慧榮科技 (SIMO) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Silicon Motion Technology Corporation's Q3 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加慧榮科技公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

This conference call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding trends in the semiconductor industry and our future results of operations, financial conditions, and business prospects.

本次電話會議包含 1933 年《證券法》第 27A 條和經修訂的 1934 年《證券交易法》第 21E 條含義內的前瞻性陳述。此類前瞻性陳述包括但不限於有關半導體產業趨勢以及我們未來營運績效、財務狀況和業務前景的陳述。

Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual market trends and our results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons.

儘管此類聲明基於我們自己的資訊以及我們認為可靠的其他來源的信息，但您不應過度依賴它們。這些陳述涉及風險和不確定性以及實際市場趨勢，由於各種原因，我們的結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果有重大差異。

Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to continued competitive pressure in the semiconductor industry and the effect of such pressures on prices, unpredictable changes in technology and consumer demand for multimedia consumer electronics, the state of -- and any change in our relationship with our major customers and changes in political, economic, legal, and social conditions in Taiwan.

潛在的風險和不確定性包括但不限於半導體產業持續的競爭壓力以及這種壓力對價格的影響、技術和消費者對多媒體消費電子產品的需求的不可預測的變化、以及我們關係的任何變化與我們的主要客戶以及台灣政治、經濟、法律和社會狀況的變化。

For additional discussions of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligations to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this conference call. With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to Tom Sepenzis, Senior Director of Investor Relations and Strategy. Thank you. Please go ahead.

有關這些風險和不確定性以及其他因素的更多討論，請參閱我們不時向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務，這些陳述僅適用於本次電話會議之日。現在，我想將電話轉給投資者關係和策略高級總監 Tom Sepenzis。謝謝。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to Silicon Motion's third quarter 2024 financial results conference call and webcast. Joining me today is Wallace Kou, our President and CEO; and Jason Tsai, our CFO.

謝謝大家，大家早安，歡迎參加慧榮科技 2024 年第三季財務業績電話會議和網路廣播。今天加入我的是我們的總裁兼執行長 Wallace Kou；和我們的財務長 Jason Tsai。

Wallace will first provide a review of our key business developments, and then Jason will discuss our third quarter results and outlook. Following our prepared remarks, we will conclude with a Q&A session. Before we get started, I would like to remind you of our Safe Harbor policy, which was read at the start of this call.

華萊士將首先回顧我們的主要業務發展，然後傑森將討論我們第三季的業績和前景。在我們準備好的發言之後，我們將以問答環節結束。在我們開始之前，我想提醒您我們的安全港政策，該政策已在本次電話會議開始時閱讀。

For a comprehensive overview of the risks involved in investing in our securities, please refer to our filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. For more details on our financial results, please refer to our press release, which was filed on Form 6-K after the close of the market yesterday. This webcast will be available for replay in the Investor Relations section of our website for a limited time. To enhance investors' understanding of our ongoing economic performance, we will discuss non-GAAP information during this call.

有關投資我們的證券所涉及風險的全面概述，請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。有關我們財務業績的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們在昨天收盤後以 6-K 表格形式提交的新聞稿。該網絡廣播將在我們網站的投資者關係部分限時重播。為了增強投資者對我們當前經濟表現的了解，我們將在本次電話會議上討論非公認會計準則資訊。

We use non-GAAP financial measures internally to evaluate and manage our operations. We have, therefore, chosen to provide this information to enable you to perform comparisons of our operating results in a manner consistent with how we analyze our own operating results. The reconciliation of the GAAP to non-GAAP financial data can be found in our earnings release issued yesterday. We ask that you review it in conjunction with this call. With that, I will turn the call over to Wallace.

我們在內部使用非公認會計準則財務指標來評估和管理我們的營運。因此，我們選擇提供此信息，以便您能夠以與我們分析自己經營業績的方式一致的方式對我們的經營業績進行比較。公認會計準則與非公認會計準則財務數據的調節可以在我們昨天發布的收益報告中找到。我們要求您結合本次電話會議進行審查。這樣，我就把電話轉給華萊士。

Thank you, Tom. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We delivered another quarter of sequential revenue growth and gross margin in the high end of our guided range, our sixth consecutive quarter of gross margin expansion.

謝謝你，湯姆。大家好，感謝您今天加入我們。我們的營收和毛利率又實現了一個季度的環比增長，處於指導範圍的高端，這是我們連續第六個季度實現毛利率擴張。

Revenue strengths were driven from our NAND flash maker customers as they continue to source controllers externally rather than develop them in-house as they focus on long-term profitability and reduce their operating expense. Our strategy of deepening our partnership with the leading flash makers and investing in new technology and driving success across our business.

收入優勢來自我們的 NAND 快閃記憶體製造商客戶，因為他們繼續從外部採購控制器，而不是內部開發控制器，因為他們專注於長期盈利能力並降低營運費用。我們的策略是深化與領先的快閃記憶體製造商的合作夥伴關係，投資新技術並推動我們業務的成功。

We are winning more programs in mainstream PC, smartphones, automotive, industrial, and other markets, and we expect this effort to accelerate as we move into high-end PC through the introduction of our first PCIe 5.0 controllers, Silicon Motion is best-positioned to capture increasing share in the markets we serve, further strengthening our position as a leading merchant controller vendor in the world.

我們正在主流 PC、智慧型手機、汽車、工業和其他市場贏得更多項目，隨著我們透過推出首款 PCIe 5.0 控制器進入高階 PC，我們預計這項努力將會加速，慧榮處於最佳位置在我們所服務的市場中獲得越來越多的份額，進一步鞏固我們作為全球領先的商用控制器供應商的地位。

In the third quarter, our NAND maker revenue grew more than 60% year over year as we continue to increase share gains through new product introduction and effective strategy. Both SSD and eMMC, UFS controller strength from our OEM programs more than offset of continuing weakness in the retail aftermarket for SSD.

第三季度，我們的 NAND 製造商營收年增超過 60%，我們透過新產品推出和有效策略持續增加份額收益。我們的 OEM 計劃提供的 SSD 和 eMMC、UFS 控制器優勢足以抵消 SSD 零售售後市場的持續疲軟。

That has been impacted by high NAND prices and lower consumer spending driven by inflationary pressures. Despite these near-term macro challenges, I'm pleased with our team's execution throughout the year and the building momentum as we continue to gain share across the markets we serve.

這受到了 NAND 高價格和通膨壓力導致的消費者支出下降的影響。儘管存在這些近期的宏觀挑戰，但我對我們團隊全年的執行力以及隨著我們繼續在我們所服務的市場中獲得份額而形成的勢頭感到滿意。

We believe that our ability to capture increasing shares through our NAND flash maker partners and OEM channel will continue to allow us to outpace the market. Our unequalled technical and financial strength to build next-generation controllers has and will continue to enhance our position through the introduction of multiple new products and through our continuing drive to provide world-class customer service.

我們相信，我們透過 NAND 快閃記憶體製造商合作夥伴和 OEM 管道獲取越來越多份額的能力將繼續讓我們超越市場。我們在建立下一代控制器方面擁有無與倫比的技術和財務實力，透過推出多種新產品以及不斷努力提供世界一流的客戶服務，我們已經並將繼續增強我們的地位。

Combined with the initial ramp of our new MonTitan enterprise-class solution and our first PCIe 5 controller in the current quarter and the expected introduction of our new UFS 4 controller next year, Silicon Motion is in the best position for long-term growth and share gain in our history.

結合我們新的 MonTitan 企業級解決方案和本季度首款 PCIe 5 控制器的初步升級，以及預計明年推出的新 UFS 4 控制器，慧榮處於長期增長和市場份額的最佳位置我們歷史上的收穫。

Our opportunities are growing significantly as we deliver product and solutions that are matched by our competitions, and we remain focused on driving additional revenue and profitability across our platform of leading NAND controller solutions. I would now like to provide you with an overview of the current NAND market dynamics.

