德州儀器 (TXN) 2016 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Texas Instruments' third-quarter 2016 earnings release conference call. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Dave Pahl. Please go ahead, sir.

大家好，歡迎參加德州儀器2016年第三季財報電話會議。現在，我將會議交給戴夫·帕爾先生。請您發言。

Thank you, and good afternoon and thank you for joining our third-quarter 2016 earnings conference call. As usual Kevin March, TI's Chief Financial Officer, is with me today. For any of you who missed the release you can find it on our website at TI.com/IR.

謝謝，下午好，謝謝各位參加我們2016年第三季財報電話會議。和往常一樣，德州儀器財務長凱文馬奇今天也和我一起出席。如果您錯過了先前的財報發布，可以在我們的網站TI.com/IR上找到相關資訊。

This call is being broadcast live over the web and can be accessed through our website. A replay will be available through the web.

本次電話會議正在網路直播，可透過我們的網站觀看。會議結束後，您也可以透過網站收聽回放。

This call will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause TI's results to differ materially from management's current expectations. We encourage you to review the notice regarding forward-looking statements contained in the earnings release published today as well as TI's most recent SEC filings for a more complete description.

本次電話會議將包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致德州儀器 (TI) 的實際表現與管理層目前的預期有重大差異。我們建議您查閱今天發布的盈利報告中關於前瞻性陳述的通知以及 TI 最新提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 的文件，以獲取更完整的說明。

I'll start with a quick summary. Revenue and earnings per share for the quarter were slightly above our expected range. Compared with the year ago, demand for our products continued to be strong in the automotive market and strengthened in the industrial market. Demand in the personal electronics market was about even from a year ago.

我先做個簡要總結。本季營收和每股收益略高於預期。與去年同期相比，汽車市場對我們產品的需求依然強勁，工業市場需求也有所增強。個人電子產品市場的需求與去年同期基本持平。

In our core businesses, Embedded Processing revenue grew 10% and Analog revenue grew 6% compared with the same quarter a year ago. Operating margins increased in both businesses. Earnings per share were $0.94.

在我們的核心業務中，嵌入式處理業務營收年增10%，模擬業務營收年增6%。兩項業務的營業利潤率均有所提升。每股收益為0.94美元。

With that backdrop, Kevin and I will move on to the details of our performance, which we believe continues to be representative of the ongoing strength of our business model.

在此背景下，凱文和我將進一步詳細介紹我們的業績，我們相信這將繼續代表我們商業模式的持續優勢。

In the third quarter, our cash flow from operations was $1.4 billion. We believe that free cash flow growth, especially on a per-share basis, is most important to maximizing shareholder value in the long term. Free cash flow for the trailing 12 month period was $3.9 billion, up 8% from a year ago. Free cash flow margin was 29.5% of revenue, up from 27.5% a year ago.

第三季度，我們的營運活動現金流為14億美元。我們認為，自由現金流的成長，尤其是每股自由現金流的成長，對於長期實現股東價值最大化至關重要。過去12個月的自由現金流為39億美元，較去年同期成長8%。自由現金流利潤率為29.5%，高於去年同期的27.5%。

We continue to benefit from our improved product portfolio and the efficiency of our manufacturing strategy, the latter of which includes our growing 300mm Analog output and the opportunistic purchase of assets ahead of demand. We believe that free cash flow will be valued only if it's productively invested in the business or returned to shareholders. For the trailing 12 month period, we returned $3.8 billion of cash to investors through a combination of dividends and stock repurchases. Also today, we announced a 32% dividend increase that Kevin will provide more detail on in a moment.

我們持續受益於不斷優化的產品組合和高效的生產策略，後者包括不斷增長的300毫米模擬輸出以及在需求旺盛之前進行資產的擇機收購。我們堅信，只有將自由現金流有效地投資於業務或返還給股東，才能反映其價值。在過去的12個月裡，我們透過分紅和股票回購的方式向投資者返還了38億美元的現金。此外，我們今天也宣布將股利提高32%，凱文稍後將詳細介紹。

From a year ago, Analog revenue grew 6% due to High Performance Analog, Silicon Valley Analog and Power Management. High Volume Analog & Logic was about even. Embedded Processing revenue increased by 10% from a year ago, due to growth in all three product lines, led by Processors. In our Other segment, revenue grew 7% from a year ago, primarily due to calculators and DLP products, and was partially offset by decreases in royalties and custom ASIC products.

類比電路業務營收年增 6%，主要得益於高效能類比電路、矽谷類比電路和電源管理業務的成長。大批量類比電路和邏輯電路業務收入基本持平。嵌入式處理業務收入年增 10%，這主要得益於三大產品線（尤其是處理器）的成長。其他業務板塊收入年增 7%，主要得益於計算器和 DLP 產品，但部分被專利費和定制 ASIC 產品收入的下降所抵消。

Now, I will provide some insight into this quarter's revenue performance by end market versus a year ago. Automotive demand remained strong with most sectors growing double digits. Industrial demand improved and had broad-based growth with most sectors growing. Personal electronics was about even, despite continued year-over-year decline in demand from one customer. This decline was offset by growth elsewhere. Communications equipment grew from a year ago, and was even sequentially. Lastly, enterprise systems grew.

現在，我將分析本季各終端市場與去年同期相比的營收表現。汽車產業需求依然強勁，大多數細分市場實現了兩位數成長。工業需求有所改善，並實現了全面成長，大多數細分市場均有所成長。個人電子產品市場基本上持平，儘管來自一家客戶的需求同比持續下降，但其他市場的成長抵消了這一降幅。通訊設備市場較去年同期成長，較上季持平。最後，企業系統市場也實現了成長。

We continue to focus on making our company stronger through manufacturing and technology, the breadth of our product portfolio, the reach of our market channels, and our diverse and long-lived positions. These four attributes, taken together, are at the core of what puts TI in a unique class of companies capable of long-term free cash flow growth.

