芯源系統 (MPWR) 2019 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. And welcome to Monolithic Power Systems' Fourth Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

女士們先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎參加 Monolithic Power Systems 2019 年第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。（操作員說明）

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Monolithic's CFO, Bernie Blegen. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想將會議交給今天的發言人，Monolithic 的財務長 Bernnie Blegen。請繼續，先生。

Thank you very much. Good afternoon, and welcome to the Fourth Quarter 2019 Monolithic Power Systems Conference Call. I'm joined today by Michael Hsing, Monolithic's CEO and Founder.

非常感謝。下午好，歡迎參加 2019 年第四季單片電源系統電話會議。今天，Monolithic 的執行長兼創辦人 Michael Hsing 也加入了我的行列。

In the course of today's conference call, we will make forward-looking statements and projections that involve risk and uncertainty, which could cause results to differ materially from management's current views and expectations. Please refer to the safe harbor statement contained in the earnings release published today. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ are identified in the safe harbor statement contained in the Q4 earnings release and in our SEC filings, including our Form 10-K filed on March 1, 2019, and Form 10-Q filed on November 1, 2019, both of which are accessible through our website, www.monolithicpower.com. MPS assumes no obligation to update the information provided on today's call.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將做出涉及風險和不確定性的前瞻性陳述和預測，這可能導致結果與管理階層目前的觀點和預期有重大差異。請參閱今天發布的收益報告中包含的安全港聲明。第四季度收益發布中包含的安全港聲明和我們向SEC 提交的文件（包括我們於2019 年3 月1 日提交的表格10-K 和表格10-Q）中確定了可能導致實際結果不同的風險、不確定性和其他因素於 2019 年 11 月 1 日提交，兩者均可透過我們的網站 www.monolithicpower.com 存取。MPS 不承擔更新今天電話會議中提供的資訊的義務。

We will be discussing gross margins, operating expense, R&D and SG&A expense, operating income, interest and other income, net income and earnings on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. These non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. A table that outlines the reconciliation between the non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures is included in our earnings release, which we have filed with the SEC. I would refer investors to the Q4 2018, Q3 2019 and Q4 2019 earnings releases as well as to the reconciling tables that are posted on our website.

我們將討論以 GAAP 和非 GAAP 計算的毛利率、營運費用、研發和 SG&A 費用、營運收入、利息和其他收入、淨利潤和收益。這些非公認會計原則財務指標並非根據公認會計原則編制，不應被視為替代或優於根據公認會計原則編制的財務績效指標。我們已向 SEC 提交的收益報告中包含了一張概述非 GAAP 財務指標與 GAAP 財務指標之間調整表。我建議投資者參閱 2018 年第四季、2019 年第三季和 2019 年第四季的收益發布以及我們網站上發布的調節表。

I'd also like to remind you that today's conference call is being webcast live over the Internet and will be available for replay on our website for 1 year, along with the earnings release filed with the SEC earlier today.

我還想提醒您，今天的電話會議正在透過網路進行網路直播，並將與今天早些時候向 SEC 提交的收益報告一起在我們的網站上重播，為期一年。

For the full year 2019, MPS achieved record revenue of $627.9 million, growing 7.8% from the prior year, while our industry segment experienced a significant downturn. As always, we executed our strategies consistently. In recent years, especially in 2019, more and more first-tier companies recognized MPS' superior technologies as well as our product quality and our excellent customer support. We see a lot more high-quality growth opportunities ahead of us. Our objective is to successfully manage our expenses to support our growth, which will, in turn, benefit our shareholders in both the long and short term.

2019 年全年，MPS 實現了創紀錄的收入 6.279 億美元，比上年增長 7.8%，而我們的行業部門卻經歷了嚴重下滑。一如既往，我們始終如一地執行我們的策略。近年來，特別是2019年，越來越多的第一線企業認可了MPS的卓越技術、產品品質和卓越的客戶支援。我們看到還有更多高品質的成長機會。我們的目標是成功管理我們的開支以支持我們的成長，這反過來又將使我們的股東長期和短期受益。

Here are a few highlights which we achieved in 2019: Introduced leading-edge system solutions using QSMoD technologies for GPU-based artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.

以下是我們在 2019 年取得的一些亮點： 推出了使用 QSMoD 技術的領先系統解決方案，用於基於 GPU 的人工智慧和機器學習應用。

Introduced 48-volt QSMoD technology for both cloud-based and automotive applications. Coupled with our design wins in QSMoD in AI applications, MPS is at the early stage of this important revenue ramp.

推出適用於基於雲端的應用和汽車應用的 48 伏特 QSMoD 技術。加上我們在 AI 應用中 QSMoD 的設計勝利，MPS 正處於這一重要收入成長的早期階段。

Won a major contract to support a Tier 1 automotive supplier, which will begin generating revenue in the next 2 to 3 years.

贏得了一份支持一級汽車供應商的重要合同，該供應商將在未來 2 至 3 年內開始產生收入。

Successfully co-developed cutting-edge solutions for smart driving systems and lighting applications.

成功共同開發智慧駕駛系統和照明應用的尖端解決方案。

Began volume shipments of high current, programmable power modules for communication applications such as 5G networks.

開始批量出貨用於 5G 網路等通訊應用的高電流可程式電源模組。

Entered the high performance analog market with the formation of a high-precision data acquisition business group. With input from our customers, we have completed the detailed product specifications. We expect to release these products in 2020. The initial revenue ramp is expected to begin in 2021. The rollout of these advanced products will mark MPS' introduction into the highly profitable high-speed precision data acquisition market segment. We understand the road to success may not be smooth, however, we believe our commitment will pay off in the long term and our shareholders will be pleased with the results of these efforts in the coming years.