隨著我們提供與競爭對手相匹配的產品和解決方案，我們的機會正在顯著增加，並且我們將繼續專注於在領先的 NAND 控制器解決方案平台上推動額外收入和盈利能力。現在我想向您概述當前 NAND 市場動態。

Overall, consumer-grade NAND price increases have slowed and in some cases, are beginning to see modest declines. Despite the modest improvement in NAND prices, the PC and smartphone markets as well as the aftermarket for client SSD are all experiencing near-term weakness. Reflecting the industry-wide demand slowdown for consumer electronics this holiday season, enterprise-grade NAND pricing is stable as the demand for AI storage solution remains strong.

總體而言，消費級 NAND 價格上漲已經放緩，在某些情況下，開始出現小幅下跌。儘管 NAND 價格略有改善，但 PC 和智慧型手機市場以及客戶端 SSD 售後市場近期均表現疲軟。由於人工智慧儲存解決方案的需求仍然強勁，企業級 NAND 定價保持穩定，反映了這個假日季消費性電子產品的全行業需求放緩。

Looking into 2025, we are encouraged by growth driver in the PC market, including an expected PC replacement cycle and the increase in storage density from AI-at-the-edge and will be enabled by next-generation processor from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm for PCs. In the smartphone market, the introduction of more AI capable processors from Qualcomm, MediaTek, and others could drive an upgrade cycle in 2025.

展望 2025 年，我們對 PC 市場的成長動力感到鼓舞，包括預期的 PC 更換週期以及邊緣 AI 帶來的儲存密度的增加，並將由英特爾、AMD 和英特爾的下一代處理器來實現。用於個人電腦。在智慧型手機市場，高通、聯發科等公司推出更多支援人工智慧的處理器可能會推動 2025 年的升級週期。

Given these tailwinds and ongoing strength in the enterprise storage market, we continue to expect NAND supply to tighten by mid-2025, driven by storage demand and density growth. Gartner recently published its outlook on NAND, highlighting the growing importance of QLC.

鑑於這些有利因素以及企業儲存市場的持續強勁，我們繼續預期 NAND 供應將在儲存需求和密度成長的推動下於 2025 年中期收緊。 Gartner 最近發布了對 NAND 的展望，強調了 QLC 日益增長的重要性。

They expect QLC production to increase to more than 25% of total NAND output by 2028, up from less than 10% today. As a result, interest in QLC NAND is increasing density demand are growing rapidly with the rise of artificial intelligence. Silicon Motion stands to be one of the biggest beneficiary of the growth and adoption of QLC NAND over the next several years, given our unrivaled experience and expertise in the technology.

他們預計，到 2028 年，QLC 產量佔 NAND 總產量的比例將從目前的不到 10% 增加到 25% 以上。因此，隨著人工智慧的興起，人們對 QLC NAND 的興趣日益濃厚，密度需求也迅速增長。鑑於我們在該技術方面無與倫比的經驗和專業知識，慧榮將成為未來幾年 QLC NAND 成長和採用的最大受益者之一。

We are currently engaged in discussion with all the major flash makers and module makers for the development of QLC NAND across multiple markets, including enterprise AI, PC, smartphone, IoT, and others.

我們目前正在與所有主要快閃記憶體製造商和模組製造商討論在多個市場（包括企業人工智慧、PC、智慧型手機、物聯網等）開發QLC NAND。

Gartner is projecting significant adoption of QLC across all markets over the next five years. QLC adoption in PC is expected to increase from about 20% today to over 55% in 2028. For smartphone, QLC will be especially important in mainstream and low-end device and adoption will grow to about 15% from virtually zero today. And in the enterprise, QLC expect to account for nearly 35% for server storage market and nearly 65% of the enterprise storage SSD market by 2028.

Gartner 預計未來五年內所有市場都會大量採用 QLC。 QLC 在PC 中的採用率預計將從現在的約20% 增加到2028 年的55% 以上。到約15%。而在企業領域，QLC預計到2028年將佔據伺服器儲存市場近35%的份額，以及企業儲存SSD市場近65%的份額。

QLC NAND, while providing low-cost storage density is significantly more challenging than its predecessors to manage and require more sophisticated technology in controller and firmware. Our QLC NAND experience has become a key differentiator in the market, resulting in multiple wins with flash makers and module makers across all our product categories.

QLC NAND 雖然提供低成本儲存密度，但在管理方面比其前輩更具挑戰性，並且需要更複雜的控制器和韌體技術。我們的 QLC NAND 經驗已成為市場上的關鍵差異化因素，在我們所有產品類別中贏得了快閃記憶體製造商和模組製造商的多項勝利。

Our proprietary advanced LDPC, 3D RAID technology, and leading firmware algorithms have replaced Silicon Motion in the best position to benefit from the emerging push to deliver QLC-based storage solutions, and we expect to be one of the primary winners in the growth of the new technology.

我們專有的先進LDPC、3D RAID 技術和領先的韌體演算法已取代Silicon Motion，使其處於最佳位置，從新興的基於QLC 的儲存解決方案的推動中受益，我們預計將成為該領域增長的主要贏家之一。

Now I would like to discuss each of our major product segments, beginning with our SSD controllers. Demand remained robust from our flash maker customer in September quarter, driven by PC OEMs, which represented approximately 75% of our client SSD controller sales, significantly higher than normal third quarter seasonality as high NAND prices and the weaker consumer demand continues to pressure the retail aftermarket for SSD.

現在我想討論我們的每個主要產品領域，首先是我們的 SSD 控制器。在PC OEM 的推動下，我們的快閃記憶體製造商客戶在9 月季度的需求依然強勁，約占我們客戶SSD 控制器銷售額的75%，顯著高於正常的第三季季節性，因為高NAND價格和疲軟的消費者需求繼續給零售帶來壓力。

Despite the near-term challenges, this is an exciting quarter for Silicon Motion as we introduced our new PCIe Gen5 eight-channel controllers. This is a premium product, ideally suited for high-end AI notebook, desktop, gaming and workstation PC that offer unparalleled performance and best-in-class power consumption.

儘管近期面臨挑戰，但對於慧榮來說，這是一個令人興奮的季度，因為我們推出了新的 PCIe Gen5 八通道控制器。這是一款優質產品，非常適合高階 AI 筆記型電腦、桌上型電腦、遊戲和工作站 PC，提供無與倫比的效能和一流的功耗。

Our controller is the first 6 nanometer eight-channel PCIe Gen5 controller in the market and has led to four flash maker design wins and multiple engagements with nearly all of the module makers. The controller delivered 20% to 30% lower power consumption than competing controllers, including internally developed controller from the major NAND makers. This new PCIe Gen5 product is extremely important for Silicon Motion as they mark our entry into the high-end PC market for the first time.

我們的控制器是市場上首款 6 奈米八通道 PCIe Gen5 控制器，已贏得四家快閃記憶體製造商的設計勝利，並與幾乎所有模組製造商進行了多次合作。此控制器的功耗比競爭控制器（包括主要 NAND 製造商內部開發的控制器）低 20% 至 30%。這款新的 PCIe Gen5 產品對於慧榮來說極為重要，因為它們標誌著我們首次進入高階 PC 市場。

High-end PC account for approximately 10% to 15% of the overall PC market, representing a significant opportunity for market share gain and top and bottom line growth for our company. The high end of the market delivers the added benefit of high ASP and accretive margin, and we are entering the market with an incredible strong position.

高階 PC 約佔整個 PC 市場的 10% 至 15%，這對我們公司來說是增加市場份額以及實現收入和利潤成長的重大機會。高端市場帶來了高平均售價和增值利潤的額外好處，我們正以令人難以置信的強勢地位進入市場。

With our four NAND flash maker partners and the growing number of module maker customers, we believe we can grow our share of high-end PC market rapidly. I would also like to share another significant achievement by our team involving the automotive market. Our new PCIe Gen4 automotive-grade controller has recently received ASPICE Level 2 certifications.