我們將繼續致力於透過提升製造和技術實力、拓展產品組合、擴大市場通路覆蓋率以及鞏固多元化和長期市場地位來增強公司實力。這四大優勢的結合，正是德州儀器能實現長期自由現金流成長這一獨特優勢的核心所在。

Kevin will now review profitability, capital management and our outlook.

凱文接下來將審查獲利能力、資本管理和我們的前景。

Thanks, Dave, and good afternoon, everyone. Gross profit in the quarter of $2.28 billion was 62% of revenue. From a year ago, gross profit margin increased 380 basis points, primarily due to lower manufacturing costs. Operating expenses were $804 million or 21.9% of revenue. Over the last 12 months, we've invested $1.33 billion in R&D, an important element in our capital allocation.

謝謝戴夫，大家下午好。本季毛利為22.8億美元，佔營收的62%。與去年同期相比，毛利率提高了380個基點，主要得益於製造成本的降低。營運費用為8.04億美元，佔營收的21.9%。過去12個月，我們在研發方面投入了13.3億美元，這是我們資本配置的重要組成部分。

Acquisition charges were $80 million, all of which where the ongoing amortization of intangibles, which is a non-cash expense. Operating profit was $1.4 billion or 38.0% of revenue. Operating profit was up 20% from the year-ago quarter. Operating margin for Analog was 40.9% and for Embedded Processing was 27.7%. Our focused investments on the best sustainable growth opportunities with differentiated positions enabled both businesses to continue to contribute nicely to free cash flow growth.

收購費用為 8,000 萬美元，全部為無形資產的持續攤銷，屬於非現金支出。營業利潤為 14 億美元，佔營收的 38.0%。營業利潤較去年同期成長 20%。模擬業務的營業利益率為 40.9%，嵌入式處理業務的營業利益率為 27.7%。我們專注於投資具有差異化優勢的最佳永續成長機會，使兩項業務都能繼續為自由現金流成長做出良好貢獻。

Net income in the third quarter was $968 million or $0.94 per share.

第三季淨利為 9.68 億美元，即每股 0.94 美元。

Let me now comment on our capital management results, starting with our cash generation. Cash flow from operations was $1.41 billion in the quarter. Inventory days were 117, consistent with our long-term model of 105 to 135 days. Capital expenditures were $139 million in the quarter. On a trailing 12 month basis, cash flow from operations was $4.46 billion, up 8% from the same period a year ago. Trailing 12 month capital expenditures were $585 million or 4% of revenue.

現在讓我談談我們的資本管理業績，首先是現金流。本季經營活動產生的現金流量為14.1億美元。存貨週轉天數為117天，與我們105至135天的長期模型相符。本季資本支出為1.39億美元。過去12個月，經營活動產生的現金流量為44.6億美元，較去年同期成長8%。過去12個月的資本支出為5.85億美元，佔營收的4%。

As a reminder, our long-term expectation is for capital expenditures, including the expansion of our 300mm Analog capacity, to be about 4% of revenue.

再次提醒大家，我們的長期預期是資本支出（包括擴大 300 毫米模擬產能）將佔營收的 4% 左右。

Free cash flow for the past 12 months was $3.87 billion or 29.5% of revenue. Free cash flow was 8% higher than a year ago. Our cash flow reflects the strength of our business model.

過去12個月的自由現金流為38.7億美元，佔營收的29.5%。自由現金流比去年同期成長8%。我們的現金流反映了我們商業模式的穩健性。

As we've said, we believe free cash flow growth, especially on a per-share basis, is most important to maximizing shareholder value in the long term and will be valued only if it's productively valued in the business or returned to shareholders. Our intent, over time, remains to return all of our free cash flow plus any proceeds we receive from the exercise of equity compensation minus the net debt retirement.

正如我們之前所說，我們認為自由現金流成長，尤其是每股自由現金流的成長，對於長期最大化股東價值至關重要，並且只有當自由現金流能夠有效促進業務發展或返還給股東時，才能體現其價值。我們的目標始終是，隨著時間的推移，將所有自由現金流加上行使股權激勵所得款項，扣除淨債務償還後，返還給股東。

Consistent with this intent, we have announced a 32% or $0.12 increase in our quarterly dividend. This brings our quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, or $2 annualized. I will also note that we have updated our long-term dividend model from our prior target of about 50% of trailing four-year average free cash flow to a range of 50% to 80%. This new range provides a more robust framework to adjust the allocation of our shareholder returns between dividend growth and share repurchases.

為貫徹此目標，我們宣布將季度股利提高32%，即每股0.12美元。這將使我們的季度股息達到每股0.50美元，或年化2美元。此外，我還想指出，我們已將長期股利模型的目標從之前約佔過去四年平均自由現金流的50%調整為50%至80%的區間。這一新區間為我們調整股東回報在股利成長和股票回購之間的分配提供了更穩健的框架。

Today's announcement extends our string of dividend increases to 13 consecutive years, which we believe are an important element to shareholder returns. In the third quarter, we paid $382 million in dividends and repurchased $500 million of our stock for a total return of $882 million.

今天的公告使我們連續13年提高股息，我們認為這對股東回報至關重要。第三季度，我們支付了3.82億美元的股息，回購了5億美元的股票，總報酬達8.82億美元。

Total cash returned to shareholders in the past 12 months was $3.82 billion. Outstanding share count was reduced by 2% over the past 12 months and by 42% since the end of 2004 when we initiated a program designed to reduce our share count. These combined returns demonstrate our confidence in our business model and our commitment to return excess cash to our shareholders.