進軍高性能模擬市場，組成高精度資料擷取事業群。根據客戶的意見，我們完成了詳細的產品規格。我們預計在 2020 年發布這些產品。預計最初的收入成長將於 2021 年開始。這些先進產品的推出將標誌著MPS進入高利潤的高速精密數據採集市場。我們知道成功之路可能並不平坦，但是，我們相信我們的承諾將在長期內得到回報，我們的股東將對未來幾年這些努力的結果感到滿意。

Let's go through lowlights. We really don't have any, except there is one item worth pointing out. We deliberately reduced our inventory in Q3 and Q4 2019, which in hindsight was not necessary. As a result, our current inventory level is too low for MPS to maximize our growth in the next few months. Although we can still keep up our growth rate as in the past, we, unfortunately, may not be able to take full advantage of all the potential upside. In order to fulfill customers' demand in the second half of 2020, we now have to commit tremendous effort in order to accelerate our schedule to bring up a second 12-inch fab. This has created an unnecessary hardship for our team.

讓我們來看看低光點。我們確實沒有任何東西，但有一個項目值得指出。我們在 2019 年第三季和第四季刻意減少了庫存，事後看來這是不必要的。因此，我們目前的庫存水準太低，MPS 無法在未來幾個月內最大限度地實現成長。儘管我們仍然可以像過去一樣保持成長速度，但不幸的是，我們可能無法充分利用所有潛在的上行空間。為了滿足2020年下半年客戶的需求，我們現在必須付出巨大的努力，以加快我們第二座12吋晶圓廠的建造進度。這給我們團隊造成了不必要的困難。

Turning back to our full year 2019 revenue by market segment compared with 2018: communications revenue, up 20.1%; computing and storage, up 18.9%; automotive, up 12.8%; and industrial, up 12.3%. Consumer revenue was down 10.8%.

回顧我們2019年全年按細分市場劃分的收入與2018年相比：通訊收入，成長20.1%；計算與存儲，成長18.9%；汽車業，上漲12.8%；工業成長12.3%。消費者收入下降 10.8%。

Full year 2019 computing and storage revenue grew $30.1 million over the prior year to $189.2 million. This 18.9% increase primarily resulted from strong sales growth for cloud computing and high-end notebooks. Computing and storage revenue represented 30.1% of MPS' total revenue in 2019 compared with 27.3% in 2018.

2019 年全年計算和儲存收入比上年增長 3,010 萬美元，達到 1.892 億美元。18.9%的成長主要得益於雲端運算和高階筆記型電腦的強勁銷售成長。2019 年，計算和儲存收入佔 MPS 總收入的 30.1%，而 2018 年為 27.3%。

Communications revenue grew $14.2 million to $84.8 million. This improvement was primarily due to initial ramping of 5G infrastructure sales. Communications revenue represented 13.5% of our 2019 revenue compared with 12.1% in 2018.

通訊收入成長 1,420 萬美元，達到 8,480 萬美元。這一改善主要歸因於 5G 基礎設施銷售的初步成長。通訊收入佔 2019 年收入的 13.5%，而 2018 年為 12.1%。

Automotive revenue grew $10.2 million to $90.3 million in 2019. This growth primarily represented increased sales of infotainment, safety and connectivity application products. Automotive revenue represented 14.4% of MPS' full year 2019 revenue compared with 13.8% in 2018.

2019 年汽車收入成長了 1,020 萬美元，達到 9,030 萬美元。這一成長主要體現在資訊娛樂、安全和連接應用產品銷售的成長。汽車收入佔 MPS 2019 年全年收入的 14.4%，而 2018 年為 13.8%。

Industrial revenue grew $10.9 million to $99.4 million in 2019. This growth reflected sales for applications in power sources, security and industrial meters. Industrial revenue represented 15.8% of MPS' full year 2019 revenue compared with 15.2% in 2018.

2019 年工業收入成長 1,090 萬美元，達到 9,940 萬美元。這一增長反映了電源、安全和工業儀表應用的銷售額。工業收入佔 MPS 2019 年全年收入的 15.8%，而 2018 年為 15.2%。

Consumer revenue fell $19.9 million to $164.2 million. With the exception of home appliances and wearables, all major consumer markets decreased between years. Consumer revenue represented 26.2% of MPS' full year 2019 revenue compared with 31.6% in 2018.

消費者收入下降 1,990 萬美元至 1.642 億美元。除家用電器和穿戴設備外，所有主要消費市場逐年下降。消費者收入佔 MPS 2019 年全年收入的 26.2%，而 2018 年為 31.6%。

Switching to Q4. MPS had a record fourth quarter with revenue of $166.7 million, 1.2% lower than revenue generated in the third quarter of 2019, but 8.6% higher than the comparable quarter of 2018. Our market segment revenue from computing and storage grew 27.8% year-over-year. Automotive grew 8.6% and communications grew 8.5%. Industrial was essentially even with Q4 2018 while consumer revenue fell 5.7% from the prior year.

切換到第四季。MPS 第四季營收創歷史新高，達 1.667 億美元，比 2019 年第三季營收下降 1.2%，但比 2018 年同期成長 8.6%。我們來自計算和儲存的細分市場收入年增27.8%。汽車成長 8.6%，通訊成長 8.5%。工業收入與 2018 年第四季基本持平，而消費者收入較上年下降 5.7%。

Fourth quarter 2019 GAAP gross margin was 55.1%, 10 basis points lower than the third quarter of 2019, but even with margin reported in the fourth quarter of 2018. Our GAAP operating income was $30.7 million compared to $30.0 million reported in third quarter of 2019 and $33.1 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2018.