憑藉我們的四家 NAND 快閃記憶體製造商合作夥伴以及不斷增長的模組製造商客戶數量，我們相信我們能夠快速增加我們在高階 PC 市場的份額。我還想分享我們團隊在汽車市場上的另一項重大成就。我們的新型 PCIe Gen4 汽車級控制器最近獲得了 ASPICE 2 級認證。

This is the first PCIe Gen4 controller in the market to achieve this level of certification, and we are engaged with multiple customers and design into several new automotive platforms. Level 2 is the most critical step in ASPICE's certification as they validate the development is complete and fully managed and ready for release.

這是市場上第一個獲得此級別認證的 PCIe Gen4 控制器，我們正在與多個客戶合作並設計到多個新的汽車平台中。 2 級是 ASPICE 認證中最關鍵的步驟，因為它們驗證開發是否已完成、全面管理並準備好發布。

We expect to achieve ASPICE Level 3 certification with the controller -- with the same controller in 2025. And we remain on track to deliver our new PCIe Gen5 automotive-grade controller in the second half of calendar 2025. While automotive market has experienced a challenging year, we are continuing to experience growth.

我們預計該控制器將在 2025 年通過相同的控制器獲得 ASPICE 3 級認證。我們繼續經歷成長。

Automotive already accounts for approximately 5% of our revenue today. And we expect to reach 10% of our total revenue by late 2026 or early 2027. Our pipeline of design activity for next-generation PCIe Gen4 controller using both TLC and QLC NAND remains strong.

如今，汽車業務已占我們收入的約 5%。我們預計到 2026 年底或 2027 年初將達到總收入的 10%。我們使用 TLC 和 QLC NAND 的下一代 PCIe Gen4 控制器的設計活動管道仍然強勁。

These new SSD deliver high performance and high density at a lower cost than PCIe Gen5 platforms and are increasingly ideal for multiple applications that require low-cost solution. We are growing our SSD market share in the PC, game console, automotive, industrial, IoT, and other markets and will continue to diversify our customer base and market moving forward.

這些新型 SSD 以比 PCIe Gen5 平台更低的成本提供高效能和高密度，越來越適合需要低成本解決方案的多種應用。我們正在擴大我們在 PC、遊戲機、汽車、工業、物聯網和其他市場的 SSD 市場份額，並將繼續使我們的客戶群和市場多元化。

Now I would like to discuss our eMMC and UFS business. Our eMMC and UFS business continue to be strong growth area for us as we continue to capture more share. We have a significant new product ramp in UFS and eMMC next year as we capture more opportunity in low-end to mainstream handset and through continuing expansion in automotive, IoT, and other growing markets.

現在我想談談我們的eMMC和UFS業務。隨著我們不斷獲得更多份額，我們的 eMMC 和 UFS 業務仍然是我們強勁的成長領域。隨著我們在低端到主流手機領域抓住更多機會，並透過在汽車、物聯網和其他不斷增長的市場的持續擴張，明年我們將在 UFS 和 eMMC 領域大幅增加新產品。

Our complete family of UFS, eMMC controllers in conjunction with our strategy of customer diversification through working with NAND makers, module makers, and handset OEMs directly is enabling us to become the preferred controller maker across multiple markets. This includes the important market in China, where our module maker customer can deliver solution that comply with increasing localization standard.

我們完整的 UFS、eMMC 控制器系列，加上我們透過直接與 NAND 製造商、模組製造商和手機 OEM 合作實現客戶多元化的策略，使我們能夠成為多個市場的首選控制器製造商。這包括中國這一重要市場，我們的模組製造商客戶可以提供符合日益提高的本地化標準的解決方案。

Our ability to support the broadest range of NAND, including QLC, gave our customers the greatest amount of flexibility to support a wide range of performance feature and sourcing requirements. UFS 2.2 and 3.1 remains the largest portion of the smartphone market, and we expect this will continue through 2026.

我們有能力支援最廣泛的 NAND（包括 QLC），為我們的客戶提供了最大的靈活性來支援廣泛的效能特性和採購要求。 UFS 2.2 和 3.1 仍然佔據智慧型手機市場的最大份額，我們預計這種情況將持續到 2026 年。

As UFS 4 expands from the high end to more mainstream handset, our new 6 nanometer UFS 4 controller is well-positioned to benefit from this growing adoption. We continue to receive positive feedback from our partners and in qualification with multiple handset OEMs, flash maker and module maker ahead of our expected product ramp in mid-2025.

隨著 UFS 4 從高階擴展到更主流的手機，我們的新型 6 奈米 UFS 4 控制器已做好充分準備，從這種不斷增長的採用中受益。在我們預計於 2025 年中期推出產品之前，我們繼續收到合作夥伴的正面回饋，並獲得了多家手機 OEM、快閃記憶體製造商和模組製造商的認證。

Our highly differentiated two-channel solution supports the latest generation 3.6 gigabit per second I/O speed for 3D NAND, offering higher performance and lower cost solution that will be in increasingly high demand as UFS 4 adoption move to mainstream smartphones.

我們高度差異化的雙通道解決方案支援最新一代3.6 GB 每秒I/O 速度的3D NAND，提供更高性能和更低成本的解決方案，隨著UFS 4 的採用轉向主流智慧型手機，該解決方案的需求將越來越大。

As compared to the current UFS 4 four-channel controller in the market today that only support 1.6 gigabit per second and 2 gigabit per second I/O speed NAND, our solution has less complicated substrate need, lower power usage, better performance, higher signal integrity, and a lower overall BOM cost. One of the most important growth area for our eMMC, UFS business involves QLC.

與目前市場上僅支援1.6 GB 和2 GB I/O 速度NAND 的UFS 4 四通道控制器相比，我們的解決方案具有更簡單的基板需求、更低的功耗、更好的性能、更高的訊號完整性和較低的總體 BOM 成本。我們的 eMMC、UFS 業務最重要的成長領域之一涉及 QLC。

So I would like to update you on our project with our first customer. As we have discussed previously, we have been working directly with a handset customer to develop a QLC NAND memory solution for mobile smartphone. I'm pleased to report that our customer has already begun shipping handset with our QLC UFS controller and will ramp more meaningfully next year as they expand QLC into additional models.

所以我想向您介紹我們與第一位客戶的專案的最新情況。正如我們之前討論的，我們一直在直接與手機客戶合作，為行動智慧型手機開發 QLC NAND 記憶體解決方案。我很高興地向大家報告，我們的客戶已經開始發貨配備我們的 QLC UFS 控制器的手機，隨著他們將 QLC 擴展到更多型號，明年將更加有意義。

We are in early discussions with additional Tier 1 handset OEM for QLC solution for mainstream to low-end smartphone to effectively increase density without significantly increasing cost. Flash makers continue to be resource constrained, but we are seeing them move their existing UFS controller development toward next-generation UFS 5.0 and opening new opportunity to outsourcing for mainstream solution.

我們正在與其他一級手機 OEM 進行早期討論，以開發適用於主流到低階智慧型手機的 QLC 解決方案，以在不顯著增加成本的情況下有效提高密度。快閃記憶體製造商仍然受到資源限制，但我們看到他們將現有的 UFS 控制器開發轉向下一代 UFS 5.0，並為主流解決方案外包提供了新的機會。

We are confident that we can continue to grow our share in this market as our product road map and strategy is aligned with our customers' own internal plan. As adoption of eMMC, UFS controller to grow, we believe our opportunity to gain share will accelerate it. And with our complete family of solutions and growing customer base, we are well-positioned for continued growth.

我們有信心，我們可以繼續增加我們在這個市場的份額，因為我們的產品路線圖和策略與客戶自己的內部計劃保持一致。隨著 eMMC、UFS 控制器的採用不斷增長，我們相信我們獲得份額的機會將加速這一進程。憑藉我們完整的解決方案系列和不斷增長的客戶群，我們已做好持續成長的準備。

Now I would like to turn to our MonTitan platform. MonTitan represents a significant opportunity for Silicon Motion, given the large addressable market and expected growth in QLC NAND within the enterprise storage and AI server market in the coming years.