過去12個月，公司向股東返還的現金總額為38.2億美元。過去12個月，流通股數量減少了2%，自2004年底啟動旨在減少流通股數量的計畫以來，流通股數量已減少了42%。這些綜合成果反映了我們對自身商業模式的信心，以及我們致力於將剩餘現金回饋給股東的承諾。

Fundamental to our commitment to return cash are our cash management and tax practices. We ended the third quarter with $3.14 billion of cash and short-term investments, with our U.S. entities owning about 80% of our cash. This on-shore cash is readily available for a variety of uses.

我們致力於現金回報的根本在於我們的現金管理和稅務策略。截至第三季末，我們持有31.4億美元的現金和短期投資，其中約80%的現金由我們的美國實體持有。這些境內現金可隨時用於各種用途。

Our orders in the quarter were $3.64 billion, up 6% from a year ago.

本季我們的訂單金額為 36.4 億美元，比去年同期成長 6%。

Turning to our outlook: for the fourth quarter, we expect revenue in the range of $3.17 billion to $3.43 billion and earnings per share to be in the range of $0.76 to $0.86. Our expectation for our annual effective tax rate in 2016 is unchanged at about 30%. This is the tax rate you should use for the fourth quarter and for the year.

展望未來：我們預計第四季營收將在31.7億美元至34.3億美元之間，每股盈餘將在0.76美元至0.86美元之間。我們對2016年全年實際稅率的預期維持在30%左右。您應將此稅率用於第四季度和全年的計算。

In summary, we believe our third-quarter results continue to demonstrate the strength of our business model.

總而言之，我們相信第三季的業績繼續證明了我們商業模式的優勢。

With that, let me turn it back to Dave.

那麼，現在讓我把話題轉回給戴夫。

Thanks, Kevin. Operator, you can now open the lines up for questions. In order to provide as many of you as possible an opportunity to ask a question, please limit yourself to a single question. After our response, we'll provide you an opportunity for an additional follow-up. Operator?

謝謝，凱文。接線員，現在可以開始接受提問了。為了讓更多人有機會提問，請每人只提一個問題。我們回答後，會提供您後續提問的機會。接線生？

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Stacy Rasgon with Bernstein Research.

Stacy Rasgon，Bernstein Research公司。

Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. First, I want ask about OpEx. It was roughly flat quarter over quarter. R&D up and you talked about increasing R&D investments. Given that, what are your expectations for R&D and total OpEx as we go into Q4? I know seasonally they would be down, but given the increases that we're seeing in R&D how should we think about OpEx going into next quarter?

大家好。感謝你們回答我的問題。首先，我想問一下營運支出（OpEx）。上一季營運支出基本持平。研發投入有所成長，你們也提到會增加研發投資。有鑑於此，你們對第四季的研發投入和整體營運支出有何預期？我知道從季節性角度來看，營運支出通常會下降，但考慮到研發投入的成長，我們應該如何看待下一季的營運支出？

Stacy, I think as we talked about, R&D, what we tend to reallocate. And we'll continue to reallocate though the first half of next year, resources from other areas in the company into R&D. Overall, you should think about OpEx in 4Q pretty much being the same as you've seen in each of the last several years, and that is down because of a seasonal benefit there, just from the fact that there is going to be Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays going on. So total OpEx should continue to be seasonally down.

Stacy，正如我們之前討論的，研發是我們通常會重新分配的資源。明年上半年，我們將繼續把公司其他領域的資源重新分配到研發領域。整體而言，第四季的營運支出應該與過去幾年基本持平，之所以有所下降，是因為感恩節和聖誕節假期帶來的季節性利好。因此，整體營運支出應該會繼續保持季節性下降的趨勢。

Any follow-up, Stacy?

史泰西，還有後續嗎？

Yes. Thank you for my follow up. For my follow up, I wanted to ask about the change in strategy between -- or apparent change in strategy -- between dividends and buybacks. What does that imply in terms of how you see the current return on your own stock versus the potential for how -- at least, how you view the stability and strength of your business model going forward? It seems like you're allocating more into dividends now.

是的，謝謝您的跟進。我想問的是，您公司在分紅和股票回購方面策略上的變化——或者說表面上的變化。這種變化對您如何看待當前股票的回報以及未來的商業模式穩定性和優勢有何影響？看起來您現在似乎更傾向於分紅。

Well -- and that is correct. We are planning to allocate more towards the dividends at this point in time. We've always said the buy backs will vary as a function of the stock price, and a dividend model that can vary from 50% to 80% we believe is a more thorough comprehensive of capital allocation. This new model provides a more robust framework to adjust the allocation of our shareholder returns between dividend growth and share repurchases, and that's really what we're talking about here.

沒錯，的確如此。目前我們計劃增加股利分配。我們一直強調，股票回購的規模會根據股價波動而變化，而我們認為，股利分配比例在50%到80%之間浮動的模式，能夠更全面、更準確地反映資本配置。這種新模式提供了一個更穩健的框架，可以調整股東回報在股利成長和股票回購之間的分配比例，而這正是我們目前討論的重點。

Okay. Great. Thank you, Stacy, and next caller please.

好的，太好了。謝謝你，斯黛西，下一位來電者請。

CJ Muse with Evercore.

CJ Muse 與 Evercore 合作。

Good afternoon. Thank you for taking my question. I guess first question on the Analog out-margin side, I believe record levels for you, 40% plus year. I think the highest I've seen out there is high 40%s at Linear. Curious, do you think you could achieve that over time? As part of that thought process, what percentage of your mix would have to be on 300mm to get to that kind of level?