2019 年第四季 GAAP 毛利率為 55.1%，比 2019 年第三季低 10 個基點，但與 2018 年第四季報告的利潤率相同。我們的 GAAP 營業收入為 3,070 萬美元，而 2019 年第三季報告的營業收入為 3,000 萬美元，2018 年第四季報告的營業收入為 3,310 萬美元。

Fourth quarter 2019 non-GAAP gross margin was 55.5%, 10 basis points lower than both the third quarter of 2019 and the fourth quarter of 2018. Our non-GAAP operating income was $50.8 million compared to $51.4 million reported in the prior quarter and $46.6 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2018.

2019年第四季非公認會計準則毛利率為55.5​​%，較2019年第三季及2018年第四季均低10個基點。我們的非 GAAP 營業收入為 5,080 萬美元，而上一季報告的營業收入為 5,140 萬美元，2018 年第四季報告的營業收入為 4,660 萬美元。

Let's review our operating expenses. Our GAAP operating expenses were $61.2 million in the fourth quarter compared with $63.1 million in the third quarter of 2019 and $51.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Our non-GAAP fourth quarter 2019 operating expenses were $41.8 million, down from the $42.5 million we spent in the third quarter of 2019, but up from the $38.7 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2018.

讓我們回顧一下我們的營運費用。我們第四季的 GAAP 營運費用為 6,120 萬美元，而 2019 年第三季為 6,310 萬美元，2018 年第四季為 5,150 萬美元。我們的非 GAAP 2019 年第四季營運費用為 4,180 萬美元，低於 2019 年第三季的 4,250 萬美元，但高於 2018 年第四季報告的 3,870 萬美元。

On both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis, fourth quarter 2019 litigation expenses were $991,000 compared with a $692,000 expense in Q3 2019 and a $409,000 expense in Q4 2018. The differences between GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses for the quarters discussed here are stock compensation and income or loss from an unfunded deferred comp plan.

根據 GAAP 和非 GAAP 基準計算，2019 年第四季訴訟費用為 991,000 美元，而 2019 年第三季為 692,000 美元，2018 年第四季為 409,000 美元。這裡討論的季度的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 營運費用之間的差異是股票薪酬和無資金籌措的遞延薪酬計劃的收入或損失。

Fourth quarter 2019 stock compensation expense, including $574,000 charged to cost of goods sold, was $18.7 million compared with $21.3 million recorded in the third quarter of 2019.

2019 年第四季的股票補償費用（包括計入銷售成本的 574,000 美元）為 1,870 萬美元，而 2019 年第三季的股票補償費用為 2,130 萬美元。

Switching to the bottom line. Fourth quarter 2019 GAAP net income was $32.4 million or $0.70 per fully diluted share compared with $0.64 per share in the third quarter of 2019 and $0.61 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018.

切換到底線。2019 年第四季 GAAP 淨利潤為 3,240 萬美元，即完全稀釋後每股收益 0.70 美元，而 2019 年第三季每股收益為 0.64 美元，2018 年第四季每股收益為 0.61 美元。

Q4 2019 non-GAAP net income was $48.4 million or $1.04 per fully diluted share compared with $1.08 per share in the third quarter of 2019 and $0.99 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018. Fully diluted shares outstanding at the end of Q4 2019 were 46.5 million.

2019 年第四季非 GAAP 淨利潤為 4,840 萬美元，即完全稀釋後每股收益 1.04 美元，而 2019 年第三季為每股 1.08 美元，2018 年第四季為每股 0.99 美元。截至 2019 年第四季末，完全稀釋後的已發行股數為 4,650 萬股。

Now let's look at the balance sheet. As of December 31, 2019, cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $458.5 million compared to $422.0 million at the end of the third quarter of 2019. For the quarter, MPS generated operating cash flow of about $61.0 million compared with Q3 2019 operating cash flow of $72.4 million. Fourth quarter 2019 capital spending totaled $8.7 million.

現在讓我們來看看資產負債表。截至 2019 年 12 月 31 日，現金、現金等價物及投資總額為 4.585 億美元，而 2019 年第三季末為 4.220 億美元。本季度，MPS 產生的營運現金流約為 6,100 萬美元，而 2019 年第三季營運現金流為 7,240 萬美元。2019 年第四季資本支出總計 870 萬美元。

Accounts receivable ended the fourth quarter of 2019 at $52.7 million or 29 days of sales outstanding compared with the $58.3 million or 31 days reported at the end of the third quarter of 2019 and the $55.2 million or 33 days reported in the fourth quarter of 2018.

截至2019 年第四季末，應收帳款為5,270 萬美元，即未償還銷售天數為29 天，而2019 年第三季末報告的應收帳款為5,830 萬美元，即31 天，2018 年第四季報告的應收帳款為5,520 萬美元，即33 天。

Our internal inventories at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019 were $127.5 million, down from the $135.6 million at the end of the third quarter of 2019. Days of inventory fell to 155 days at the end of Q4 2019 from the 163 days at the end of the third quarter of 2019.

截至 2019 年第四季末，我們的內部庫存為 1.275 億美元，低於 2019 年第三季末的 1.356 億美元。庫存天數從2019年第三季末的163天降至2019年第四季末的155天。

Before turning to our outlook for Q1 2020, I would like to remind everybody of our long-term non-GAAP financial model, which has been largely unchanged for the past 5 years. First, we target to grow revenue at a rate that is 10 to 15 percentage points greater than our peers. In a year where the market is expected to grow between 5 to 8 percentage points, we believe that MPS should be able to grow annual revenue from 15% to 20%. Second, we target quarterly gross margin to grow by 10 to 20 basis points sequentially. Third, to ensure continued growth, we target increases in our R&D and SG&A investment at 50% to 60% of the annual revenue growth rate. Finally, we expect to return 30% to 40% of the company's annual free cash flow to shareholders. This long-term financial model is an important tool in setting expectations for accelerated revenue growth and providing operating leverage while allowing for a proper level of business reinvestment.

