Cirrus Logic, Inc. (CRUS) 2027 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Cirrus Logic first quarter fiscal year 2027 financial results Q&A session. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded for replay purposes. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Ms. Chelsea Heffernan, Vice President of Investor Relations. Ms. Heffernan, you may begin.

各位女士、先生，感謝您稍候。歡迎參加 Cirrus Logic 2027 會計年度第一季財務結果問答（Q&A）會議。(接線員指示) 提醒您，本次電話會議將錄音以供重播。現在我想將電話會議交給投資人關係副總裁 Chelsea Heffernan 女士。Heffernan 女士，您可以開始。

Thank you, and good afternoon. Joining me on today's call is John Forsyth, Cirrus Logic's Chief Executive Officer; and Jeff Woolard, our Chief Financial Officer. Today, at approximately 4:00 PM Eastern Time, we announced our financial results for the first quarter fiscal year 2027. The shareholder letter discussing our financial results, the earnings press release and the webcast of this Q&A session are all available at the company's Investor Relations website. This call will feature questions from the analysts covering our company.

謝謝，大家午安。今天與我一同參與電話會議的有 Cirrus Logic 執行長 John Forsyth，以及我們的財務長 Jeff Woolard。今天約在美東時間下午 4:00，我們公布了 2027 會計年度第一季的財務結果。討論我們財務結果的股東信、財報新聞稿，以及本次 Q&A 會議的網路直播，皆可於公司投資人關係網站取得。本次電話會議將由追蹤本公司的分析師提問。

Additionally, the results and guidance we will discuss on this call will include non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain items. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in our earnings release and are all available on the company's Investor Relations website.

此外，我們在本次電話會議中將討論的結果與展望，將包含排除特定項目的非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。這些非 GAAP 指標與其最直接可比的 GAAP 指標之調節表，已包含於我們的財報新聞稿中，並可於公司投資人關係網站取得。

Please note that during this session, we may make projections and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from projections. By providing this information, the company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any projections or forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new developments or otherwise.

請注意，在本次會議中，我們可能會提出預測及其他前瞻性陳述；此類陳述受風險與不確定性影響，可能導致實際結果與預測存在重大差異。公司提供此資訊即明確聲明，不論因新進展或其他原因，均不負有更新或修訂任何預測或前瞻性陳述之義務。

Please refer to the press release and the shareholder letter issued today, which are available on the Cirrus Logic website and the latest Form 10-K as well as other corporate filings registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional discussion of risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

請參閱今日發布之新聞稿與股東信（可於 Cirrus Logic 網站取得），以及最新的 Form 10-K 與其他向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）申報之公司文件，以了解可能導致實際結果與目前預期存在重大差異之風險因素的進一步說明。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to John.

現在我想把電話交給 John。

Thank you, Chelsea, and welcome to everyone joining today's call. As you've seen in the press release, Cirrus Logic reported record first quarter results for the June quarter, delivering revenue of $460 million as well as GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.47 and $1.84, respectively. In a few moments, I'll hand the call over to Jeff to discuss our financial results in detail, along with our outlook for the September quarter.

謝謝你，Chelsea，也歡迎各位參與今天的電話會議。如各位在新聞稿中所見，Cirrus Logic 在 6 月季度創下第一季歷史新高的業績，營收達 4.60 億美元，GAAP 與非 GAAP 每股盈餘分別為 1.47 美元與 1.84 美元。稍後我會把電話交給 Jeff，請他詳細說明我們的財務結果，以及對 9 月季度的展望。

Before we get to that, I'd like to provide an update on the progress we have been making across the key pillars of our strategy since our call in May. As I've outlined previously, our long-term strategy for growth is based around three principles. First, maintaining a strong leadership position in our flagship smartphone audio business. Second, expanding the value and range of high-performance mixed signal or HPMS solutions with which we serve our customers in smartphones and related products. And third, leveraging our world-class expertise and IP in both the audio and high-performance mixed-signal domains to grow and broaden our business in new markets.

在此之前，我想先更新自 5 月電話會議以來，我們在策略關鍵支柱上所取得的進展。如我先前所述，我們的長期成長策略建立在三項原則之上。第一，維持我們在旗艦智慧型手機音訊業務的強勢領導地位。第二，擴大高效能混合訊號（HPMS）解決方案的價值與範疇，以服務智慧型手機及相關產品客戶。第三，運用我們在音訊與高效能混合訊號領域的世界級專業與智慧財產（IP），在新市場中擴大並拓展我們的業務版圖。

I want to say a few words now about each of these areas. In our flagship smartphone audio business, we saw continued strong demand for our custom boosted amplifiers and smart codecs. Together, these components deliver exceptional audio performance and meaningful power and efficiency gains and moreover, have benefited from an especially strong product cycle from our customer.

我現在想就上述各領域各說幾句。在我們的旗艦智慧型手機音訊業務方面，我們看到客製化升壓功率放大器與智慧編解碼器持續維持強勁需求。這些元件共同提供卓越的音訊效能，以及顯著的功耗與效率提升；此外，也受惠於我們客戶特別強勁的產品週期。

While we continue to invest in innovations that will raise the bar of future audio solutions, we anticipate that these products will continue to shift from multiple future generations of customer products. This provides the company with solid long-term visibility, sustained revenue contribution and the ability to focus R&D resources on new applications that expand the reach of our business and serve our customers in new ways.

在我們持續投入創新、以提升未來音訊解決方案標準的同時，我們預期這些產品將在客戶未來多個世代的產品中持續導入並擴大採用。這為公司帶來穩健的長期能見度、持續的營收貢獻，並使我們能將研發資源聚焦於可擴大業務觸及範圍、以新方式服務客戶的新應用。

Which brings me on to our second priority, expanding HPMS content in smartphones and related products at the edge. Our progress in the June quarter reinforced our confidence in the long-term opportunity to grow content across camera, battery and power applications.