午安.感謝您回答我的問題。我想先問一個關於類比輸出餘裕的問題，我相信您每年的錄音電平都超過 40%。我見過最高的電平是線性輸出的 40% 以上。我很好奇，您認為隨著時間的推移，您能達到這個水平嗎？考慮到這一點，為了達到這樣的電平，您的混音中需要有多少比例的素材使用 300mm 輸出？

CJ, the possibility for improving margins in Analog are not anything that we would pull back your expectation on because you've of actually hit the essence of the formula there. That is we have more and more revenue being generated on 300mm, while we enjoy a significant cost-benefit versus any of our competitors. We'll see that just falling straight through not just to margin but all the way through to free cash flow, which is most important to our mind. Clearly, as you pointed out, this has been a new high for our Analog segment, and that business still has plenty of runway underneath as we go forward.

CJ，模擬業務利潤率提升的可能性我們完全可以接受，因為您已經抓住了問題的本質。也就是說，3億路產品帶來的收入越來越多，同時我們的成本效益也遠遠超越競爭對手。我們預計這不僅會直接提升利潤率，還會直接轉化為自由現金流，而自由現金流對我們來說至關重要。正如您所指出的，模擬業務的業績已經創下新高，未來仍有巨大的成長空間。

Yes. I'd just add, CJ, that when you look at our practice of buying capacity well ahead of demand. That puts us in a place of -- at the end of last year we had about $6 billion of open 300mm capacity. As revenue grows, if that was 200mm capacity that will help to grow free cash flow margin as well as operating margins in the businesses that use that. The fact that it's 300mm, of course, and the fact that it's a 40% lower cost will certainly help us as well. You have a follow up, CJ?

是的。 CJ，我還要補充一點，我們一直以來都是提前大量採購產能，遠超過市場需求。這使得我們在去年年底擁有約60億美元的3億毫米產能。隨著營收成長，如果產能降至2億毫米，將有助於提升自由現金流利潤率以及使用該產能的業務的營運利潤率。當然，3億毫米的產能以及其成本降低40%的優勢也肯定會對我們有所幫助。 CJ，你還有什麼後續問題嗎？

I do. A shorter term question. As you look to your implied guide of down 10%, and I know typical seasonality is kind of thrown out the door here. In the last five years, your average is roughly down 7%, so is there any one-time issues here, customer concentration, conservatism, how should we think about that?

是的。我有個短期問題。你們的隱含指導價是下降10%，我知道這裡通常的季節性因素不太適用。過去五年，你們的平均下降幅度約為7%，那麼這裡是否存在一些一次性因素，例如客戶集中度、保守預期等等？我們該如何看待這個問題？

I think if you look at the midpoint of the guidance, CJ, it would suggest a year-on-year growth of about 3%. In general, we just believe that's just very consistent with the modest overall macro environment, and that's really been the case for the last two years. Our view really remains that we're in a slow growth economic environment. We don't really see any catalyst that's really going to change that one direction or the other anytime soon.

我認為，CJ，如果你看一下績效指引的中點，你會發現它預示著年增約3%。總的來說，我們認為這與整體溫和的宏觀經濟環境非常吻合，而且過去兩年確實如此。我們仍然認為，我們正處於一個經濟成長緩慢的環境中。我們預期短期內不會有任何催化劑能真正改變現狀。

Thank you. We'll go to the next caller, please.

謝謝。我們請接聽下一位來電者。

Toshiya Hari with Goldman Sachs.

Toshiya Hari 與高盛。

Thank you for taking my question. My first question is on the demand environment. I was hoping you could provide a little bit more detail on the different buckets within TI -- industrial, personal electronics, comms equipment, and automotive -- specifically what sort of trends you saw in the quarter? More importantly, what your internal expectations are heading into Q4.

感謝您回答我的問題。我的第一個問題是關於市場需求環境的。我希望您能詳細介紹一下德州儀器 (TI) 內部的不同業務板塊——工業、個人電子產品、通訊設備和汽車——特別是您在本季度觀察到的趨勢。更重要的是，您對第四季的內部預期是什麼？

Okay. Let me just talk about what drove the quarter. As I mentioned before, the automotive market remained strong. We've got five sectors inside of that market, and most of them had grown double digits. Industrial demand improved, and the encouraging part of that was it was very, very broad based. We had most of the sectors growing.

好的。我來談談本季的主要驅動因素。正如我之前提到的，汽車市場依然強勁。汽車市場包含五個細分領域，其中大多數都實現了兩位數的成長。工業需求也有所改善，令人鼓舞的是，這種改善非常普遍，幾乎所有行業都實現了成長。

Inside of personal electronics that was even, and that was despite continued year-over-year declines in demand from one customer. Speaking to the diversity of our product portfolio and our customer base, we were able to offset that with growth elsewhere inside of personal electronics. Then, communications equipment grew from a year ago, was even sequentially. Lastly, we did see growth in enterprise systems, as well.

個人電子產品業務整體保持平穩，儘管來自某位客戶的需求較去年同期持續下降。由於我們產品組合和客戶群的多樣性，我們能夠透過個人電子產品其他領域的成長來抵銷這一影響。此外，通訊設備業務較去年同期成長，較上季持平。最後，企業系統業務也實現了成長。

When we look into the fourth quarter, we don't -- we'll call out anything that is moving around significantly. You've seen us do that in the past when we had some type of discontinuity to help explain the results, and that's not the case as we move into fourth quarter.

當我們展望第四季時，我們不會——我們會特別指出任何出現顯著波動的項目。過去，當出現某種形式的業績斷點時，我們也會這樣做來幫助解釋業績，但進入第四季度後，情況並非如此。

You have a follow-up, Toshiya?

俊也，你還有後續問題嗎？

I do. Thanks for that. My second question is on M&A. Clearly, TI has been very disciplined, especially with regards to valuation over the past couple of years, maybe even several years. Obviously, you've seen a lot of activity elsewhere in the industry. I was just hoping you could provide an update on -- as to how you approach M&A these days. Thank you.