在展望 2020 年第一季之前，我想提醒大家我們的長期非 GAAP 財務模型，該模型在過去 5 年中基本上沒有變化。首先，我們的目標是讓營收成長速度比同業高 10 至 15 個百分點。在市場預計將成長 5 至 8 個百分點的一年中，我們認為 MPS 應該能夠將年收入成長 15% 至 20%。其次，我們的目標是季度毛利率較上季成長 10 至 20 個基點。第三，為確保持續成長，我們的目標是將研發和銷售、管理及行政管理 (SG&A) 投資成長至年收入成長率的 50% 至 60%。最後，我們預計將公司年度自由現金流的30%至40%返還給股東。這種長期財務模型是設定收入加速成長預期和提供營運槓桿的重要工具，同時允許適當的業務再投資。

I would now like to turn to our Q1 2020 outlook. We are forecasting Q1 2020 revenue in the range of $161 million to $167 million. We also expect the following: GAAP gross margin in the range of 55.1% to 55.7%; non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 55.4% to 56.0%; total stock-based compensation expense of $18 million to $20 million, including approximately $600,000 that would be charged to cost of goods sold; GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses between $58.4 million and $62.4 million; non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses to be in the range of $41.0 million to $43.0 million. This estimate excludes stock compensation and litigation expenses. Litigation expenses to be in the range of $1.5 million to $2.5 million as MPS prepares for an upcoming trial which is set to begin at the end of March. Interest income is expected to range from $1.5 million to $1.7 million before foreign exchange gains or losses. Fully diluted shares to be in the range of 46.2 million to 47.2 million shares.

我現在想談談我們對 2020 年第一季的展望。我們預計 2020 年第一季的營收將在 1.61 億美元至 1.67 億美元之間。我們也預期： GAAP 毛利率在 55.1% 至 55.7% 之間；非公認會計原則毛利率在55.4%至56.0%之間；股票補償費用總額為 1,800 萬至 2,000 萬美元，其中約 60 萬美元將計入銷售成本； GAAP 研發和 SG&A 費用在 5,840 萬美元至 6,240 萬美元之間；非 GAAP 研發和 SG&A 費用將在 4,100 萬美元至 4,300 萬美元之間。這項估計不包括股票補償和訴訟費用。由於 MPS 正在為即將於 3 月底開始的審判做準備，因此訴訟費用將在 150 萬至 250 萬美元之間。不計外匯損益的利息收入預計為 150 萬美元至 170 萬美元。完全稀釋後的股份範圍為4620萬股至4720萬股。

Finally, we are pleased to announce a 25% increase in our quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share from $0.40 per share for shareholders of record as of March 31, 2020. In conclusion, we will continue executing on our strategy and winning market share.

最後，我們很高興地宣布，截至 2020 年 3 月 31 日在冊股東的季度股息將從每股 0.40 美元增加 25% 至每股 0.50 美元。總之，我們將繼續執行我們的策略並贏得市場份額。

I will now open the phone lines for questions.

我現在將開通電話提問。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from Jeremy Kwan with Stifel, Nicolaus.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Jeremy Kwan 和 Stifel、Nicolaus。

Congrats on the strong results and outlook, especially in a challenging environment. I guess my first question, regarding -- you mentioned about not having sufficient inventory in hand to meet all the immediate demand you're seeing. Is there a way you can kind of quantify what's kind of being left on the table and is there a chance to capture this maybe later on in the coming quarters?

恭喜您取得了強勁的業績和前景，尤其是在充滿挑戰的環境中。我想我的第一個問題是關於——你提到手邊沒有足夠的庫存來滿足你所看到的所有即時需求。有沒有一種方法可以量化剩下的內容，以及是否有機會在未來幾季的晚些時候捕捉到這一點？

All these products, which design are linked, and our customers have upside, many of them they told us. So we believe, okay, these sockets are difficult to change. You can't change month by month. And those volumes still will be with us.

所有這些產品的設計都是相互連結的，我們的客戶都有優勢，他們告訴我們其中許多優勢。所以我們相信，好吧，這些套接字很難改變。你不能逐月改變。這些書仍然會留在我們身邊。

Yes. We're not trying to identify a risk factor with regard to our ability to execute against expectations. We're just saying that it would be imprudent for us to allow our investors to believe that there is even more upside beyond that because we may have some constraint with regard to inventory.

是的。我們並不是試圖找出與我們執行預期能力有關的風險因素。我們只是說，讓我們的投資者相信除此之外還有更多的上行空間是不明智的，因為我們可能在庫存方面受到一些限制。

Yes. Our inventories, they involve a few thousand products and very difficult to predict which ones will ramp first. And so that causes a lot of problems for our planning and also for our shipments. We're now doing partial shipment.

是的。我們的庫存涉及數千種產品，很難預測哪些產品將首先增加。這給我們的計劃和運輸帶來了很多問題。我們現在正在進行分批裝運。

Great. That's helpful clarity. And I guess my follow-up would be, Bernie, you mentioned entering the high-performance analog market with the high-precision data acquisition group, can you give us more details about this, maybe you or Michael, maybe what initial application it's going to go after first and how you plan to compete in this market? And maybe your sales strategy, do you need more distribution partners or is this something that you can leverage your e-commerce platform?

偉大的。這對清晰度很有幫助。我想我的後續行動是，伯尼，您提到通過高精度數據採集組進入高性能模擬市場，您能否給我們提供更多有關此方面的詳細信息，也許是您或邁克爾，也許它的初始應用是什麼首先要追求什麼？您打算如何在這個市場上競爭？也許您的銷售策略，您是否需要更多的分銷合作夥伴，或者這是您可以利用您的電子商務平台的東西？

These are initial market segments there in the communications and as well as medical applications. And we don't have a long-term strategy. I think through our Internet -- through our e-commerce and we try to push everything through e-commerce again.