這也帶到我們的第二項優先事項：在智慧型手機及相關邊緣產品中擴大 HPMS 內容。我們在 6 月季度的進展，強化了我們對於在相機、電池與電源應用上擴大內容之長期機會的信心。

In the camera area, our close engineering collaboration with our largest customer has spanned multiple generations of controllers to date. And today, we are executing on a road map to deliver the next generation of camera products.

在相機領域，我們與最大客戶的緊密工程合作，迄今已涵蓋多個世代的控制器。而目前，我們正依據產品藍圖推進，交付下一世代的相機產品。

In battery and power, our products integrate signal processing and control capability to get the most out of the system in terms of both performance and efficiency in a way that sets us apart from more traditional analog competitors. These capabilities were central to winning the smart power IC for 3D sensing we discussed on our last call, the development of which continued on schedule during the quarter.

在電池與電源方面，我們的產品整合訊號處理與控制能力，能在效能與效率兩方面充分發揮系統潛力，這使我們有別於較傳統的類比競爭對手。這些能力是我們在上次電話會議中提到、贏得用於 3D 感測的智慧電源 IC 的關鍵；該專案在本季度仍按計畫持續開發。

We also saw further close collaboration with our customer on other power and battery products that we think can expand content over time. Across our core audio and HPMS business, we see a pipeline of opportunity over the next few years that is as strong as any we can remember.

我們也看到與客戶在其他電源與電池產品上進一步的緊密合作，我們認為這些合作可隨時間推進而擴大內容。在核心音訊與 HPMS 業務方面，我們看到未來幾年的機會管線之強勁程度，堪稱我們記憶中最強之一。

Beyond smartphones, we also made progress on our third strategic priority, expanding into new applications and markets. The PC market remains our largest near-term growth opportunity outside of smartphones, where we see potential for growth in volume and attach rates over time of both audio and HPMS content. That said, our expectations for our PC business this fiscal year have come down since we spoke in May, and I want to be clear about the reasons for that.

在智慧型手機以外，我們在第三項策略優先事項——拓展至新應用與新市場——也取得進展。PC 市場仍是我們在智慧型手機之外、近期最大的成長機會；我們看到音訊與 HPMS 內容在出貨量與搭載率方面，隨時間推移皆有成長潛力。不過，自我們在 5 月通話以來，我們對本會計年度 PC 業務的預期已下修，我想清楚說明其原因。

Three distinct factors have contributed. First, the constrained supply of a key industry platform in which we have content. Second, memory and component shortages and the pricing pressure that comes with them, acting as a headwind for the broader PC market. And third, OEMs responding to these conditions by delaying some new model introductions and extending the life of existing platforms. Those new models generally represent both higher content per system for us and in many cases, higher volume designs. So their delayed introduction pushes out some of the growth we would otherwise have seen in our PC business this year.

主要有三項不同因素造成。第一，我們有內容導入的某個關鍵產業平台供應受限。第二，記憶體與零組件短缺，以及隨之而來的價格壓力，對整體 PC 市場形成逆風。第三，OEM 因應上述情況，延後部分新機型導入，並延長既有平台的生命週期。這些新機型通常代表我們每台系統可取得更高的內容價值，且在許多情況下也屬於更高出貨量的設計。因此，新機型延後推出，使我們原本可能在今年 PC 業務中看到的部分成長被往後遞延。

I would characterize these factors as timing rather than anything fundamental. Our customer engagement, design win momentum and competitive standing all remain very encouraging, and our excitement about the opportunity for Cirrus in this space over the coming years is undiminished.

我會將這些因素視為時點問題，而非任何根本性的改變。我們的客戶互動、設計導入（design win）動能與競爭地位仍然非常令人鼓舞；我們對 Cirrus 在此領域未來數年的機會之興奮感也絲毫未減。

In particular, as we partner with our PC OEM customers on AI-enabled PCs, we see considerable interest in our voice technology solutions. Today, the PC voice experience is often limited because running always-on wake word detection on the CPU or NPU drains battery life rapidly and introduces latency that adversely affects the user experience.

尤其是當我們與 PC OEM 客戶在 AI 賦能 PC 上合作時，我們看到市場對我們語音技術解決方案有相當高的興趣。目前，PC 的語音體驗往往受限，因為在 CPU 或 NPU 上執行常時啟動的喚醒詞偵測會快速耗電，並引入延遲，進而對使用者體驗造成不利影響。

Our latest low-power smart codec delivers wake word detection, noise reduction, audio buffering and other voice features in a stand-alone device, keeping system power consumption extremely low until the user engages the conversational interface. Customer interest in this product was strong during the June quarter, and we advanced engagements with multiple customers on designs for next calendar year.

我們最新的低功耗智慧編解碼器可在獨立裝置中提供喚醒詞偵測、降噪、音訊緩衝及其他語音功能，使系統在使用者啟動對話式介面之前能將功耗維持在極低水準。在 6 月季度，客戶對此產品的興趣強勁，我們也與多家客戶就下一個曆年之設計案推進合作洽談。

Lastly, in this part of our business, during the quarter, several OEMs announced new PCs based on NVIDIA's RTX Spark platform. Products based on RTX Spark from several of our customers are expected to ship later this year with Cirrus Logic amplifiers and codecs on board. We're excited to be a part of this platform and see these launches as further examples of our PC portfolio broadening its reach, along with the benefits our customers experience in being able to use the same voice and audio subsystems across different platform architectures.

