthy growth should consider looking somewhere else.
