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Silicon Labs Is a Silent Killer

By Anders Bylund – Updated Apr 6, 2017 at 2:03AM

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It’s a ninja of a company: This winner is everywhere, unnoticed.

Tom Gardner recommended this stock to Stock Advisor subscribers three times, but it would have looked right at home in our Motley Fool Hidden Gems portfolio, too. Silicon Labs (NASDAQ:SLAB) keeps going from strength to strength without Mr. Market (or anyone else) really noticing.

This week, the analog-to-digital converter chip specialist reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.14 per share on $99 million in sales. That's down from $0.38 per share on a cool $100 million last year. That's no reason to panic, though -- the entire semiconductor industry has practically ground to a halt at the moment, so I'm actually impressed to see Silicon Labs hold this much of its ground.

CEO Necip Sayiner explained that his company is outperforming its peers and grabbing market share thanks to a very diverse product portfolio. It's easy to sell chips when they're the best product for the job, and Silicon Labs isn't aiming for commodity markets. "We intend to contain costs and preserve cash flow while continuing to invest in key programs to build upon these hard-earned market share gains."

Those are strong words from a company that has to beat Brobdingnagians like Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), Analog Devices (NYSE:ADI), and National Semiconductor (NYSE:NSM) for every contract signed. But Silicon can walk the talk, and it landed "100 new audio design wins" in this quarter alone. And you probably have a few Silicon Labs chips at home without knowing it -- just look inside your Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Zune, Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) GPS gadgets, cellular handset from Samsung, or digital cable box from Motorola (NYSE:MOT).

Like a silent assassin, Silicon Labs is crawling into our homes, our cars, even our pockets. One design win at a time, this company will make you rich.

Further Foolishness:

Garmin is a Motley Fool Global Gains selection, Microsoft is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick, and Silicon Laboratories is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation. Try any of our Foolish newsletters today, free for 30 days.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. His home is festooned with their chips and other trinkets, though. You can check out Anders' holdings or a concise bio if you like, and The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

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Stocks Mentioned

Silicon Laboratories Inc. Stock Quote
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
SLAB
$122.94 (-0.07%) $0.08
Microsoft Corporation Stock Quote
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
$237.92 (-1.27%) $-3.06
Texas Instruments Incorporated Stock Quote
Texas Instruments Incorporated
TXN
$161.29 (-0.82%) $-1.33
Motorola Solutions, Inc. Stock Quote
Motorola Solutions, Inc.
MSI
$228.76 (-1.41%) $-3.26
Garmin Ltd. Stock Quote
Garmin Ltd.
GRMN
$82.77 (-0.20%) $0.17
Analog Devices, Inc. Stock Quote
Analog Devices, Inc.
ADI
$141.92 (-2.35%) $-3.42

*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.

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