最後，在我們這一部分業務中，本季度有數家 OEM 宣布推出基於 NVIDIA RTX Spark 平台的新款 PC。我們多家客戶基於 RTX Spark 的產品，預計將於今年稍晚出貨，並搭載 Cirrus Logic 的放大器與編解碼器。我們很高興能參與此平台，並將這些上市視為我們 PC 產品組合擴大觸及範圍的進一步例證；同時也展現客戶在不同平台架構間能使用相同語音與音訊子系統所帶來的效益。

In our wider general market business, we continue to engage a broad base of customers across the professional audio, automotive, industrial and imaging end markets. A highlight this quarter was the tape-out of a new family of high-performance analog front-end components targeting smart meters. We anticipate sampling these in the September quarter.

在更廣泛的一般市場業務方面，我們持續與專業音訊、車用、工業與影像等終端市場的廣大客戶群保持合作。本季度的一大亮點，是一個針對智慧電表的新系列高效能類比前端元件完成流片（tape-out）。我們預期將於 9 月季度提供樣品。

These new products deliver higher accuracy voltage and current measurement for residential, commercial and industrial applications and their on-chip digital signal processing enables power quality analysis and fault detection while reducing our customers' overall system cost.

這些新產品可為住宅、商用與工業應用提供更高精度的電壓與電流量測，其晶片內建的數位訊號處理可進行電力品質分析與故障偵測，同時降低客戶整體系統成本。

We believe the underlying technology developed for these products can also expand beyond smart meters into a number of adjacent applications, including energy storage, data center DC metrology, EV charging and grid monitoring. These smart meter products represent the latest example of how we can leverage our world-class mixed-signal IP into markets that can drive sustained and profitable long-term growth.

我們相信，為這些產品所開發的底層技術也可從智慧電表延伸至多項相鄰應用，包括儲能、資料中心直流（DC）計量、電動車充電與電網監測。這些智慧電表產品是最新例證，展現我們如何將世界級混合訊號 IP 應用於可帶來可持續且具獲利性的長期成長之市場。

They complement launches over the past two years of products in timing, professional audio and industrial imaging segments. Each of these product families should enjoy lifespans and gross margins well above our corporate average and so represent an attractive addition to the rest of our business while broadening our addressable market.

它們也補足我們過去兩年在時序（timing）、專業音訊與工業影像等領域推出的產品。上述各產品系列的生命週期與毛利率預期均將顯著高於公司平均水準，因此在擴大我們可服務市場的同時，也為整體業務帶來具吸引力的增量貢獻。

Finally, I would also like to note that we recently signed a new capacity reservation and wafer supply agreement with GlobalFoundries. This agreement builds on our long-standing partnership with GlobalFoundries and secures dedicated wafer capacity and pricing for calendar years 2027 and 2028, further supporting the broad range of opportunities we see ahead.

最後，我也想提到，我們近期與 GlobalFoundries 簽署了新的產能預留與晶圓供應協議。此協議建立在我們與 GlobalFoundries 長期合作夥伴關係之上，並為 2027 與 2028 曆年鎖定專屬晶圓產能與價格，進一步支援我們所看到的廣泛機會。

In parallel to executing this agreement, we continue to collaborate with GlobalFoundries on next-generation process technologies and progressing towards manufacturing products on US soil at their facility in Malta, New York.

在執行該協議的同時，我們也持續與 GlobalFoundries 合作開發下一代製程技術，並推進在其位於紐約州馬爾他（Malta, New York）的廠區於美國本土製造產品。

In summary, we're proud of our progress this quarter during which we continue to execute on our strategy to be the chosen supplier for a range of critical audio and HPMS sockets in our core business, diversify our product portfolio and drive growth in new applications and markets. We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us across all of these fronts. And that concludes the latest update on our long-term growth strategy. So let me now turn the call over to Jeff to provide an overview of our financial results as well as the outlook.

總結而言，我們對本季度的進展感到自豪；我們持續執行策略，致力成為核心業務中多項關鍵音訊與 HPMS（高效能混合訊號）設計插槽的首選供應商，並多元化產品組合，推動新應用與新市場的成長。我們對於在上述各面向所面臨的機會感到振奮。以上即為我們長期成長策略的最新更新。接下來我把電話交給 Jeff，請他概述我們的財務結果以及展望。

Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone. I'll now walk through our Q1 financial results and provide guidance for Q2. In Q1 fiscal 2027, we delivered record first quarter revenue of $460 million, which was in line with the midpoint of our guidance range. Revenue was up 2% sequentially and 13% year-over-year.

謝謝你，John。各位下午好。我接下來將說明我們 2027 會計年度第 1 季（Q1）的財務結果，並提供第 2 季（Q2）的指引。在 2027 會計年度 Q1，我們創下第一季營收新高 4.60 億美元，符合我們指引區間的中位數。營收季增 2%，年增 13%。

The increase in revenue on a sequential and year-over-year basis reflects higher sales of components shipping into smartphones. On a year-over-year basis, sales were partially offset by previously anticipated pricing reductions.

營收在季比與年比的成長，反映出出貨至智慧型手機的元件銷售增加。以年比來看，銷售成長部分被先前已預期的降價所抵銷。

Turning to gross profit and gross margin. Non-GAAP gross profit in the June quarter was $242.1 million and non-GAAP gross margin was 52.7%. On a sequential basis, the decrease in gross margin reflects previously anticipated pricing reductions, which were partially offset by cost reductions. On a year-over-year basis, a slight increase in gross margin was largely due to a favorable product mix, which was partially offset by higher freight and supply chain costs.

接著談毛利與毛利率。6 月季度的非 GAAP 毛利為 2.421 億美元，非 GAAP 毛利率為 52.7%。以季比來看，毛利率下滑反映先前已預期的降價，部分由成本下降所抵銷。以年比來看，毛利率小幅上升主要來自較有利的產品組合，但部分被較高的運輸與供應鏈成本所抵銷。

Now I'll turn to operating expenses. Our non-GAAP operating expense for the first quarter was $135.4 million. On a sequential basis, OpEx was up $9.3 million, primarily driven by higher employee-related expenses and to a lesser extent, increased professional costs and product development expenses. This was partially offset by an increase in R&D incentives.