現在我想談談我們的 MonTitan 平台。鑑於未來幾年企業儲存和人工智慧伺服器市場中 QLC NAND 的潛在市場龐大以及預期成長，MonTitan 為慧榮科技帶來了重大機會。

While we are a newcomer in the enterprise market, our experience in TLC and QLC NAND coupled with our dominant position as the leading merchant controller maker have driven strong interest in MonTitan. We continue to see more inbound interest in our enterprise-class solution given our unique differentiation. We believe we are well-positioned to scale with a flash maker and storage solution enabler as well as directly with the data center and enterprise customer in the coming years.

雖然我們是企業市場的新來者，但我們在 TLC 和 QLC NAND 方面的經驗，加上我們作為領先商用控制器製造商的主導地位，引起了人們對 MonTitan 的濃厚興趣。鑑於我們獨特的差異化優勢，我們繼續看到越來越多的人對我們的企業級解決方案產生興趣。我們相信，我們處於有利位置，可以在未來幾年與快閃記憶體製造商和儲存解決方案推動者以及直接與資料中心和企業客戶進行擴展。

As we announced early this year, we have secured two initial Tier 1 customers that will receive initial order this quarter, and we expect to announce two additional design wins by end of this year. MonTitan has several advantages that we believe put us in excellent position to grow significant share in this market and allow us to achieve our target of generating 5% to 10% of our overall revenue from this business by calendar 2026 to '27.

正如我們今年早些時候宣布的那樣，我們已經獲得了兩個初始一級客戶，他們將在本季度收到初始訂單，我們預計將在今年年底之前宣布另外兩個設計中標。 MonTitan 擁有多項優勢，我們相信這些優勢使我們處於有利地位，可以在該市場中擴大顯著份額，並使我們能夠實現到2026 年至27 年從該業務中產生5% 至10% 的總收入的目標。

Some of these advantage include our unmatched experience managing QLC NAND, a flexible ramp-up approach, our unique architecture, high capacity capability and leading performance. With MonTitan, customers can choose either our turnkey firmware solution or they can develop their own firmware using our SDK. Most of our competitors only offer one or the other option, but not both.

其中一些優勢包括我們無與倫比的 QLC NAND 管理經驗、靈活的提升方法、我們獨特的架構、高容量能力和領先的效能。借助 MonTitan，客戶可以選擇我們的統包韌體解決方案，也可以使用我們的 SDK 開發自己的韌體。我們的大多數競爭對手只提供一種或另一種選擇，但不會同時提供兩種選擇。

We also offer unique capability, including performance shape, which allow on-the-fly adjustment targeting either battery read performance, write performance, or lower power, while our competitors require a one-time setup without the ability to change dynamically.

我們還提供獨特的功能，包括性能形狀，允許針對電池讀取性能、寫入性能或較低功耗進行動態調整，而我們的競爭對手需要一次性設置，無法動態更改。

MonTitan also include in the upcoming 2 terabit mono die QLC NAND, the ability to deliver 128-terabyte SSD that will be ideally suited for AI server and application. And finally, MonTitan also delivered best-in-class random read of 3.5 million IOPS, significantly better than most other options that are limited to 2.8 million to 3.0 million IOPS.

MonTitan 也在即將推出的 2 TB 單晶 QLC NAND 中加入了提供 128 TB SSD 的能力，非常適合人工智慧伺服器和應用程式。最後，MonTitan 還提供了 350 萬 IOPS 的同類最佳隨機讀取能力，明顯優於大多數限制為 280 萬到 300 萬 IOPS 的其他選項。

This performance delivered faster training in AI application, save power, and lower the total cost of ownership. We continue to achieve both our internal milestone and our customer milestone regarding the introduction of MonTitan.

這種效能可加快 AI 應用程式的訓練速度、節省功耗並降低總擁有成本。我們將繼續實現關於推出 MonTitan 的內部里程碑和客戶里程碑。

And we are on track to begin early production in the current quarter and ramp up more meaningfully in the second half of calendar 2025. It is becoming increasingly clear from customer feedback that our MonTitan solution will be a key addition to next-generation data center and storage build-out plan, especially for delivering faster and more accurate AI capability to the market.

我們預計在本季度開始早期生產，並在 2025 年下半年更有意義地提高產量。擴建計劃，特別是為了向市場提供更快、更準確的人工智慧功能。

As we have mentioned on previous call, given our record of managing more QLC NAND than anyone over the past decade, we believe that this new product platform will drive multiple year growth cycle for Silicon Motion.

正如我們在先前的電話會議中所提到的，鑑於我們在過去十年中管理的 QLC NAND 數量比任何人都多，我們相信這個新產品平台將推動慧榮科技多年的成長週期。

Overall, despite the near-term headwinds in the retail SSD aftermarket and the expectation of a muted holiday sales this year, I'm pleased with our strong execution in 2024 and meaningful wins and pipeline our team has delivered. Looking forward to 2025, we have much to be excited about the new product transition, including PCIe Gen5, UFS 4, and our new enterprise-class MonTitan open multiple new avenues for growth for Silicon Motion.

總體而言，儘管零售 SSD 售後市場近期面臨阻力，並且預計今年假日銷售將放緩，但我對我們在 2024 年的強勁執行力以及我們團隊交付的有意義的勝利和管道感到滿意。展望 2025 年，我們對新產品轉型感到非常興奮，包括 PCIe Gen5、UFS 4 和我們的全新企業級 MonTitan，為慧榮科技開闢了多種新的成長途徑。

Additionally, we continue to diversify our end market beyond the PC and smartphone with many new exciting growth opportunities in the automotive, industrial, commercial, IoT, game console, and other markets. I believe this new product and the design win pipeline will help Silicon Motion grow in 2025, and I look forward to sharing more about our progress in future updates. Now let me turn the call over to Jason to go over our financial results and outlook.

此外，我們繼續使我們的終端市場多元化，超越個人電腦和智慧型手機，在汽車、工業、商業、物聯網、遊戲機和其他市場提供許多令人興奮的新增長機會。我相信這款新產品和設計獲勝管道將幫助慧榮在 2025 年實現成長，我期待在未來的更新中分享更多有關我們進展的資訊。現在讓我把電話轉給傑森，討論我們的財務表現和前景。

Thank you, Wallace, and good morning to everyone joining us today. I will discuss additional details of our third quarter results and then provide our guidance for the fourth quarter. Please note that my comments today will focus primarily on our non-GAAP results, unless otherwise specifically noted. A reconciliation of our GAAP to non-GAAP data is included with the earnings release issued yesterday. In the September quarter, sales increased 23% year over year to $212.4 million.

謝謝華萊士，今天加入我們的大家早安。我將討論我們第三季業績的更多細節，然後提供我們對第四季的指導。請注意，除非另有特別說明，否則我今天的評論將主要關注我們的非公認會計準則績效。我們的 GAAP 與非 GAAP 數據的調整包含在昨天發布的收益報告中。 9 月季度銷售額年增 23% 至 2.124 億美元。

SSD controller sales were approximately flat sequentially in 3Q '24 as our continued share gains were offset by weakness in SSD aftermarket sales and lower-than-expected holiday ramps from the PC OEMs. The weakness was exacerbated by continued inflationary pressure, high NAND flash prices, and a modest slowdown ahead of next-generation Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm platforms that support PCIe 5.

SSD 控制器銷售額在 2024 年第三季與上一季基本持平，因為我們持續的份額增長被 SSD 售後市場銷售疲軟和 PC OEM 廠商低於預期的假期銷售所抵消。持續的通膨壓力、高漲的 NAND 快閃記憶體價格以及支持 PCIe 5 的下一代英特爾、AMD 和高通平台的溫和放緩加劇了這一疲軟趨勢。

eMMC controller sales were up slightly in 3Q '24 and up over 44% year over year as our diversification strategy continues to work, with NAND makers, module makers, and handset OEMs directly driving strong growth.