是的，謝謝。我的第二個問題是關於併購的。顯然，德州儀器（TI）在過去幾年，甚至可能是好幾年裡，一直非常注重併購策略，尤其是在估值方面。當然，您也看到了業內其他公司大量的併購活動。我只是希望您能介紹一下貴公司目前在併購方面的做法。謝謝。

Toshiya, our approach to M&A is really no different than we've talked about in the past. There are really four attributes that we think that we have that put us in a pretty unique position, versus our competitors, and actually quite difficult for others to duplicate. Those include our approach to manufacturing technology, the breadth of our product portfolio, our reach to our market channels, and the diversity and all the positions that our products enjoy in the marketplace.

Toshiya，我們併購的策略其實和之前討論過的並無二致。我們認為自身擁有四大優勢，使我們相對於競爭對手而言處於非常獨特的地位，而這些優勢也很難被其他公司複製。這四大優勢包括：我們先進的製造技術、豐富的產品組合、廣泛的市場管道，以及我們產品在市場上的多樣性和定位。

When we look at the acquisitions, it's about trying to see if we can strengthen those four attributes. Really it starts out by looking at companies from the standpoint of their strategic match, and that means will that strategic match leverage, the strength and competitive advantages we have been building on for these last number of years? From a strategic standpoint that would probably include a company that's likely engaged in analog and probably has pretty good exposure to industrial and automotive, which is where we believe most of the growth for semiconductors is going to happen for quite a few years to come.

我們檢視收購目標時，主要著重能否強化這四項特質。首先，我們會從策略匹配的角度來檢視目標公司，也就是這種策略匹配能否充分利用我們過去幾年累積的優勢和競爭優勢？從策略角度來看，這很可能意味著我們會選擇一家從事類比電路設計，並且在工業和汽車領域擁有相當不錯的佈局公司，因為我們認為未來幾年半導體產業的大部分成長都將發生在這兩個領域。

If a potential target passes a strategy test, then we've got to get past the numbers test. That really means the price that we pay for it. Will the return on that price, will the return on that investment in capital exceed our weighted average cost of capital in about a four-year time frame? If we can't get all that work, then we will remain disciplined and just stay on the sidelines.

如果潛在目標通過了策略測試，接下來我們還要通過財務測試。這其實指的是我們為此付出的代價。這項投資的回報，或者說這項資本投資的報酬率，能否在四年左右的時間內超過我們的加權平均資本成本？如果無法通過這些測試，我們將保持謹慎，繼續觀望。

As we look at what's been going on in the M&A landscape these last couple of years, it strikes us that there are probably really two things underway from most participants in that space. They're either trying to increase their scale or broaden their market opportunities because they have fairly narrow markets. In our case, we already enjoy advantages in both of those, so we don't feel compelled to have to move unless we can pass that strategy and math test I just talked about a moment ago.

回顧過去幾年併購領域的動態，我們發現大多數參與者可能主要在做兩件事：要不是擴大規模，就是拓展市場，因為他們的市場相對狹窄。就我們而言，我們在這兩方面都已具備優勢，因此除非我們能夠通過我剛才提到的戰略和財務考驗，否則我們並不覺得有必要進行任何收購。

Okay. Thank you, Toshiya. We'll go to the next caller please.

好的。謝謝你，俊也。我們請下一位來電者接聽。

Chris Danely with Citi.

克里斯·丹尼利，花旗銀行。

Hey. Thanks, guys. One more question on the Q4 revenue guidance. I'm just looking at the results of the last 10 or so years, and it's only been down double-digit, I think, once in eight years or something like that. I remember last year you guys got it down 7% sequentially, so did anything -- has anything changed recently? Have you seen any change in order rates, any change in the end markets, change in linearity, change in anything? I'm just wondering, why the down 10?

嘿，謝謝各位。關於第四季營收預期，我還有一個問題。我看了看過去十年左右的業績，好像只有八年左右出現過一次兩位數的下滑。我記得去年你們的營收季減了7%，所以最近有什麼改變嗎？訂單量、終端市場、業務成長或其他方面有變化嗎？我只是想知道，為什麼是下降了10%？

Again, Chris, no big changes on that. I think is it just consistency with the overall macro. If you look over the last five years, we've had a range from -- as high as down 1.3%. Back in 2012 I think we were down 12.1%, so certainly our range that we've given is certainly inside of those things from a sequential standpoint. That's kind of how we're looking at it. Do you have a follow-on?

克里斯，這方面沒有太大變化。我認為這只是為了與整體宏觀經濟保持一致。回顧過去五年，我們的波動幅度最高曾達1.3%。 2012年，我們曾經下跌12.1%，所以從時間順序來看，我們給出的波動幅度肯定在這些範圍內。我們就是這樣看待這個問題的。還有什麼後續問題嗎？

Yes. Can you just talk about utilization rates? How much below capacity you guys are, and where we should expect utilization rates to trend in Q4, and how you feel about inventory as a result of that?

好的。能談談產能利用率嗎？你們的產能利用率比實際產能低多少？第四季產能利用率的預期走勢如何？以及由此產生的庫存問題，您有何看法？

Chris, on utilization it really hasn't changed much in probably the last three or four quarters, and I don't expect it to change anytime in the near term. We load the factories in accordance with our expectation of demand, and because of our inventory strategy sometime that demand just goes beyond next quarter and may include the following quarter. From an inventory standpoint, recall that our model is to have 105 to 135 days. We had quite a bit more inventory last quarter, from a days standpoint. We had mentioned then that we had built that in anticipation of growing revenues in the third quarter. We have had those growing revenues and our inventory days dropped down to 117. I expect that we'll continue to operate within the model days that we talk about and our utilizations will continue to be relatively stable, as we've seen the last three or four quarters.