接下來談營業費用。第一季非 GAAP 營業費用為 1.354 億美元。以季比來看，營業費用增加 930 萬美元，主要由較高的員工相關費用所帶動，此外也有專業服務費用與產品開發費用的增加。上述部分被研發獎勵（R&D incentives）增加所抵銷。

On a year-over-year basis, operating expense was up $15.9 million, primarily due to higher employee-related costs, which is consistent with our previously communicated increase in R&D expense to support the range of opportunities we have across the business.

以年比來看，營業費用增加 1,590 萬美元，主要因員工相關成本上升；這與我們先前所溝通、為支援公司各項機會而提高研發費用的規劃一致。

To a lesser extent, operating expense also increased due to higher variable compensation, product development and professional expenses. Non-GAAP operating income for the quarter was $106.7 million or 23.2% of revenue. Turning now to taxes. For the June quarter, our non-GAAP tax rate was 17.4%. And lastly, on the P&L, non-GAAP net income was $96.1 million, resulting in a record June quarter earnings per share of $1.84.

此外，營業費用也因較高的變動薪酬、產品開發與專業費用而有所增加。本季度非 GAAP 營業利益為 1.067 億美元，約占營收的 23.2%。接著談稅負。6 月季度的非 GAAP 稅率為 17.4%。最後，在損益表方面，非 GAAP 淨利為 9,610 萬美元，使 6 月季度每股盈餘（EPS）創下新高，達 1.84 美元。

Let me now turn to the balance sheet. Our balance sheet continues to be strong, and we ended the June quarter with $1.2 billion in cash and investments. Our ending cash and investments balance was up $13.5 million from the prior quarter as cash generated from operations was partially offset by share repurchases. We continue to have no debt outstanding. Inventory at the end of the first quarter was $262.7 million, up from $240.9 million in the prior quarter. Days of inventory were up sequentially, and we ended the quarter with approximately 110 days of inventory.

接下來談資產負債表。我們的資產負債表持續維持強勁，並在 6 月季度末持有 12 億美元的現金與投資。期末現金與投資餘額較上一季增加 1,350 萬美元，主因營運產生的現金流入，部分被庫藏股回購所抵銷。我們仍無任何未償還債務。第一季期末存貨為 2.627 億美元，高於上一季的 2.409 億美元。存貨天數較上一季上升，季度末約為 110 天。

Turning to cash flow. Cash flow from operations was $64.1 million in the June quarter and CapEx was $15.5 million, resulting in non-GAAP free cash flow margin of 11%. For the trailing 12-month period, cash flow from operations was $598.6 million and CapEx was $27.6 million. This resulted in a non-GAAP free cash flow margin of 28%. On the share buybacks, in Q1, we utilized $34.5 million to repurchase approximately 211,000 shares of our common stock at an average price of $163.43.

接著談現金流。6 月季度的營運現金流為 6,410 萬美元，資本支出（CapEx）為 1,550 萬美元，使非 GAAP 自由現金流利潤率為 11%。在過去 12 個月期間，營運現金流為 5.986 億美元，資本支出為 2,760 萬美元。因此非 GAAP 自由現金流利潤率為 28%。關於股票回購，在 Q1 我們動用 3,450 萬美元，以平均價格 163.43 美元回購約 211,000 股普通股。

At the end of Q1 fiscal 2027, the company had $239.6 million remaining on its share repurchase authorization. Subsequent to Q1 fiscal year '27, the company utilized $50.5 million to repurchase approximately 359,000 shares at an average price of $140.53 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

截至2027會計年度第一季末，公司在股票回購授權項下尚餘2.396億美元可用額度。在2027會計年度第一季之後，公司依據Rule 10b5-1交易計畫，以平均每股140.53美元的價格回購約35.9萬股，動用資金5,050萬美元。

Now on to guidance. For Q2 fiscal 2027, we expect revenue in the range of $510 million to $570 million. GAAP gross margin is expected to range from 52% to 54%. In Q2, we expect gross margin to see a temporary benefit from wafers purchased under prior agreements with GlobalFoundries at favorable pricing. We expect this tranche to largely sell through in Q2, after which gross margin should normalize.

接下來談指引。對於2027會計年度第二季，我們預期營收介於5.10億至5.70億美元。GAAP毛利率預期介於52%至54%。在第二季，我們預期毛利率將因先前與GlobalFoundries簽訂協議、以較優惠價格採購的晶圓而獲得短期助益。我們預期該批次產品將在第二季大致銷售完畢，之後毛利率應會回歸正常水準。

Non-GAAP operating expense is expected to range from $140 million to $146 million. Additionally, as we indicated last quarter, given the breadth of opportunities ahead of us, we expect our full year fiscal 2027 operating expenses to increase as we invest in R&D.

非GAAP營業費用預期介於1.40億至1.46億美元。此外，如同我們在上一季所指出的，鑑於我們面前機會的廣度，我們預期2027會計年度全年營業費用將隨著我們加大研發投資而增加。

The fiscal 2027 non-GAAP effective tax rate is expected to range from 16% to 18%. In closing, we delivered solid results for the June quarter. We remain focused on executing our strategy to drive long-term growth across our business and deliver shareholder value.

2027會計年度非GAAP有效稅率預期介於16%至18%。最後，我們在6月季度交出穩健的成果。我們將持續專注於執行策略，推動公司各業務的長期成長並為股東創造價值。

Before we begin the Q&A, I would like to note that while we understand there is intense interest related to our largest customer, in accordance with Cirrus Logic company policy, we will not discuss specifics about our business relationship.

在開始問答之前，我想先說明，雖然我們理解外界對我們最大客戶相關議題有高度關注，但依照Cirrus Logic公司的政策，我們不會討論我們業務關係的具體細節。

With that, let me now turn the call over to Chelsea to start the Q&A session.