隨著我們的多元化策略持續發揮作用，2024 年第三季 eMMC 控制器銷售額小幅成長，年成長超過 44%，NAND 製造商、模組製造商和手機 OEM 直接推動強勁成長。

Gross margin increased for the sixth consecutive quarter to 46.8%, as we continue to benefit from improving product mix as we shift our customers to newer solutions. Operating expenses were $65.1 million in the September quarter, up from $62.1 million in the June quarter.

隨著我們將客戶轉向更新的解決方案，我們繼續受益於產品組合的改善，毛利率連續第六個季度增長至 46.8%。 9 月季度的營運費用為 6,510 萬美元，高於 6 月季度的 6,210 萬美元。

The increase, as we discussed in our last call, was attributable to the expected tape-out expense for our new 6 nanometer four-channel client PCIe Gen5 SSD controller, which is targeting introduction in early 2026. This ramp of this product timing is timed to coincide with PCIe 5 entering the mainstream PC market and can benefit from significant unit volume scaling.

正如我們在上次電話會議中討論的那樣，這一增長歸因於我們的新型6 奈米四通道客戶端PCIe Gen5 SSD 控制器的預期流片費用，該控制器的目標是在2026 年初推出。產品的上市時間是定時的隨著 PCIe 5 進入主流 PC 市場，可以受益於單位體積的顯著擴展。

Operating margin was 16.1% in 3Q '24, down slightly from 16.5% in the June quarter given the PCIe 5 four-channel tape-out. And earnings per ADS was $0.92, down 5% sequentially due to the tape-out, but up over 46% year over year. Total stock-based compensation, which we exclude from non-GAAP results, was $3.7 million in 3Q '24.

鑑於 PCIe 5 四通道流片，2024 年第三季的營運利潤率為 16.1%，略低於六月季度的 16.5%。每份 ADS 收益為 0.92 美元，由於流片而環比下降 5%，但同比增長超過 46%。 2024 年第三季的股票薪酬總額（我們將其排除在非 GAAP 業績之外）為 370 萬美元。

We had $368.6 million of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments at the end of the third quarter compared to $343.6 million at the end of the second quarter. Inventories decreased from $240.8 million at the end of second quarter to $214.6 million at the end of the third quarter, a reduction of over 11%.

截至第三季末，我們擁有 3.686 億美元的現金、現金等價物、限制性現金和短期投資，而第二季末為 3.436 億美元。庫存從第二季末的2.408億美元減少到第三季末的2.146億美元，降幅超過11%。

Now let me turn to our outlook. As Wallace described earlier in the conference call, demand for retail aftermarket SSDs remains weak. Additionally, expected holiday PC and smartphone sales are muted, leading to lower than seasonal order patterns from OEMs and module makers in the current quarter.

現在讓我談談我們的前景。正如華萊士早些時候在電話會議中所描述的那樣，零售售後市場 SSD 的需求仍然疲軟。此外，預計假日 PC 和智慧型手機銷售疲軟，導致本季 OEM 和模組製造商的訂單模式低於季節性。

Despite near-term weakness, our increased OEM share gains will allow us to achieve our full year 2024 guidance that we had raised earlier this year. We do expect current weakness to be short-lived as we are introducing a number of new products, including our new client PCIe 5 eight-channel SSD controller and our MonTitan enterprise SSD controller, both in the current quarter and our UFS 4.1 controller in the second half of next year.

儘管近期表現疲軟，但我們增加的 OEM 份額收益將使我們能夠實現今年早些時候提出的 2024 年全年指引。我們確實預計目前的疲軟將是短暫的，因為我們正在推出許多新產品，包括本季的新客戶端 PCIe 5 八通道 SSD 控制器和 MonTitan 企業級 SSD 控制器，以及本季的 UFS 4.1 控制器。明年下半年。

We have already secured significant wins and design momentum with these new products that will drive additional share gains in our existing markets and open up new greenfield growth opportunities in the enterprise storage market that will scale over the next few years.

我們已經透過這些新產品獲得了重大勝利和設計動力，這將推動我們現有市場的額外份額成長，並在企業儲存市場開闢新的綠地成長機會，該市場將在未來幾年內擴大規模。

For the fourth quarter, we expect revenue to be down 5% to 10% sequentially to be in the range of $191 million to $202 million, driven by weaker-than-seasonal smartphone and PC sales and continuing weakness in the SSD aftermarket. Gross margin is expected to be 46.5% to 47.5%, driven by continuing improvement in our mix towards newer products.

對於第四季度，我們預計營收將環比下降 5% 至 10%，在 1.91 億美元至 2.02 億美元之間，這是由於智慧型手機和 PC 銷售疲軟以及 SSD 售後市場持續疲軟的推動。由於我們不斷改進新產品組合，毛利率預計為 46.5% 至 47.5%。

Operating margin is expected to be in the range of 15.6% to 16.6% as operating expenses are expected to decline due to better expense control as well as no additional 6 nanometer tape-out this quarter. Fourth quarter effective tax rate should be approximately 18%.

由於更好的費用控制以及本季沒有額外的 6 奈米流片，營運費用預計將下降，營運利潤率預計在 15.6% 至 16.6% 之間。第四季有效稅率應約為 18%。

Fourth quarter stock-based compensation and dispute-related expenses in the range of $13.4 million to $14.4 million. Despite the near-term weakness in the end markets, our increasing share of controller outsourcing is expected to drive significantly better than end market demand growth next year. As Wallace mentioned, we are in a better position for growth today than at any other time in our history.

第四季股票薪酬和爭議相關費用在 1,340 萬美元至 1,440 萬美元之間。儘管終端市場近期疲軟，但我們不斷增加的控制器外包份額預計將明顯優於明年終端市場需求的成長。正如華萊士所提到的，我們今天比歷史上任何時候都處於更好的成長位置。

I am pleased with the progress our team has made this year in securing new opportunities that will be the foundation of strong growth for years to come. This concludes our prepared remarks. We will now open the call for your questions. Operator?

我對我們的團隊今年在獲得新機會方面取得的進展感到高興，這將成為未來幾年強勁成長的基礎。我們準備好的演講到此結束。我們現在將開始電話詢問您的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Mehdi Hosseini, SIG.

（操作員說明）Mehdi Hosseini，SIG。

I want to look into early '25. And what gives you confidence that this kind of a weakness that you're experiencing in Q4 is not going to sustain into early '25, especially since Q1 is typically a weak -- seasonally driven weak period? And I have a follow-up.

我想看看 25 年初。是什麼讓您相信第四季度經歷的這種疲軟不會持續到 25 年初，特別是因為第一季通常是一個疲軟的——季節性驅動的疲軟時期？我有一個後續行動。

I think our today position, our design pipeline, we are definitely confident to grow in 2025. But regarding the latest retail weak demand due to the inflation, due to high NAND prices, and multiple reasons, we cannot guarantee whether Q1 will recover. However, we do see more meaningful progress from module customers, including industrial customers, who believe from late Q1 or early Q2 and customer -- end customers start to do more booking.

我認為我們今天的立場，我們的設計管道，我們絕對有信心在2025年實現增長。會復甦。然而，我們確實看到組件客戶（包括工業客戶）取得了更有意義的進展，他們相信從第一季末或第二季初開始，客戶-最終客戶開始進行更多預訂。

So I think it's more challenging. We also see the PC cycle refresh and demand, our smartphone customers start to have multiple new programs coming. So this is more exciting. We believe the worst situation will be gone, and we should look for more exciting 2025.