這些是通訊和醫療應用領域的最初細分市場。而且我們沒有長期戰略。我認為透過我們的互聯網——透過我們的電子商務，我們試圖再次透過電子商務推動一切。

And our next question comes from Alessandra Vecchi with William Blair.

我們的下一個問題來自亞歷珊卓·維奇和威廉·布萊爾。

Congratulations on a wonderful quarter. Just on 48-volt, you talked about the new product introductions in 2019 and I believe you guys said on the last earnings call that you'd be seeing some revenue in Q1. Can you just update us on that and how we should think about the total revenue opportunity there as we look into 2020 and 2021?

恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度。就 48 伏特而言，您談到了 2019 年的新產品推出，我相信你們在上次財報電話會議上表示，你們將在第一季度看到一些收入。您能否向我們介紹一下最新情況，以及在展望 2020 年和 2021 年時我們應該如何考慮那裡的總收入機會？

Yes. I don't think that we guided, per se, on giving an exact revenue outlook for Q1 with beginning of 48-volt, but we said that it would be in 2020. And right now everything is tracking pretty much along our expectations. So what's really exciting is that I think that it validates our strategy to have gone into 48-volt and to enjoy and participate in many of the opportunities that it brings us.

是的。我認為我們本身並沒有對 48 伏特開始的第一季的確切收入前景進行指導，但我們說過會在 2020 年進行。現在一切基本上都符合我們的預期。因此，真正令人興奮的是，我認為它驗證了我們進入 48 伏特並享受和參與它給我們帶來的許多機會的策略。

Okay. That's helpful. And then I apologize if I missed it, but Bernie, did you give us a little bit of clarity in terms of by segment in Q1 what segments maybe you thought would be the strongest sequentially?

好的。這很有幫助。如果我錯過了，我深表歉意，但是伯尼，您是否在第一季度按細分市場向我們提供了一些清晰的信息，您認為哪些細分市場可能是連續最強的？

Yes. Again, I think the broader question there is, what is the revenue drivers looking like? And at this point, I think it's a continuation of more of what we've been seeing recently. So for example, the compute and storage market is very well positioned for growth in the early part of the year. Likewise, communication, we believe that there's also a significant opportunity for growth, particularly in Q1. When you look at -- oh, I should make one asterisk on computing. Notebooks, which we report in computing, are seasonal. And coming out of Q4, they tend to have a seasonal decline, which we are anticipating as well. But when you look at storage or cloud computing, I think that we're very well positioned. And then after that, if you look at consumer, again, that still has not hit a steady state or showed any signs of being healthy. And again, consumer is also very seasonal and it's normal to expect a decline from Q4 to Q1. And then when you look at industrial, a lot of that was revenue performance, particularly in the second half of the year, reflected inventory builds on the part of certain of our customers who are anticipating trade restrictions. And so that area may fall off in Q1. And automotive, that tends to go either on a plateau or when it gets designed in a new revenue opportunity, there's a spike.

是的。同樣，我認為更廣泛的問題是，收入驅動因素是什麼樣的？在這一點上，我認為這是我們最近所看到的更多情況的延續。例如，計算和儲存市場在今年年初的成長處於非常有利的位置。同樣，在溝通方面，我們相信也存在重大的成長機會，特別是在第一季。當你看到——哦，我應該在計算上打一個星號。我們在計算領域報告的筆記型電腦是季節性的。從第四季開始，它們往往會出現季節性下降，這也是我們所預期的。但當你考慮儲存或雲端運算時，我認為我們處於非常有利的位置。在那之後，如果你再看看消費者，你會發現它仍然沒有達到穩定狀態或顯示出任何健康的跡象。同樣，消費者也具有很強的季節性，預計第四季到第一季出現下降是正常的。然後，當你看工業時，很多都是收入表現，特別是在今年下半年，反映了我們某些預計會受到貿易限制的客戶的庫存增加。因此該區域可能會在第一季下降。而汽車產業，往往不是處於停滯狀態，就是當它被設計成一個新的收入機會時，就會出現高峰。

Okay. Just on automotive, some other semiconductor companies have alluded to sort of a bottoming out, an improvement there. So are you seeing a similar situation? I know it depends on what model you're designed into and whatnot, but do you feel like the worst is behind you?

好的。僅在汽車領域，其他一些半導體公司就提到了某種程度的觸底反彈和改善。那麼你是否也看過類似的情況呢？我知道這取決於你被設計成什麼模型等等，但你覺得最糟糕的事情已經過去了嗎？

I think we are too small to call the industry. We are growing to all these greenfield markets and that the least thing that we've said that this is the end of the world or this is the beginning of the world. It's the beginning of the world for MPS.

我認為我們太小了，無法稱之為這個行業。我們正在向所有這些未開發市場發展，我們至少說過，這是世界末日，或者這是世界的開始。這是 MPS 世界的開始。

Our next question comes from Michelle Waller with Needham.

我們的下一個問題來自米歇爾·沃勒和李約瑟。

Congrats on the results. So I guess the first one for me is, in terms of the next-generation gaming consoles launching in 2020, could you guys walk us through what the ramp is expected to look like for MPS? Is it only a back half driver or do you think you'll see some meaningful uptick in 2Q? And from a gross margin perspective, how should we think about the impact to corporate gross margins during that ramp?

祝賀結果。所以我想我的第一個問題是，就 2020 年推出的下一代遊戲機而言，你們能為我們介紹一下 MPS 的預期成長嗎？這只是後半驅動程式還是您認為您會在第二季度看到一些有意義的上升？從毛利率的角度來看，我們應該如何考慮在此期間對企業毛利率的影響？

Are you talking about gaming, particularly?

你特別在談遊戲嗎？

Yes. And specifically, yes.