接下來，我把電話交給Chelsea，開始問答環節。

Thanks, Jeff. We will now start the Q&A portion of our earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

謝謝你，Jeff。我們現在開始本次財報電話會議的問答部分。(接線員指示) 接線員，我們現在準備開始接受提問。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Christopher Rolland, Susquehanna.

Christopher Rolland，Susquehanna。

Hi, guys. Thank you for the questions. It seems like seasonality might be already a little bit different than it has been in the past. I don't know if you're able to talk about that, but also kind of the outlook for perhaps even a year on how seasonality might be different from all the years past when we try to model Cirrus revenue. Thank you.

嗨，各位。謝謝讓我提問。看起來季節性可能已經和過去有些不同。我不確定你們是否方便談這點，但也想請教一下，從可能長達一年的展望來看，當我們嘗試建立Cirrus營收模型時，季節性相較於以往多年可能會有哪些不同。謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks for the question. This is Jeff. Yeah, when we gave guidance for this quarter, we made a note that seasonality looks different than it had historically. And we came in right at the midpoint of guidance. And as you recall, that was up.

是的。謝謝你的問題。我是Jeff。是的，當我們提供本季指引時，我們有提到季節性看起來與歷史情況不同。而我們的實際結果正好落在指引的中點。而且如你所記得的，那是上升的。

So our Q1 results the results that hit guidance were significantly higher than what the historical average would be. And we gave a peak into the rest of the year that seasonality would be much tighter. The quarters would be a lot tighter together than historical, and you're seeing that with our results and our guide that, yes, it is different this year and the quarters are a lot tighter from a historical perspective.

因此，我們第一季的結果——也就是達到指引的結果——顯著高於歷史平均水準。我們也對今年其餘時間提供了一些說明，季節性將會更為緊密。各季度之間的差距會比歷史上小得多，而你也從我們的結果與指引中看到，沒錯，今年確實不同，從歷史角度來看，各季度之間更為接近。

Excellent. Thank you. And then secondly, in your letter, you talked about this high-performance analog front end. I think the initial application is smart meters, but you had other applications as well, data center metrology, energy storage, EV charging, grid monitoring. Can you talk about this early socket, how meaningful you think it could be and the opportunity for Cirrus here in a larger framework, perhaps even including a TAM, how do you see the total market for this product? Thank you.

很好。謝謝。第二個問題，在你們的信中，你們談到這個高效能類比前端。我想初始應用是智慧電表，但你們也提到其他應用，例如資料中心計量、儲能、電動車充電、電網監測。你能談談這個早期的設計導入（socket），你認為它可能有多重要，以及在更大的框架下Cirrus在這裡的機會嗎？也許甚至包括TAM，你們如何看待這個產品的整體市場？謝謝。

Well, I'll give a little more color, Chris, for sure. The specific initial target for this IP is in the smart meter segment, as we said. And that's really reflective of the fact that there's a combination of the rising energy demand that we're all familiar with, the increased strain on grid infrastructure and changing regulatory requirements that's creating a need for meaningfully more accurate energy monitoring across residential, commercial, industrial applications and so on.

當然，我可以補充一些細節，Chris。如我們所說，這項IP的具體初始目標是在智慧電表領域。這主要反映出幾個因素的結合：我們都很熟悉的能源需求上升、電網基礎設施承受更大壓力，以及法規要求的變化，這些都在住宅、商業、工業等應用中，催生對顯著更精準能源監測的需求。

And we have very, very high precision sensing and power IP that we think can differentiate us in that space. And these products are really our first example or first test of that hypothesis. We certainly think that the combination of our advanced analog and our ability to integrate digital with it is something that can work to our advantage because we can do not only higher precision sensing, but also integrate things like power quality monitoring, fault detection and indeed integrate other parts of the system into our die.

我們擁有非常高精度的感測與電源相關IP，我們認為能在該領域形成差異化。而這些產品正是我們對該假設的第一個例證或第一個驗證。我們確實認為，我們先進的類比能力以及將數位整合其中的能力，能成為我們的優勢，因為我們不僅能做到更高精度的感測，還能整合例如電力品質監測、故障偵測，甚至把系統的其他部分整合到我們的晶片中。

So we're obviously still in the early innings, both of these products and leveraging this kind of IP into the broader market. These particular products, I think I mentioned in my prepared remarks, we're going to be -- we expect to be sampling them widely in the third quarter and the fourth quarter this year. So that will include the top OEMs in the smart metering space.

因此，我們顯然仍處於早期階段，無論是這兩款產品本身，或是將這類IP延伸到更廣泛市場。就這些特定產品而言，我想我在事先準備的發言中提到過，我們預期今年第三季與第四季會廣泛提供樣品。這將包括智慧電表領域的主要OEM廠商。

We're currently tracking to an expectation of going to market in calendar '28. And we do think there are other applications potentially for this IP elsewhere in the power space. You mentioned some of them there. And yeah, those are all things that we're actively exploring.

我們目前的進度是，預期在西元2028年上市。我們也認為，這項IP在電源相關領域的其他地方可能還有其他應用。你剛才提到其中一些。是的，這些都是我們正在積極探索的方向。

I think it's a little premature for us to put a TAM or a SAM on that, but we're excited about where this can go. And I guess I'd highlight that I think this is another example of the ways in which we're able to leverage some of the high-performance mixed signal expertise that we obviously develop in the work we do in our core business into other markets with comparatively small amounts of incremental R&D investment. So as this moves forward and obviously, we explore some of those other potential market segments for this IP, we will keep you updated.