克里斯，關於產能利用率，過去三、四個季度以來變化不大，我預計短期內不會有太大變化。我們會根據對需求的預期來安排工廠的生產，而由於我們的庫存策略，有時需求會持續到下一個季度之後，甚至可能延續到下個季度。從庫存角度來看，我們的模型庫存週轉天數是105到135天。上個季度我們的庫存週轉天數要高得多。當時我們提到過，這是為了因應第三季營收成長而預留的庫存。如今營收確實成長了，我們的庫存週轉天數也降至117天。我預計我們將繼續按照我們之前提到的模型庫存週轉天數運行，產能利用率也會像過去三、四個季度那樣保持相對穩定。

Great. Thank you, Chris. Next caller please.

太好了，謝謝你，克里斯。下一位來電者請。

Joe Moore with Morgan Stanley.

喬摩爾，摩根士丹利員工。

Great. Thank you. I have one short-term question and one long-term question. In the shorter term, you said personal electronics kind of flat year over year despite declines at one customer. Can you give us a sense for which areas are growing year over year? Is it other smartphones, is it PC, what are the growth components of that business right now?

好的，謝謝。我有一個短期問題和一個長期問題。短期方面，您提到儘管有一位客戶的訂單有所下降，但個人電子產品業務總體上與去年同期持平。您能否介紹一下哪些領域實現了年成長？是其他智慧型手機，還是個人電腦？目前該業務的成長主要來自哪些方面？

At that level, we've had PCs come in year over year about even, which is an improvement from what we saw. I think that outside of that one customer, we've actually seen really broad-based growth. I think that all the classical areas inside of personal electronics are doing well.

就目前來看，個人電腦的銷售量與去年基本上持平，這比我們之前看到的要好一些。我認為，除了那一位客戶之外，我們實際上看到了非常廣泛的成長。我認為個人電子產品領域的各個傳統板塊都發展良好。

You have a follow-on?

你還有後續問題嗎？

Sure. Thank you. Longer-term side, as you look at your automotive business, obviously, that's a focus for you guys. Can you talk a little bit about how do you plan for that business and how much of your effort is sort of aimed at traditional building block catalog type products, and how when you think about markets like autonomous driving, where there might be systems-level solutions, how much are you thinking about the need to do something that's a little bit more revolutionary rather than evolutionary in that part of the market?

當然，謝謝。從長遠來看，你們的汽車業務顯然是重點。能否談談你們如何規劃這項業務，以及你們在傳統模組化產品目錄方面投入了多少精力？在自動駕駛等市場，可能會出現系統級解決方案時，你們認為需要在該領域進行更具革命性而非漸進式的創新嗎？

Sure. Yes. We have got five sectors that make up the automotive market for us that we look at. They're infotainment, safety, advanced driver assist systems, or ADAS, body electronics and lighting, and then powertrain systems, which include hybrid and electric systems. We're -- have a very intentional focus to invest across all of those five sectors. We're seeing that in the results, with revenues in most of those sectors growing double digits.

當然。是的。我們關注的汽車市場包含五大板塊：資訊娛樂系統、安全系統、高級駕駛輔助系統（ADAS）、車身電子和照明系統，以及動力總成系統（包括混合動力和純電動系統）。我們有意在所有這五大板塊進行投資。從業績來看，大部分板塊的收入都實現了兩位數的成長。

We have an approach inside of automotive that is similar, really, across our other markets, where we look to leverage our four competitive advantages, and I think that that's helping to turn in those results. We are favoring what I would say catalog and application-specific solutions. I wouldn't put that into the category of full turnkey system-level solutions where we're doing what we would consider to be the work that our customers do. We are providing them building blocks that have different levels of integration, but we're not looking to provide a full ADAS system, as an example. We'll enable those systems, and I think that that's pretty consistent with what you see across all the markets and sectors that we serve.

我們在汽車領域採取的方法與其他市場類似，都是充分利用我們的四大競爭優勢，我認為這有助於我們取得這些成果。我們傾向於提供目錄式和應用特定的解決方案。我不會將其歸類為完整的交鑰匙系統級解決方案，因為我們提供的並非完整的系統級解決方案，而是客戶需要自行完成的工作。我們為他們提供不同整合等級的建置模組，但我們並不打算提供完整的ADAS系統。例如，我們會為這些系統提供支持，我認為這與我們服務的所有市場和行業的策略基本一致。

Okay. Thanks, Joe. We'll go to the next caller, please.

好的，謝謝喬。我們請下一位來電者。

Chris Caso with CLSA.

克里斯·卡索 (Chris Caso) 來自里昂證券 (CLSA)。

Yes. Thank you. Good evening. First question would be regarding your comments on the industrial segment. You talked about some broad improvement. Could you talk about your level of visibility there and the likelihood of that sustaining into the end of the year and moving into next year?

是的，謝謝。晚安.第一個問題是關於您之前對工業領域的評論。您提到了一些整體的改善。您能否談談您對該領域的預期，以及這種改善能否持續到年底並延續到明年？

Can you just asked that once again, make sure I got the question right, Chris?

克里斯，你能再問一次嗎？確保我理解對了問題。

Sorry, it was regarding the industrial segment and your comments on that. You talked about broad improvement, if you can give some more color on that and your view on the potential for that to sustain into year end and into next year?

抱歉，我剛才問的是關於工業領域以及您對此的評論。您提到整體情況有所改善，能否詳細說明一下，並談談您認為這種改善能否持續到年底乃至明年？

Yes. As we talked about, last quarter we did see an improvement in industrial demand. It actually had been flat for several quarters, year on year, so we were encouraged by that. This quarter, we built on that a little bit, and like last quarter it was very, very broad based. I won't try to go in and try to predict how long that will last or carry forward, but I definitely would say that we were encouraged as we saw most of those sectors growing.