所以我認為這更具挑戰性。我們也看到 PC 週期的刷新和需求，我們的智慧型手機客戶開始推出多個新程式。所以這更令人興奮。我們相信最糟糕的情況將會過去，我們應該尋找更令人興奮的2025年。

Great. And one follow-up for you, Wallace. You're very excited with the new products that you highlighted in the prepared remarks. But as it relates to capital return, I feel like we have been here before. The stock is near 2 times book.

偉大的。華萊士，還有一個後續行動要送給你。您對在準備好的評論中強調的新產品感到非常興奮。但當涉及到資本回報時，我感覺我們以前來過這裡。該股股價接近帳面價值的2倍。

More than one-third of your book is liquid cash. And I understand you may not be a fan of buyback. But not -- why not step up and increase cash dividend to illustrate how confident you are with all of these new products that you highlighted?

您的帳簿中超過三分之一是流動現金。我知道你可能不喜歡回購。但事實並非如此——為什麼不加緊增加現金股息，以表明您對您強調的所有這些新產品有多大信心呢？

I think as you know, our share repurchase program has always been opportunities. And our Board also always evaluate the -- when we should do the share buyback and how we return cash to shareholders fairly. So this is very, very important.

我想如你所知，我們的股票回購計畫一直是機會。我們的董事會也始終評估我們何時應該進行股票回購以及如何公平地將現金回饋給股東。所以這是非常非常重要的。

This strategy behind our dividend amount has always been to set it at a level that is comfortably affordable and we'll continue to evaluate it going forward. As you know, we might still have a legal expense to pay, and there's still a certain time to go. That's why we try to maintain the position and focus on the business to grow.

我們股利金額背後的策略始終是將其設定在一個可以輕鬆負擔的水平，我們將繼續對其進行評估。如您所知，我們可能仍然需要支付法律費用，而且還有一定的時間。這就是為什麼我們努力保持這一地位並專注於業務成長。

(Operator Instructions) Craig Ellis, B. Riley Securities.

（操作員指示）Craig Ellis，B. Riley Securities。

Yeah. Wallace, thank you very much for all the details in your prepared remarks around what you see next year. What I wanted to do is see if you could give us more of a high-level summary view of what it all adds up to as we look at PCIe Gen5 coming in with its higher ASPs and higher margins, UFS 4.0 coming in, in the back half of the year, MonTitan after initial shipments in the fourth quarter, sounding like it's ramping up in the back half of the year, and then the strength you're seeing in the automotive market and eMMC.

是的。華萊士，非常感謝您在準備好的演講中就明年的情況提供的所有細節。我想做的是，當我們看到 PCIe Gen5 以其更高的 ASP 和更高的利潤率、UFS 4.0 的到來、在今年下半年，MonTitan 在第四季度首次發貨後，聽起來下半年會有所成長，然後是汽車市場和eMMC 的實力。

As you look at what's happening, one, do you feel like in the core PC SSD and UFS markets, you're tracking to another year of 500 basis points of share gain as we targeted for this year? And secondly, is there a way you could quantify the level of growth we could get next year? Are we looking at a mid-single-digit year-on-year growth year, high single digits? Help us just understand what all this adds up to.

當您觀察正在發生的事情時，您是否感覺在核心 PC SSD 和 UFS 市場中，您是否正像我們今年的目標那樣實現 500 個基點的份額增長？其次，有沒有一種方法可以量化我們明年可以獲得的成長水準？我們是否正在尋找中個位數的年成長，高個位數的成長？幫助我們理解這一切意味著什麼。

Well, thank you, but you have a pretty big question. So let me just answer the product one by one, especially for PCIe Gen5 eight-channel controller, we are in a very unique position today to launch the PCIe Gen5 eight-channel high-end controller with DRAM. And we won four major NAND flash makers. We almost won every module maker today.

嗯，謝謝你，但你有一個很大的問題。那我就來一一回答一下產品，尤其是PCIe Gen5八通道控制器，我們今天處於一個非常獨特的位置，推出了配備DRAM的PCIe Gen5八通道高階控制器。我們贏得了四家主要 NAND 快閃記憶體製造商。今天我們幾乎贏了所有的模組製造商。

So for PCIe Gen5 high-end next year going to ramp, align with the Intel, AMD, the CPU and chipset by late Q1 and early Q2 for notebook. And so this initially, I think, will be take about 5% to 10%. I think the high-end will be overall 10% to 15% above the market. We believe when they reach the fully 10% to 15%, we should own minimum 50% to 60% of high-end market share by 2026. So this is a very exciting revenue growth for us and from top line and bottom line because we never have a high-end PC market before.

因此，為了明年 PCIe Gen5 高階產品的普及，筆記型電腦的 CPU 和晶片組將在第一季末和第二季初與英特爾、AMD 保持一致。因此，我認為最初大約需要 5% 到 10%。我認為高端整體會比市場高出10%到15%。我們相信，當他們完全達到10% 到15% 時，到2026 年我們應該擁有至少50% 到60% 的高端市場份額。人興奮的收入成長，因為我們以前從未有過高端PC市場。

Second, go to UFS 4, this is also a very unique product we launched, and as we are going to launch with one NAND maker in middle of next year, and this will be the high-end. And we're going to launch in the early 2026 with another NAND maker at the high-end. So you can see in late '26, '27, the market is going to launch UFS 5 at the high-end. UFS 4 going to transition to be mainstream.

第二，到UFS 4，這也是我們推出的一個非常獨特的產品，因為我們將在明年年中與NAND製造商推出，這將是高端的。我們將在 2026 年初與另一家 NAND 製造商合作推出高端產品。所以你可以看到，在26年末、27年，市場將推出高階UFS 5。 UFS 4 將轉變為主流。

So all the current NAND maker, their current UFS 4 is a four-channel legacy controller, support the NAND interface only go to 1.6 gigabit to 2 gigabit per second per NAND. So that is very limited. So you can see mainstream two-channel UFS controller with 6 nanometer, we are much more compelling and positioned than the NAND maker today solution. So we believe majority will come back to SMI, even we only have two committed customers to ramp in the next one year. So this is a very exciting product we launched.

因此目前所有的 NAND 製造商，他們目前的 UFS 4 都是四通道傳統控制器，支援的 NAND 介面僅達到每 NAND 每秒 1.6 吉比特到 2 吉比特。所以這是非常有限的。所以你可以看到主流的6奈米雙通道UFS控制器，我們比現在的NAND製造商的解決方案更具吸引力和定位。因此，我們相信大多數人都會回到 SMI，即使我們只有兩個忠實客戶在未來一年內增加。所以這是我們推出的一個非常令人興奮的產品。

We support all the way to 300-plus stack new NAND for TLC and QLC. So we're ready to grab the market and grow. In addition to go to MonTitan and because our current sales revenue forecast from 2026 to '27 to become 10% of total revenue is just based on two Tier 1 customers. And we have that confidence to ramp because the Tier 1 customer in China will have multiple end customer to grow. So this is a very, very exciting program.

我們支援 TLC 和 QLC 的 300 多個堆疊新 NAND。因此，我們已準備好搶佔市場並實現成長。除了MonTitan之外，因為我們目前的銷售收入預測從2026年到'27年將成為總收入的10%，這只是基於兩個一級客戶。我們有信心擴大規模，因為中國的一級客戶將有多個最終客戶需要成長。所以這是一個非常非常令人興奮的計劃。

We see we're going to win two more Tier 1, and we have multiple Tier 2 customer and using for ecosystem for MonTitan, because our technology to provide high-density QLC base with FDP firmware that will be unique and ideal solution for AI server, AI data center. So this is, say, so many customers approach us, and we are really short of resource.

我們看到我們將贏得另外兩個1 級客戶，並且我們擁有多個2 級客戶並用於MonTitan 生態系統，因為我們的技術提供帶有FDP 固件的高密度QLC 基礎，這將是AI 伺服器的獨特且理想的解決方案、人工智慧資料中心。所以，也就是說，有這麼多客戶來找我們，而我們確實缺乏資源。

We are not able to handle to serve their need. But we believe through the product maturity and firmware, we are able to initial ramp this quarter. I think from second half of 2025 will be meaningful revenue, and we have confidence to reach 10% by 2026 or 2027, our total revenue.