我認為現在要給出TAM或SAM可能還言之過早，但我們對其發展方向感到興奮。我想強調的是，這也是我們能夠將在核心業務中所累積的高效能混合訊號專長，透過相對較小的增量研發投入，延伸到其他市場的另一個例子。因此，隨著這項計畫推進，並且我們探索這項IP在其他潛在市場區隔的機會時，我們會持續向各位更新。

Tom O'Malley, Barclays.

Tom O'Malley，Barclays。

Hey, guys. This is Kyle Bleustein for Tom O'Malley. Thanks for taking our questions. I think you mentioned earlier that you're seeing some of the strongest pipeline in the high-performance mixed-signal segment for Cirrus and company history. Can you maybe expand here on what you're targeting, where you are in design cycles and just how big of an opportunity this could be for you guys?

嗨，各位。我是代替Tom O'Malley的Kyle Bleustein。謝謝讓我們提問。我想你們先前提到，你們在高效能混合訊號領域看到的案源（pipeline）是Cirrus以及公司歷史上最強之一。你們能否進一步說明你們鎖定的方向、目前在設計週期中的進度，以及這對你們而言可能是多大的機會？

Yeah. Thank you. I did make that remark in the script. I think I said it was as good as we can remember, which obviously sounds like it could be taken as an off-the-cuff expression. But in reality, we've had highly qualified lawyers of both the human and synthetic variety review that.

是的。謝謝。我確實在講稿裡提到了那點。我想我說的是，就我們所能記得的情況而言已經相當準確，這聽起來顯然可能會被解讀為即興的說法。但實際上，我們已經請了非常資深、同時涵蓋真人與合成（AI）類型的律師審閱過。

And we're very upbeat about the potential we have in our core business across the high-performance mixed signal space. And that's really reflective of stuff that our shareholders and the Street is familiar with. So we have a very rich pipeline and road map around the camera space, for example.

而且我們對於核心業務在高效能混合訊號領域的潛力非常樂觀。這其實也反映了我們股東以及華爾街所熟悉的那些內容。因此，例如在相機領域，我們有非常充實的產品管線與路線圖。

And earlier this year, we saw the announcement relating to a socket for smart power and sensing. And in addition to that, we have a number of other programs which are in active development. We actually alluded to some of them in the last shareholder letter as well. So over the past year, we've delivered silicon to our customer for power products. One of those is now shipping in tablets.

而在今年稍早，我們也看到與智慧電源與感測相關的某個插槽（socket）公告。除此之外，我們還有多個其他專案正在積極開發中。我們其實也在上一封股東信中提到其中一些。因此在過去一年裡，我們已經為客戶交付了用於電源產品的晶片。其中一款目前已在平板電腦中出貨。

Another is for an accessory product is yet to hit the market, but again, pushes the boundaries of performance and innovation and is another example of us kind of breaking new ground, winning new sockets in the power space.

另一款用於某個配件產品的晶片尚未上市，但同樣在效能與創新上推進邊界，也是我們持續開拓新領域、在電源領域贏得新插槽的另一個例子。

So added to that, there are a number of other programs that we're working on across phone and non-phone sockets, which we think give us a great setup over the next few years. So we'll obviously give more color about the magnitude and impact of those as we get closer to them. But we think the multiyear setup around that part of our core business is very, very positive right now.

此外，我們也在手機與非手機的多個插槽上推進其他專案，我們認為這讓我們在未來幾年具備很好的布局。因此，隨著時程更接近，我們當然會提供更多關於其規模與影響的細節。但我們認為，圍繞核心業務這一部分的多年期布局目前非常、非常正面。

Thank you. And for my follow-up, I just wanted to ask on the gross margin. I think you came in better than your guidance originally for June. So just wondering on some of the moving pieces there. When we think about it long term, are you seeing any pressures either from your largest customer, given what's going on in memory or just on input costs across the ecosystem?

謝謝。我接著想追問毛利率。我記得你們 6 月的表現比原先指引更好。想請教其中有哪些變動因素。從長期來看，考量到記憶體市場的狀況，你們是否看到來自最大客戶的任何壓力，或是整個生態系在投入成本方面的壓力？

Yeah. Thanks for the question. So we continue to maintain our long-term gross margin outlook. We realize there's a lot of discussion out there about input costs in the supply chain. And we continue to monitor those dynamics closely.

是的。謝謝你的問題。我們仍維持長期毛利率展望不變。我們知道外界對供應鏈投入成本有很多討論。我們也會持續密切監控這些動態。

I think it's important to note what has shown up in our actuals, a lot of those costs have been agreed upon for quite some time. So they're coming through as predicted. We did note, we did have this next -- the quarter we're guiding. We do think there is sort of a onetime quarter benefit where some previously agreed wafers will sell through this quarter, and that's a temporary tailwind to gross margin. But we'll continue to monitor input costs. We'll aggressively work on cost reductions, and we'll look at targeted price increases as warranted.

我認為重要的是要指出，從我們實際結果來看，其中許多成本其實早在相當久之前就已經談定。因此它們如預期般反映出來。我們也提到，在我們目前所指引的下一季——我們確實認為會有一個一次性的季度利多：一些先前已談定的晶圓會在本季完成銷售（sell-through），這對毛利率形成短暫順風。但我們會持續監控投入成本。我們會積極推動成本降低，並在必要時考慮有針對性的漲價。

Cam Tierney, Stifel.

Cam Tierney，Stifel。

Yes. This is Cam on for Tore Svanberg at Stifel. Thank you for taking my questions. So I just want to start kind of high level, I guess. But -- so it seems like your largest customer is increasingly taking more of the silicon in-house in adjacent areas while also collaborating with you guys on a new power stock as you just discussed.

是的。我是 Cam，代 Tore Svanberg 出席，來自 Stifel。謝謝讓我提問。我想先從比較高層次的角度開始。看起來你們最大的客戶在相鄰領域愈來愈多把晶片設計內製，同時也如你們剛才所說，與你們在新的電源插槽上合作。

I'm just kind of curious, like how do you think about where that boundary sits between where they want to design something internally versus where a merchant partner would add more value? And I appreciate you probably can't get into too many specifics, but just kind of high level, would love to hear that.