是的。正如我們之前討論的，上個季度工業需求確實有所改善。事實上，此前幾季工業需求年比一直持平，所以我們對此感到鼓舞。本季度，我們在此基礎上略有提升，而且和上個季度一樣，成長範圍非常廣泛。我不會去預測這種成長動能持續多久，但我可以肯定地說，看到大多數產業都在成長，我們感到非常振奮。

You have a follow-on, Chris?

克里斯，你還有後續問題嗎？

I do. The follow-on is regarding inventory in both the channel at your customers. Given the stronger growth in Q3, was any part of that growth perhaps attributed to some increase in inventory? I understand most of your inventory in the distribution channel is on consignment now, but what's your view of customer inventory levels right now?

是的。接下來我想問的是關於您客戶通路的庫存狀況。鑑於第三季成長強勁，這其中是否有一部分成長歸因於庫存增加？我了解到您目前分銷管道的大部分庫存都是寄售的，但您如何看待客戶目前的庫存水準？

If we look into the distribution channel, inventory actually decreased by about a half a week, and it's currently at very, very low levels at about four weeks. That's pretty similar to what we saw a year ago. Again, we believe that that inventory level just reflects an environment of really good product availability. We've got good inventories on our books, available to be able to ship. We've continued to have very stable lead times. Those things kind of taken together just drive very high customer service metrics, so customers, in general, are getting products when they want to have them.

如果我們觀察分銷管道，庫存實際上減少了​​大約半週，目前處於非常低的水平，大約只有四周的庫存量。這與我們一年前的情況非常相似。我們認為，目前的庫存水準反映了產品供應非常充足的良好環境。我們帳面上有充足的庫存，可以隨時出貨。我們的交貨週期也一直非常穩定。這些因素共同促成了極高的客戶服務指標，因此，客戶通常都能在需要的時候收到產品。

I'll just make the reminder, too, that that four weeks of inventory is just structurally lower because of the consignment programs that we have at our major distributors.

我還要提醒大家，這四周的庫存之所以較低，是因為我們在主要經銷商實施了寄售計畫。

Thank you, Chris, and we'll go to the next caller, please.

謝謝你，克里斯，我們請下一位來電者接聽。

Ambrish Srivastava with BMO.

Ambrish Srivastava 與 BMO 合作。

Hi. Thank you. My first question is on the Embedded side. This segment has been growing really well for the last -- now the third quarter in a row, you're posting pretty good year-over-year growth. What's driving that, Dave? I know it has three major segments. Could you just help us understand the drivers behind the growth?

您好，謝謝。我的第一個問題是關於嵌入式系統方面的。這個業務板塊在過去幾季一直保持著非常強勁的成長勢頭——現在已經是連續第三個季度同比增長了。 Dave，請問是什麼因素推動了這項成長？我知道它包含三個主要細分市場。您能否幫我們分析一下成長背後的驅動因素？

Yes. I think when you look at the embedded market, we've seen good growth there for a number of quarters. If you look at the end markets, they have a very good exposure to automotive, to industrial, and to the comms market. As we talked about the communications market -- well, really all three of those markets contributed to growth. The great thing about the growth is it's very broad based. It's not in one market. It's not in one sector. It's not driven by one technology. So we feel really good about the sustainability of that growth, and the great thing with that is it's fallen through to the operating profit, which you can see inside of that business. Most importantly, it's fallen through to free cash flow growth.

是的。我認為，從嵌入式市場來看，我們已經連續幾季看到了良好的成長。從終端市場來看，我們在汽車、工業和通訊市場都有著非常好的佈局。正如我們之前提到的通訊市場——實際上，這三個市場都對成長做出了貢獻。這種成長的優勢在於其基礎非常廣泛。它並非侷限於某個單一市場，也並非侷限於某個單一產業，更不是由某項技術驅動。因此，我們對這種成長的可持續性非常有信心。更重要的是，這種成長已經轉化為營業利潤的成長，這一點可以從業務數據中看出。最重要的是，它已經轉化為自由現金流的成長。

You have a follow-on, Ambrish?

安布里什，你還有後續問題嗎？

Yes, I did. Could you talk a little bit about your -- there seems to be a change in the relationship in how you work for the major distribution partners, and our sense is this is nothing new. Could you just help us understand how you thought through the pros and cons of this change and whether it's just a matter of you having more in consignment or it's a trade-off between confidence of sourcing your own wins versus potential loss in future sales? Thank you.

是的，我做了。您能否談談您與主要分銷合作夥伴的合作關係似乎發生了一些變化，我們感覺這並非什麼新鮮事。您能否幫我們了解一下您是如何權衡這種變化的利弊的？這只是因為您增加了寄售商品的數量，還是說這是在您對自主採購的信心與未來銷售潛在損失之間做出的權衡？謝謝。

Sure. Our relationship with distributors have been evolving and always evolve. I think any healthy business relationships evolve, but especially as the reach of our channel advantages continues to strengthen. You've heard Kevin and I both mention our four competitive advantages, and certainly the reach of our channel is one of them. That includes both the size and the skill of our direct sales and applications teams, but it also includes the growing capabilities of the web and TI.com.

當然。我們與分銷商的關係一直在發展，並且會不斷演變。我認為任何健康的商業關係都會不斷發展，尤其是在我們通路優勢不斷增強的情況下。您已經聽我和凱文都提到我們的四大競爭優勢，而通路覆蓋範圍無疑是其中之一。這不僅包括我們直銷和應用程式團隊的規模和技能，還包括日益強大的網路和TI.com平台。

As an example, three years ago we discontinued our incentive programs for demand creation on accounts that represented about 80% of the TAM, where we had resources calling on those accounts directly. We made that change because our team is just more effective and efficient in demand creation, and this has played out as we've continued to gain share every year since then. Then more recently, we've discontinued the incentives for the remaining balance of the accounts. We expect, as with all relationships, we'll continue to evolve, but we do believe distributors will continue to play an important role in order fulfillment for our customers.