我們無法滿足他們的需求。但我們相信，透過產品的成熟度和韌體，我們能夠在本季實現初步成長。我認為從2025年下半年開始將是有意義的收入，我們有信心到2026年或2027年達到我們總收入的10%。

And Craig, in terms of guidance for next year, it's a bit early. Obviously, we normally put that out on our next earnings call when we report our fourth quarter results. So stay tuned for that. But as Wallace pointed out, there's a number of new products, new opportunities that we're scaling that we're really confident about for next year.

克雷格，就明年的指導而言，現在有點早。顯然，我們通常會在下一次財報電話會議上報告第四季度業績時公佈這一點。所以請繼續關注。但正如華萊士所指出的那樣，我們正在擴展許多新產品、新機會，我們對明年充滿信心。

Yeah, regarding -- sorry, I would add regarding automotive, automotive today, the total is about 5% of total revenue, but we have confidence to grow to 10% by late '26 or early 2027. Because this year, pricing is very challenging, we are not aggressive to win any design because margin is very, very low.

是的，關於 - 抱歉，我想補充一下關於汽車，今天的汽車，總收入約為總收入的 5％，但我們有信心在 26 年底或 2027 年初增長到 10％。挑戰性，我們不會積極爭取任何設計，因為利潤非常非常低。

But we continue to develop new products and winning new NAND maker and also our Ferri product line. And we believe next year, we're going to launch with the Toyota global model, are going to bring meaningful revenue with company growth, and we have multiple new projects we're going to announce in by second half next year, wait and see.

但我們繼續開發新產品並贏得新的 NAND 製造商以及我們的 Ferri 產品線。我們相信明年，我們將推出豐田全球模式，將隨著公司的成長帶來有意義的收入，我們將在明年下半年之前宣布多個新項目，拭目以待。

And that sounds very encouraging, Wallace. And I get the point on the specific guidance, Jason. I'm hoping that you could help us on a 2025 set of items related to gross margins. Without providing guidance, can you just talk about some of the gives and takes with gross margins? Clearly, there's a lot happening with new products that should be a tailwind.

這聽起來非常令人鼓舞，華萊士。我明白了具體指導的要點，傑森。我希望您能在 2025 年與毛利率相關的項目上為我們提供協助。在不提供指引的情況下，您能否只談談毛利率的一些優缺點？顯然，新產品的不斷湧現應該成為推動因素。

Are there any pressures we need to be aware of in on OpEx? Help us level set with what we should expect with mask set cost intensity versus 2024? And do you expect to increase R&D intensity in areas like enterprise SSD just given the demand you're seeing?

營運支出方面有哪些我們需要注意的壓力？幫助我們確定與 2024 年相比，我們對掩模組成本強度的預期水準？鑑於您所看到的需求，您是否預期會增加企業級 SSD 等領域的研發強度？

Yeah. So we said that we expect our gross margins to get back to historical levels of 48% to 50% by early next year. We're still on track for that. So we don't expect that to change. We obviously have a good mix. PCIe 5 on the client side, higher ASPs, higher gross margins.

是的。所以我們說，我們預計到明年初我們的毛利率將恢復到48%至50%的歷史水準。我們仍在朝著這個方向努力。所以我們預計這種情況不會改變。顯然我們有很好的組合。客戶端採用 PCIe 5，平均售價較高，毛利率較高。

MonTitan on the enterprise, certainly, again, much higher ASPs and higher margins. So as those continue to become bigger and bigger portions of revenue, certainly, longer term, we could see that being additive to our overall gross margin picture longer term. In terms of the OpEx, we are planning to have two more advanced controller tape-outs for next year. And so that will -- we expect that to continue to be kind of steady state from where we are this year.

當然，MonTitan 對企業來說，平均售價和利潤率都高得多。因此，隨著這些收入在收入中所佔的比例越來越大，當然，從長遠來看，我們可以看到，從長遠來看，這將增加我們的整體毛利率。在營運支出方面，我們計劃明年有兩個更先進的控制器流片。因此，我們預計今年的情況將繼續保持穩定狀態。

We taped out two 6-nanometer controllers this year. We expect to tape out an equivalent number next year. So I think from an OpEx standpoint, we do anticipate obviously some inflationary growth in terms of wages and headcount, et cetera, but also maintaining the same level of tape-out activity for next year as well.

我們今年流片了兩個 6 奈米控制器。我們預計明年將推出同等數量的產品。因此，我認為從營運支出的角度來看，我們確實預期薪資和員工數量等方面會出現明顯的通膨成長，但明年的流片活動也會維持相同水準。

Suji Desilva, ROTH Capital.

蘇吉·德西爾瓦，羅仕資本。

So on the client side, the PCIe 5 wins on [AF4] flash makers, are those ramps going to be staggered? Or are they all hitting in a time frame where the new PC processes are available to support PCIe 5?

那麼在客戶端方面，PCIe 5 戰勝了 [AF4] 快閃記憶體製造商，這些成長是否會錯開？或者它們都在新的 PC 進程可支援 PCIe 5 的時間範圍內實現？

For PC OEM, they definitely align with the PC OEM requirement. But for retail, because two of them have a retail business, so they're going to start to ramp by late this year and Q1 next year. So depends the retail demand. I think, well, probably 2026, they're going to reach a maximum around 15% level. But we do see we might have opportunity to gain more -- one more NAND maker opportunity in the high-end by late next year.

對於 PC OEM 來說，它們絕對符合 PC OEM 的要求。但對於零售業來說，因為其中兩家擁有零售業務，所以他們將在今年年底和明年第一季開始擴大規模。所以取決於零售需求。我認為，大概到 2026 年，他們將達到 15% 左右的最高水準。但我們確實看到，到明年年底，我們可能有機會獲得更多高端 NAND 製造商的機會。

So hopefully, we can really home run with the 6 nanometer. Very, very great power efficiency and data efficiency to position into the mainstream notebook.

所以希望我們能用 6 奈米真正打出全壘打。非常非常出色的電源效率和數據效率，足以躋身主流筆記型電腦之列。

Okay. And then on the MonTitan side, I'm curious, the use of QLC, is that, Wallace, by application workload or is it across the board opportunities? And are the customers initially going for their own firmware or more using SIMO's turnkey? I'm curious which are the directions they're going initially.

好的。然後在 MonTitan 方面，我很好奇，Wallace，QLC 的使用是透過應用程式工作負載還是全面的機會？客戶最初是選擇使用自己的韌體還是使用 SIMO 的交鑰匙軟體？我很好奇他們最初的方向是什麼。

You have a very good question. I think one of the Tier 1 has developed their firmware themselves. One of the other Tier 1 is the kind of a joint development firmware. So this is, try to accelerate the time to market. And we do see certain OEMs, they prefer develop their own firmware, certain preferred turnkey, especially time to market.

你有一個很好的問題。我認為一級供應商之一已經自己開發了韌體。其他 Tier 1 之一是聯合開發韌體。所以這就是，盡量加快上市時間。我們確實看到某些原始設備製造商，他們更喜歡開發自己的韌體，某些首選交鑰匙工程，尤其是上市時間。

Because for the AI data space, as you know well, there are four major stages, right, like ingest to collect all the data, and second stage go to [preparation], which we call transformation, is to be tokenized and changing for become AI GPU recognized language, and then the third stage go to training, and the third stage go to inference.

因為對於AI資料空間來說，大家都知道，有四個主要的階段，對吧，例如攝取，收集所有的數據，第二階段進入【準備】，我們稱之為轉型，就是被標記化，改變為成為AI GPU辨識語言，然後第三階段進行訓練，第三階段進行推理。

But during the process, because of MonTitan, our data shipping, program shipping, and power shipping technology, that's ideal for the customer to adjust when you're going to reach the highest performance, when you can reduce the power and reduce overall the power efficiency.