我有點好奇，你們如何看待那條界線：哪些部分他們想在內部自行設計，哪些部分由商用供應商（merchant partner）能帶來更高的價值？我理解你們可能無法談太多細節，但希望能從高層次聽聽你們的看法。

Yeah. Thanks, Cam. It's a recurring question, and it's useful to be able to talk to it. We have -- I think, a very clear idea of where we offer unique value and innovation, and we focus on that. And it's really at the analog digital boundary.

是的。謝謝你，Cam。這是個常見問題，也很值得談。我們——我認為——對於我們能提供獨特價值與創新的領域有非常清楚的認知，並且專注在那裡。那主要是在類比與數位的交界處。

And so when the products has a requirement for very high precision in the analog domain, very tight control loops, incredible power efficiency, very low latency, that's absolutely our wheelhouse. And we tend not to go after sockets that don't look like that. And our goal is to be the best in the world at sockets like that. And I think that's really reflected in the kind of products we bring to market. I would struggle to recall the last time we brought anything to market that wasn't absolutely category-leading in terms of performance in those areas at the time we brought it to market.

因此，當產品在類比領域需要非常高的精準度、非常緊密的控制迴路、極高的電源效率、以及非常低的延遲時，那絕對是我們的強項。而對於不符合這些特徵的插槽，我們通常不會去爭取。我們的目標是在這類插槽上做到世界第一。我認為這也充分反映在我們推出市場的產品類型上。我很難回想起我們上一次推出的產品，在推出當下不是在上述面向具備絕對的類別領先（category-leading）效能。

So we're very focused on serving our customer as well as possible in those particular niches, if you like. And obviously, our customer -- our largest customer has 1.1 million problems to solve to execute on their ambitions, and we like to think we take a bunch of those off the table for them that they don't need to worry about.

因此，我們非常專注於在這些特定利基領域，盡可能把客戶服務到最好。而且很顯然，我們的客戶——我們最大的客戶——要解決 110 萬個問題才能實現他們的企圖；我們也希望我們能替他們把其中一部分問題先拿掉，讓他們不必操心。

I would also say that one of the other aspects to our business that is well understood by us, but isn't always immediately obvious from the outside is that you really have to invest on a very long-term basis in innovation, particularly to succeed with our largest customer. To have a remarkably low tolerance for power point. You really need to invest in developing very high-performance silicon before you can even have a conversation with them about winning a socket.

我也想說，我們業務的另一個面向，我們自己非常清楚，但外界不一定立刻看得出來：你必須以非常長期的方式投入創新，特別是要在我們最大客戶那裡取得成功。他們對於「只做簡報（PowerPoint）」的容忍度極低。你必須先投資開發出非常高效能的晶片，才有機會跟他們談贏得某個插槽。

And of course, that takes a certain amount of patience from investors. It takes a lot of determination from your engineers, but it then pays off over the long term. And that's very much our approach. So you referenced the power products that I was talking about a few minutes ago. I think we've been talking about and I've been talking about that as an area of investment around the battery for quite some time. And now we're increasingly seeing that bear fruit.

當然，這需要投資人具備一定的耐心。也需要工程師非常有決心，但長期來看會得到回報。這正是我們的做法。你提到我幾分鐘前談到的電源產品。我想我們一直把它視為圍繞電池的一個投資方向，談了相當長一段時間。而現在我們愈來愈看到這些投入開始開花結果。

Awesome. Thank you. And for my follow-up, I just wanted to ask a little bit about -- it seems like the CapEx kind of stepped up a bit this quarter. I'm curious what's going on there, if you guys can provide some color on that.

太好了。謝謝。我接著想追問一下——看起來你們本季的資本支出（CapEx）似乎提高了一些。我很好奇背後發生了什麼事，若方便的話，能否請你們補充一些說明？

Yeah. Thanks for the question. So I would say from a CapEx perspective, we kind of think about this in two ways. If you think about it from just the run rate of us operating the business, I would say our CapEx is roughly in line when you think about product and product development cycles. But there is a new element of CapEx, and that is we are investing in testers for our OSATs, and that is new. So rather than having the OSATs by that, we have done some purchases and we're planning purchases for this year.

是的。謝謝你的提問。所以我會說，從資本支出（CapEx）的角度來看，我們大致從兩個面向思考。如果只從我們營運業務的常態支出水準來看，考量產品與產品開發週期，我會說我們的資本支出大致維持在相近水準。但資本支出出現了一個新的元素，也就是我們正在為我們的 OSAT 投資測試機台，而這是新的。因此，我們不是讓 OSAT 來購買，而是我們已經做了一些採購，並且也規劃在今年進一步採購。

And the reason for that is, one, it just gives us some greater flexibility in the supply chain environment and us actually owning that CapEx actually provides a better financial return for the company. And so that is new. I think that is more of a '27. We'll see what happens after that, but that has been a change in what we've done from CapEx.

原因有兩點：第一，這讓我們在供應鏈環境中擁有更大的彈性；第二，由我們實際持有這些資本支出，能為公司帶來更好的財務報酬。所以這是新的。我認為這比較像是到 2027 年的事情。之後會怎麼發展我們再看，但這確實是我們在資本支出作法上的一項改變。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Rick Schafer, Oppenheimer & Co.

Rick Schafer，Oppenheimer & Co.

Hi, this is Trevor Bowers on for Rick Schafer. I wanted to ask a question about the balance sheet. It looks pretty strong, $1.2 billion in cash, no debt. How would you rank the best uses of cash? And what are your thoughts on the dividend?

