Every time Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) blows away Street expectations with a record quarter, which is becoming a habit for the company, the goodness seems to spread to all those who ride piggyback on its success. This was exactly what I felt as I checked out the third-quarter figures for Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS), a company which largely depends on iPhones and other Apple products for success. It managed to beat Street estimates, again.
Fellow Fool Seth Jayson has already given a brief idea of the company's earnings. Now, I will tell you why I am a big fan of this stock.
A strong revenue driver …
Cirrus derives 70% of its revenue from Apple. Period. The smartphone giant sold some 37 million iPhones in the last quarter, which reflects in Cirrus' revenue as well, as it grew 28% from the year-ago period. Also, with Apple slated to release the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3 later this year, Cirrus' top line is all set to scale new heights.
Apple can provide Cirrus with enough fuel to race past analysts' expectations of $104 million in the current quarter, with projected revenue between $108 million and $112 million.
… and hungry for more
However, Cirrus is not resting on its laurels. The company's R&D investment shot up by 42% in the just-concluded quarter, as it focused on the expansion of its engineering team along with product development initiatives. Although the short term impact was a 32% decline in earnings from last year, the long-term returns are too significant to overlook.
And the results may just be beginning to show. CEO Jason Rhode tells us that Cirrus is on the verge of launching new chips in the ongoing quarter. He goes on to add that new devices featuring Cirrus' chips are "being readied for production in the upcoming quarters," which really makes me feel optimistic about them in the year ahead.
The Foolish takeaway
Cirrus is one stock which should be on your radar if you wish to engage in a booming Apple play. The stock may behave erratically sometimes but there are a few good reasons to hold on to it.
And if you still harbor some doubts about Cirrus, add it to your Watchlist to keep track of it and see it go from strength to strength as the year moves on.