是的。具體來說，是的。

Gaming is not a major part of our business. And that is all linked into one product, is in the consumer segment and it is in a share that's similar, CPU core power. So the business is very lumpy, but we treat this very opportunistically. And our customers really like our solutions and then we will support them again when the demand come.

遊戲並不是我們業務的主要部分。這一切都與一個產品相關聯，屬於消費領域，並且具有相似的份額，即 CPU 核心功率。所以業務非常不穩定，但我們非常機會主義地對待這個問題。我們的客戶非常喜歡我們的解決方案，當需求到來時我們將再次支持他們。

And we probably expect to see a similar ramp as we did in 2017.

我們可能會預期會看到與 2017 年類似的成長。

Okay. That's helpful. And then for my follow-up, you guys mentioned previously that your dollar content opportunity with the Whitley server platform increased to $70 from $50 in the Purley platform. I'm just trying to figure out, I know this is a bit further off, but with the Eagle Stream platform that's expected to launch in 2021, how do you guys see your dollar content opportunity changing generation over generation or just any color you can give there would be helpful.

好的。這很有幫助。然後，對於我的後續行動，你們之前提到，Whitley 伺服器平台的美元內容機會從 Purley 平台的 50 美元增加到 70 美元。我只是想弄清楚，我知道這有點遙遠，但是隨著預計於 2021 年推出的 Eagle Stream 平台，你們如何看待您的美元內容機會一代又一代地改變，或者只是任何您可以改變的顏色給那裡會有幫助的。

On the dollar content, we haven't seen an opportunity to expand beyond what we currently are getting on the V14. But then again, the specs are not entirely finalized. So if it turns out that the space or the power requirements are materially different from what V14 is, there might be an opportunity for pricing leverage.

就價格內容而言，我們還沒有看到有機會超越我們目前在 V14 上獲得的價格。但話又說回來，規格還沒完全確定。因此，如果事實證明空間或功率需求與 V14 有很大不同，則可能存在定價槓桿的機會。

And our next question comes from Matt Ramsay with Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自馬特·拉姆齊和考恩。

This is Josh Buchalter on behalf of Matt. Congrats on the results in a tough environment. I guess the first question was, if we think about your inventory commentary from last quarter, are there any couple of items in particular that you could point to that drove the change in your thought process from 3Q to 4Q? And then also, is there any margin impact from bringing on the new 12-inch fab and your sort of, what sounds like, capacity constraints?

我是喬許‧布查爾特 (Josh Buchalter)，代表馬特 (Matt)。祝賀在艱難的環境中所取得的成果。我想第一個問題是，如果我們考慮一下您上季度的庫存評論，您是否可以特別指出一些項目推動了您從第三季度到第四季度的思維過程的變化？另外，引進新的 12 吋晶圓廠以及聽起來像是產能限制是否會對利潤率產生任何影響？

Well, in talking about margins and a new 12-inch fab, okay, every time we're bringing up a fab, we will have a very immediate impact for the margin improvement. These products that are from new fab is always a year or 2 years down the road. In terms of which segments where our inventory is tight, and again, it's actually across the board.

好吧，在談論利潤率和新的 12 吋晶圓廠時，好吧，每次我們提出晶圓廠時，我們都會對利潤率的改善產生非常直接的影響。這些來自新晶圓廠的產品總是需要一年或兩年的時間。就我們的庫存緊張的細分市場而言，實際上是全面緊張的。

Got it. And I guess in the beginning of the call, you mentioned several Tier 1 companies launching with your design wins. Were there any, I guess, if you'd rank order 1 or 2 that you're most excited about heading into 2020.

知道了。我想在電話會議開始時，您提到了幾家一級公司因您的設計獲勝而推出。我想，如果您將進入 2020 年最興奮的事情排在第 1 或第 2 位。

This we said, that Bernie said at the beginning of the call. And okay, there's a few things that we achieved in 2019 and all of these will generate a significant revenue in 2020.

這是我們所說的，也是伯尼在電話開始時所說的。好吧，我們在 2019 年取得了一些成就，所有這些都將在 2020 年產生可觀的收入。

Yes. And it's not restricted to any one end market segment. It's actually very broad-based the level of customer engagement that we're receiving from Tier 1s.

是的。而且它不限於任何一個終端細分市場。實際上，我們從一級供應商獲得的客戶參與度非常廣泛。

And our next question comes from Rick Schafer with Oppenheimer.

我們的下一個問題來自里克·謝弗和奧本海默。

I'll echo everyone else's congratulations on another monolithic quarter, another great quarter, so good job. I just had maybe a question on coronavirus since it's the topic du jour. You guys have 3 of your 4 production foundries in China. So I'm just curious, Michael or Bernie, if you're seeing any signs of supply disruption or do you expect to see any signs once guys just start coming back to work next week?

我將回應其他所有人的祝賀，祝賀又一個重要的季度，又一個偉大的季度，幹得好。我可能只是有一個關於冠狀病毒的問題，因為它是當前的話題。你們的 4 個生產代工廠中有 3 個在中國。所以我很好奇，邁克爾或伯尼，你們是否看到任何供應中斷的跡象，或者你們預計一旦人們下週開始重返工作崗位，你們是否會看到任何跡象？

All the fab, as far as we know, they are all open. They are all operating. And they're in really tight conditions, okay? And all the assemblies, same thing so far and really hasn't disrupted our supply.

據我們所知，所有工廠都已開放。他們都在營業。他們的條件非常緊張，好嗎？到目前為止，所有的組件都是一樣的，並且確實沒有中斷我們的供應。

And again, Rick, it's very early stage to really fully appreciate or understand how any of our businesses will be impacted.