但在此過程中，由於我們的資料傳輸、程式傳輸和電力傳輸技術 MonTitan，當您要達到最高效能、何時可以降低功耗並降低整體功耗時，這是客戶進行調整的理想選擇效率。

So this is ideal case for our customer to utilize the MonTitan technology and software to dynamic changing and help for the data center and for the server. So that's why this is very, very attractive to the end customer because it's very unique. And this we believe with FDP and QLC that can make the high-density SSD drive become more interesting and more valuable.

因此，這是我們的客戶利用 MonTitan 技術和軟體來動態變更並為資料中心和伺服器提供協助的理想案例。這就是為什麼它對最終客戶非常非常有吸引力，因為它非常獨特。我們相信FDP和QLC可以讓高密度SSD硬碟變得更有趣、更有價值。

(Operator Instructions) Matt Bryson, Wedbush Securities.

（操作員指令）Matt Bryson，Wedbush 證券公司。

Jason, congrats on formalizing the role as CFO. I guess my first question is just looking at the QLC solution that you're shipping to a handset vendor. It's a slightly different path to market than we've typically seen, where normally you work with fabs and module makers. Is that something that you see becoming more common going forward where you're working with OEMs directly?

Jason，恭喜您正式擔任財務長一職。我想我的第一個問題只是看看您運送給手機供應商的 QLC 解決方案。這與我們通常看到的市場路徑略有不同，通常您與晶圓廠和模組製造商合作。在您直接與 OEM 合作的過程中，您認為這種情況會變得越來越普遍嗎？

I think, as you know, smartphones have predominantly been using TLC NAND for memory solution. But AI-at-the-edge is driving higher density demand for low to high-end smartphone platform. I think because QLC is much more attractive because they can provide you higher density, but the cost can be managed meaningfully. So that's why it attracts many, many smartphone makers who like to provide higher density storage, but without increasing the cost significantly. This is the motivation for them.

我認為，如您所知，智慧型手機主要使用 TLC NAND 作為記憶體解決方案。但邊緣人工智慧正在推動對低階到高階智慧型手機平台的更高密度需求。我認為，因為 QLC 更具吸引力，因為它們可以為您提供更高的密度，但可以有效地管理成本。這就是為什麼它吸引了許多智慧型手機製造商，他們喜歡提供更高密度的存儲，但又不會顯著增加成本。這就是他們的動力。

And the reason to work with the controller directly, not go to the NAND maker, I didn't say no NAND maker work for a smartphone maker, but particularly, this is a top five smartphone maker choosing Silicon Motion because they want to collaborate with us and do all the field tests and figure out all the issue overcome and to maintain the know-how remain in the company.

之所以直接與控制器合作，而不是去找NAND 製造商，我並不是說沒有NAND 製造商為智慧型手機製造商工作，但特別是，這是一家排名前五的智慧型手機製造商選擇Silicon Motion，因為他們希望與我們進行所有現場測試，找出克服的所有問題，並將專有技術保留在公司中。

So that's why they do not want to share the know-how with the NAND maker. They prefer initially want to keep the know-how and they're able to decide what they want to expand next year. So that's why we are very, very happy to have the opportunity to engage with this smartphone maker. And we believe we're going to have a second smartphone maker to engage in 2025.

這就是為什麼他們不想與 NAND 製造商分享技術訣竅。他們最初更願意保留專有技術，並且能夠決定明年想要擴展的內容。這就是為什麼我們非常非常高興有機會與這家智慧型手機製造商合作。我們相信，到 2025 年，我們將有第二家智慧型手機製造商參與其中。

So this has helped us to really gain much more knowledge how to transition from QLC moving to smartphone storage and primary storage and increase the density and also add value to smartphone makers.

因此，這幫助我們真正獲得了更多知識，如何從 QLC 過渡到智慧型手機存儲和主存儲，並提高密度，並為智慧型手機製造商增加價值。

Just following up on Mehdi's question around Q1 seasonality, I mean if you're not seeing the typical pickup into the holiday season, then I mean, shouldn't we expect the downtick in Q1 would also be muted simply because you're coming off a higher comp?

就梅赫迪關於第一季季節性的問題進行跟進，我的意思是，如果您沒有看到假日季節的典型回升，那麼我的意思是，我們難道不應該僅僅因為您即將離開，就期望第一季的下降也會減弱嗎更高的補償？

And then just with inventories being worked down within the client OEMs, I mean, shouldn't we also expect that you'll see a bump back up in terms of demand when that process is completed sometime in the first half, I think you said?

然後，隨著客戶原始設備製造商內部庫存的減少，我的意思是，我們是否也應該期望，當該過程在上半年的某個時候完成時，您會看到需求的回升，我想您說過？

I think what I can only say is, as of today, the viewing about the retail consumer electronic product is really weak and the visibility is very, very low because we are going to launch several new products, especially PCIe Gen5, and it could change certain color in both retail and the PC OEM.

我想我只能說的是，到今天為止，零售消費性電子產品的觀看量確實很弱，能見度非常非常低，因為我們要推出幾款新產品，特別是 PCIe Gen5，它可能會改變零售和PC OEM 中都有特定的顏色。

So that's why I think it's too early to comment about Q1 outlook, but I think we're focused on Q4, but we are more optimistic about the Q1, whether it will be like a conventional seasonality weak Q1, we might have a more broader opportunity to sustain the growth.

所以這就是為什麼我認為現在評論第一季度前景還為時過早，但我認為我們關注的是第四季度，但我們對第一季度更加樂觀，是否會像傳統的季節性疲軟的第一季度一樣，我們可能會有更廣泛的前景維持成長的機會。

Awesome. And just one more for me. In terms of gross margins, you're still running a little bit below what had been normal gross margins. Should we still expect that you get back to the roughly 50% or just below 50% range in 2025?

驚人的。還給我一個。就毛利率而言，仍略低於正常毛利率。我們是否還應該期望在 2025 年回到大約 50% 或略低於 50% 的範圍？

And I guess, structurally, it sounds like you have a lot of opportunities to move into higher gross margin areas. I mean, do you foresee in the future potentially being able to be above that kind of historic norm given those opportunities?

我想，從結構上來說，聽起來你有很多機會進入毛利率較高的領域。我的意思是，考慮到這些機會，您是否預見到未來有可能超越這種歷史標準？

Yeah, Matt. Yes, our historic norm is 48% to 50%. And so we do anticipate getting back there in early next year. In terms of going above and beyond that, it's obviously, with more enterprise and more higher-end products ramping, there's an opportunity for that longer term, but it's too early to say how that shapes up.

是的，馬特。是的，我們的歷史標準是 48% 到 50%。因此，我們確實預計會在明年初回到那裡。就超越這一點而言，顯然，隨著更多企業和更高端產品的湧現，長期來看存在機會，但現在說這種情況如何發展還為時過早。

I think our goal is definitely to reach back to 50% before end of 2025. But I think because there's a seasonality and also there's a business strategy consideration become low end and the high end. But overall, I think the direction and the goal won't change.

我認為我們的目標肯定是在 2025 年底前恢復到 50%。但總的來說，我認為方向和目標不會改變。

(Operator Instructions) It appears to have no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the call back to Wallace for closing remarks.

（操作員說明）目前似乎沒有進一步的問題。我想將電話轉回給華萊士，讓其致閉幕詞。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today and for your continuing interest in Silicon Motion. We will be attending several investor conferences over the next few months. The schedule of this event will be posted on the Investor Relationship section of our corporate website and look forward to speaking with you at this event. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Goodbye for now.

感謝大家今天加入我們並感謝您對慧榮的持續關注。我們將在接下來的幾個月內參加幾次投資者會議。本次活動的日程安排將發佈在我們公司網站的投資者關係部分，並期待在本次活動中與您交談。謝謝大家今天加入我們。暫時再見了。

That does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開線路。