嗨，我是代替 Rick Schafer 的 Trevor Bowers。我想問一個關於資產負債表的問題。看起來相當強勁，現金 12 億美元，沒有負債。你們會如何排序現金的最佳用途？以及你們對股利（股息）的看法是什麼？

Our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged. We want to make sure all of the organic opportunities are funded. And as John said, and there are a very broad range of opportunities we have, and that's the reason we've increased some of our R&D investments. The second priority is M&A and our third priority is buybacks. So those stay consistent.

我們的資本配置優先順序維持不變。我們希望確保所有內生成長的機會都能獲得資金支持。正如 John 所說，我們有非常廣泛的機會範圍，這也是我們提高部分研發投資的原因。第二優先是併購（M&A），第三優先是庫藏股回購。所以這些都保持一致。

We realize the balance sheet is very healthy, and we're very comfortable with that position because we believe it does give us more options and more flexibility in those first two priorities. And we'll go to buybacks third. But at the moment, we are not in the near term considering a dividend.

我們知道資產負債表非常健康，而我們也很安心維持這樣的狀態，因為我們相信這能在前兩項優先事項上給我們更多選項與更大彈性。第三才會是回購。但就目前而言，我們短期內不考慮發放股利。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And I'll just add one comment there as we spoke a little bit about this on our last call about that expansion to R&D, which is really reflective of the pipeline of opportunity that we have in front of us right now. If you look back over the past several years, you'll see we've got a really outstanding track record of discipline on the OpEx side.

我再補充一點：我們在上一次電話會議中也稍微談到研發擴張，這其實反映了我們眼前的機會管線。如果你回頭看過去幾年，你會看到我們在營業費用（OpEx）方面一直維持非常出色且自律的紀錄。

Think our headcount has been more or less flat for the last 10, 12 quarters. Until this quarter, you'll see in the shareholder letter, it's taken a step up. The vast majority of those increased heads are engineering related, and we'll see some continuation of that, as Jeff said, but that's very much reflecting the high confidence we have in the opportunities that are on the docket right now.

我想我們的人力編制在過去 10 到 12 個季度大致持平。直到本季，你會在股東信中看到人力有所增加。新增人力的絕大多數與工程相關；正如 Jeff 所說，我們也會看到這樣的趨勢持續一些時間，但這非常反映我們對目前待辦事項上的機會抱持高度信心。

Okay. Great. Thanks. And for my follow-up, I wanted to ask about Android. Is there anything noteworthy on the content front with Android, either in China or Korea?

好的。很好。謝謝。我接著想追問 Android。在 Android 的內容（content）方面，不論是在中國或韓國，有沒有什麼值得注意的地方？

We don't put a huge amount of emphasis or investment in Android for a number of reasons. We think there are just simply better and more durable growth opportunities for the company elsewhere. We obviously have business in Android with multiple customers. That's been a long-running contributor, but over time, a smaller and smaller fraction of our overall income. And we expect that trend to continue.

基於多項原因，我們並沒有在 Android 上投入非常多的重視或投資。我們認為公司在其他領域有更好、也更具持久性的成長機會。我們當然在 Android 上也有與多家客戶合作的業務。這一直以來都是長期的貢獻來源，但隨著時間推移，它在我們整體收入中的占比愈來愈小。而我們預期這個趨勢會持續。

And the reason for that, as I said, is we think there are both more attractive long-term markets and ones where from a competitive position, there are -- there isn't a kind of geopolitical overhang and it's less likely to be a kind of cost-oriented bloodbath.

原因如我所說，我們認為有更具吸引力的長期市場；而且就競爭態勢而言，那些市場不太會受到地緣政治陰影影響，也比較不會演變成以成本為導向的血腥價格戰。

So when we're investing -- I mean, I talked earlier about some of the industrial investment we've been making. We've obviously been investing in growing in the PC market as well. And we see a number of other exciting areas in front of us. We certainly think there's going to be an expansion in AI-related consumer end products, and we expect to see OEMs bring devices over the next year and beyond to market with our content in them. We think all of those kind of categories are really more exciting long term for growth and SAM expansion than Android.

因此在我們進行投資時——我的意思是，我先前談到我們在工業領域所做的一些投資。我們也很明顯地在投資擴大 PC 市場的成長。而我們眼前還有許多其他令人振奮的領域。我們確實認為，與 AI 相關的消費性終端產品將會擴張，並且我們預期 OEM 會在未來一年及更長時間內推出搭載我們內容的裝置。我們認為，這些類別在長期成長與可服務市場（SAM）擴張方面，都比 Android 更令人興奮。

And with that, we'll end the Q&A session, and I'll turn the call back over to John for final remarks.

那麼，我們將結束問答環節，並把電話交回給 John 做最後結語。

Thank you, Chelsea. So in summary, Cirrus Logic delivered record first quarter results. We also continue to make solid progress across each pillar of our long-term strategy. And based on the expanding collaboration with our largest customer in our core business and the advances we are making in our new markets, we're very excited about what lies ahead of us.

謝謝你，Chelsea。總結來說，Cirrus Logic 交出了創紀錄的第一季業績。我們也持續在長期策略的每一個支柱上取得穩健進展。基於我們在核心業務上與最大客戶的合作持續擴大，以及我們在新市場取得的進展，我們對未來的發展感到非常振奮。

I'd like to thank you for your continued interest in our progress and all of our employees around the world for their dedication to innovation and to supporting our customers' success. Before we close, I'd also like to note that we will be participating in the KeyBanc Technology Leadership Forum on August 11. Please check our investor website for details. And I'd like to thank everyone for participating today. Goodbye.

我要感謝各位持續關注我們的進展，也感謝全球所有員工致力於創新並支持客戶成功。在結束之前，我也想提到我們將於 8 月 11 日參加 KeyBanc Technology Leadership Forum。詳情請查看我們的投資人網站。也謝謝大家今天的參與。再見。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位出席。您現在可以掛線。