瑞克，再次強調，現在要真正充分認識或理解我們的任何業務將受到的影響還處於早期階段。

Sure. Sure. I understand. So maybe a follow-up, if I could. Just on your auto biz, I know you guys secured one of the, I think, the #1 Tier 1 auto supplier a few months ago. I'm just curious where we stand on securing the #2 Tier 1 auto supplier. And as part of your answer, I'm curious, I mean, from after you signed #1, have you seen -- is it too soon to have seen any noticeable uptick in design activity? And maybe also just a comment on China in general, I'd be interested. I know that it was kind of a slow year for China auto. They basically canceled the design year, I think, last year or the model year. I'm curious kind of what your expectations are for China this year or what you're seeing?

當然。當然。我明白。如果可以的話，也許會有後續行動。就你們的汽車業務而言，我知道你們幾個月前就獲得了排名第一的一級汽車供應商之一。我只是好奇我們在確保二號一級汽車供應商方面的立場如何。作為你回答的一部分，我很好奇，我的意思是，從你簽署#1之後，你是否看到——現在看到設計活動有任何明顯的上升是否為時過早？也許也只是對中國的整體評論，我很感興趣。我知道今年對中國汽車業來說是緩慢的一年。我認為，他們基本上取消了設計年，去年或模型年。我很好奇你對今年的中國有什麼期望或你看到了什麼？

Well, okay. Overall, everybody told us that China auto will not be a good year. From an MPS side, we are looking pretty good in fall of 2020. And all these #1 and #2 and #3 of China auto, we are deeply engaged and that we see all the activities that we -- they're more than we can handle and now we have to pick and choose.

哦，那好吧。總的來說，大家都告訴我們中國汽車不會是好年。從 MPS 的角度來看，我們 2020 年秋季的前景相當不錯。中國汽車的所有這些#1、#2和#3，我們都深入參與，我們看到我們的所有活動——它們超出了我們的處理能力，現在我們必須做出選擇。

And our next question comes from Ross Seymore with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的羅斯·西莫爾。

This is Melissa on behalf of Ross. Congratulations on the really solid quarter. I know you guys don't guide out more than 1 quarter. But I guess from a high-level perspective now that we're coming out of this industry downturn, what are your expectations for returning to either seasonal or even above seasonal growth? Is this moderated by your inventory constraints? And how are you thinking about the slope of the recovery from here?

我是梅麗莎，代表羅斯。恭喜這個季度的表現非常強勁。我知道你們指導的時間不會超過四分之一。但我想，從高層的角度來看，既然我們已經走出了行業低迷，您對恢復季節性甚至高於季節性增長的期望是什麼？這是否受到您的庫存限制的影響？您如何看待當前復甦的斜率？

Well, you call it industrial, out of the downturn we came. And as we said, as Bernie said earlier, we will grow above the industrial market, again, plus we will see an upturn about 10% -- 15% to 20%. So we're committed on that.

嗯，你稱之為工業，我們走出了低迷時期。正如我們所說，正如伯尼早些時候所說，我們的成長將再次高於工業市場，我們將看到約 10% - 15% 至 20% 的成長。所以我們致力於此。

Okay. Great. And then does the inventory constraints, is that kind of restricting that growth prospect or do you think you can still kind of hit that target?

好的。偉大的。那麼庫存限制是否會限製成長前景，或者您認為您仍然可以達到該目標嗎？

We try to. And as we said earlier, we cannot maximize it because our customers are pulling the requirements, okay? And so we have to keep the line up and we handle partial shipment and that our inventory is in a very low stage, okay?

我們嘗試這樣做。正如我們之前所說，我們無法最大化它，因為我們的客戶正在拉動需求，好嗎？因此，我們必須保持隊列整齊，我們處理部分裝運，並且我們的庫存處於非常低的階段，好嗎？

Got it. And then the last one for me is, your computing and storage segment has been driving really strong growth and I was just curious when you look into 2020, how are you thinking about the shape of that business? And in particular, are you worried about any risk of inventory digestion of lumpy buying or do you think that it's really strong secular growth that's driving the strength?

知道了。最後一個對我來說是，你們的運算和儲存領域一直在推動真正強勁的成長，我只是很好奇，當你們展望 2020 年時，你們如何看待該業務的形態？特別是，您是否擔心大量購買帶來的庫存消化風險，或者您是否認為真正強勁的長期成長正在推動這一勢頭？

Yes. When you look at 2019, I think the first half of the year was an anomaly where the hyperscales were trying to digest excess capacity. And so I would see, with the V14 having been just recently rolled out, a return to a more normalized adoption process.

是的。回顧 2019 年，我認為上半年是個反常現象，超大規模企業試圖消化過剩產能。因此，隨著 V14 最近剛推出，我會看到回歸更加標準化的採用流程。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question comes from Tore Svanberg with Stifel.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Tore Svanberg。

Congratulations, again, very nice results. First question on inventory being tight. I mean you're at 156 days. So how tight is it? I mean I know you want to run a little bit higher than that, but it doesn't seem alarmingly low either so maybe could just elaborate a little bit on that.

再次祝賀，非常好的結果。第一個問題是庫存緊張。我的意思是你已經156天了。那麼有多緊呢？我的意思是，我知道你想要比這個更高一點，但它似乎也沒有低得驚人，所以也許可以詳細說明一下。

I think we're at 155 days right now. And if you were to look at sort of the industry standards, we're probably in and about the midpoint range of what people might expect. There's 2 things though that differentiate us. The first is the diversity of the number of products that we maintain and then the second is that we build inventories ahead of when we sell them. And as a result, because we're growing at a rate that is 10 to 15 percentage points faster than the industry, that puts more pressure on us to have more inventory available in an earlier stage. So it's as much a risk management decision with the level we carry. And I think that we've said previously that we're more comfortable with inventory levels between about 160 and 180 days.

我想我們現在已經 155 天了。如果您查看某種行業標準，我們可能處於人們可能期望的中點範圍內。但有兩件事使我們與眾不同。第一個是我們維護的產品數量的多樣性，第二個是我們在銷售之前建立庫存。因此，由於我們的成長速度比行業快 10 到 15 個百分點，這給我們帶來了更大的壓力，要求我們在早期階段擁有更多庫存。因此，這也是我們所承擔水平的風險管理決策。我認為我們之前說過，我們更願意接受 160 到 180 天左右的庫存水準。

Yes. For the stagnant companies, inventory, yes, is very predictable. For the growth company and we have a particular for MPS, we have, if not thousands, we have hundreds projects and that they are taking off. And some of those faster, other ones are slower, how do we pick on those, very difficult to call.

是的。對於停滯不前的公司來說，庫存是非常可預測的。對於成長型公司，我們有一個特別的 MPS，我們有，如果不是數千個，我們有數百個項目，而且它們正在起飛。其中一些更快，另一些則更慢，我們如何選擇這些，很難調用。

Well, it's a good problem to have. Second question, and I always ask you this, Michael, if you could give us an update on your e-commerce business. We notice that the website keeps changing. So if you could update on those, that would be great.

嗯，這是一個好問題。第二個問題，邁克爾，我總是問你是否能為我們介紹一下你的電子商務業務的最新情況。我們注意到網站不斷變化。因此，如果您能更新這些內容，那就太好了。

The e-commerce site, okay, other than the MPS website, e-commerce, we're still learning from that one, okay? But our product we sell to the third party's e-commerce site is doing really well. And so as a result of our learning and we're changing it. You see that on our website. And so that so far, we can't give you the significant number yet, okay? But feel end of the 2020, I think that, that will move some needles.

電子商務網站，好吧，除了MPS網站，電子商務，我們還在向那個學習，好嗎？但我們向第三方電子商務網站銷售的產品卻表現得非常好。因此，作為我們學習的結果，我們正在改變它。您可以在我們的網站上看到這一點。所以到目前為止，我們還不能給你重要的數字，好嗎？但我認為，到 2020 年底，這將會帶來一些改變。

Great. So at least you're now seeing that the traffic really moving in the right direction, sounds like.

偉大的。所以至少你現在看到交通確實朝著正確的方向移動，聽起來是這樣。

Yes. The key is the traffic. But yes, the key is the traffic. So we can, again, give you an analogy. We believe, again, a year ago, we believe there's a lot of fish in the Pacific Ocean. So we dropped the fish in the middle of Pacific Ocean, we didn't target anything. And our learning, we're fishing what kind of fish, where are they? We're a lot more targeted. So we have gone through that phase, okay, we're a lot more targeted now.

是的。關鍵是交通。但是，是的，關鍵是流量。所以我們可以再給你一個類比。我們再次相信，一年前，我們相信太平洋裡有很多魚。所以我們把魚丟到太平洋中部，我們沒有瞄準任何東西。還有我們的學習，我們釣的是什麼魚，它們在哪裡？我們更有針對性。所以我們已經經歷了這個階段，好吧，我們現在更有針對性了。

Very good, make sure you have enough bait. Last question on the eMotion business, if you could also update us there, including, obviously, your system-level motor products.

很好，保證餌充足。關於 eMotion 業務的最後一個問題，您是否也可以在那裡向我們介紹最新情況，顯然包括您的系統級馬達產品。

Yes. So the model is that the intent is just not selling a motor and intend to provide a convenience for our customers for the initial ramp. So okay, we -- those business at the very beginning, and I go through, we see quite a few orders from our Internet and then, typically, those customers are going very slow. And I mean, their project takes a year and 1.5 years to ramp. It's not like they're selling a silicon piece, okay? And usually a model for the guys, it takes about 3 or 4 years. And in terms of eMotion, we have -- I don't know what -- Bernie, maybe you can say that, okay, $20-some million this year, more than $20 million -- last year, $20-some million. This year, we're going to keep up a similar growth rate. And so we'll be assuming we would be a $30 million or $40 million. Okay.

是的。因此，模型的目的只是不銷售電機，而是為我們的客戶提供初始坡道的便利性。好吧，我們——一開始的這些業務，我經歷過，我們看到來自互聯網的相當多的訂單，然後，通常，這些客戶的速度非常慢。我的意思是，他們的專案需要一年和 1.5 年的時間才能完成。他們又不是在賣矽片，好嗎？通常，男性模特兒需要大約三到四年的時間。就 eMotion 而言，我們——我不知道是什麼——伯尼，也許你可以說，好吧，今年 20 多萬美元，超過 2000 萬美元——去年，20 多萬美元。今年，我們將保持類似的成長率。因此，我們假設我們的收入為 3000 萬美元或 4000 萬美元。好的。

I think that we're comfortable in saying that it can be a $30 million or $40 million business here in the next few years. I think though that Michael makes a very good point as far as the length of time between adoption and when you actually generate revenue, many of those applications almost have characteristics similar to automotive.

我認為我們可以放心地說，在未來幾年內，這裡的業務可能會達到 3000 萬美元或 4000 萬美元。我認為，儘管邁克爾在採用和實際產生收入之間的時間長度方面提出了很好的觀點，但其中許多應用程式幾乎具有與汽車類似的特徵。

Thank you. And I'm showing no further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back to Bernie Blegen for any closing remarks.

謝謝。目前我不會再提出任何問題。我想將電話轉回給伯尼·布萊根，請他發表結束語。

Thank you. I'd like to thank you all for joining us for this conference call and look forward to talking to you again during our first quarter 2020 conference call, which will likely be in April. Thank you and have a nice day.

謝謝。我要感謝大家參加本次電話會議，並期待在 2020 年第一季電話會議（可能會在 4 月份）期間再次與大家交談。謝謝你，祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, you may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。大家，祝你有美好的一天。