舉例來說，三年前，我們停止了針對約佔總目標市場80%的客戶的需求創造激勵計劃，這些客戶是我們直接聯繫的。我們做出這項改變是因為我們的團隊在需求創造方面效率更高，而事實證明，自那以後，我們的市場份額逐年增長。最近，我們又停止了對剩餘客戶的激勵計畫。我們預計，與所有合作關係一樣，我們將不斷發展，但我們相信分銷商在客戶訂單履行方面仍將發揮重要作用。

Okay. Thank you, Ambrish, and we'll go to the next caller, please.

好的。謝謝你，安布里什，我們接下來請下一位來電者。

David Wong with Wells Fargo.

David Wong，來自富國銀行。

Thanks very much. TI and several other chip companies had really impressive September year-over-year growth that was many percent about guidance, and you're also giving December guidance, which is solid, even though the year-over-year growth in December looks like it's going to be below September. Can you give us some feel as to what's happening here? Did things weaken as September progressed, or is December a particularly tough comparison?

非常感謝。德州儀器 (TI) 和其他幾家晶片公司 9 月的年比成長率非常亮眼，比預期高出好幾個百分點。您也給出了 12 月份的業績預期，這很穩健，儘管 12 月份的同比增長率看起來會低於 9 月份。您能否解釋一下目前的情況？是 9 月業績下滑，還是 12 月的年比數據比較低？

David, if you look at our normal seasonality, the one thing that we can conclude for sure is that second and third quarter are our seasonally strongest quarters, fourth and first are seasonally weakest. Certainly, that will play in effect as we go into fourth quarter, so it's not unusual for us to see a fourth quarter that's down and in fact why we point to the year-over-year guidance and how that is consistent with just -- our belief is that things in the macro really haven't changed too dramatically, so that has gone into the guidance.

戴維，如果你看一下我們正常的季節性規律，我們可以肯定的是，第二季度和第三季度是我們季節性業績最好的季度，第四季度和第一季則是季節性業績最差的季度。當然，這種規律在第四季會繼續發揮作用，所以第四季業績下滑並不罕見。事實上，這也是我們強調同比業績指引的原因，我們認為宏觀經濟情勢並沒有太大變化，因此我們才將這項因素納入了績效指引。

Do you have a follow-on?

您還有後續問題嗎？

No. I'm good. Thank you.

不，我很好，謝謝。

Okay. Thank you, David.

好的。謝謝你，大衛。

Vivek Arya with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Vivek Arya，就職於美國銀行美林證券。

Thanks for taking my question and congratulations on the strong results and the dividend boost. I'll also try my hand on this Q4 outlook question, because I still don't know whether this is a top-down forecast or it's a bottoms-up forecast. Which specific end market is going down sequentially so much for your overall sales to go down 10%? I don't know whether it's the Other segment, which had very strong growth in Q3. I know, Dave, you mentioned on a year-on-year basis, but last year I believe your sales were down in Q4 so the comps should have been easier versus the last year. That's really my first question, that is this a top-down forecast or is this a bottoms-up forecast?

感謝您回答我的問題，並祝賀貴公司業績強勁，股息也提高了。我還想嘗試回答第四季度展望的問題，因為我仍然不確定這是自上而下的預測還是自下而上的預測。具體是哪個終端市場較上季下滑如此之大，導致整體銷售量下降了10%？我不知道是不是第三季成長非常強勁的「其他」板塊。我知道，Dave，您提到過是同比數據，但我記得去年第四季度你們的銷售額也有所下降，所以今年的同比數據應該會更容易一些。這其實是我的第一個問題：這是自上而下的預測還是自下而上的預測？

I think Dave has probably answered that same question about three or four times now, and the answer is still going to be the same. It is our best outlook right now based upon a continuing weak macro economy. We had a book-to-bill in 3Q of 0.99 compare that to 1.0 a year ago, so the visibility in to the quarter is a little bit reduced versus what it was a year ago. There is no one market, no one customer, no one product. It is our best estimate at this point in time, and I'll remind you it does include a range. That range probably comprehends to a high probability of where we'll land for fourth quarter.

我想戴夫可能已經回答過這個問題三、四次了，答案依然不變。基於持續疲軟的宏觀經濟情勢，這是我們目前最好的預測。第三季我們的訂單出貨比為0.99，去年同期為1.0，因此與去年同期相比，本季的業績可見度略有下降。市場、客戶和產品都不盡相同。這是我們目前的最佳預測，而且我要提醒各位，這個預測包含一個範圍。這個範圍很可能反映了我們第四季業績的大致走向。

I'd just add that, Vivek, that whenever we've had a big discontinuity that you're searching around for, we've been clear at calling those things out. We want to be able to provide that transparency when it's necessary.

我還要補充一點，維韋克，每當我們遇到你正在四處尋找的重大問題時，我們都會明確地指出這些問題。我們希望在必要時能夠提供這種透明度。

Do you have a follow-on?

您還有後續問題嗎？

Yes. Thank you. Now, given the focus on free cash flow, why isn't TI better utilizing an asset like your balance sheet? Because you're operating -- if my numbers are right -- at about 0.15 net debt to trailing EBITDA, and most of your peers are comfortable operating at 3 to 4 times. So given this low growth environment and sort of negative returns for holding cash, why is TI holding so much cash, and why not buy back more of your stock if you think M&A looks expensive or not attractive right now? Thank you.

是的，謝謝。既然大家都在關注自由現金流，為什麼德州儀器（TI）沒有更好地利用資產負債表這樣的資產呢？如果我沒算錯的話，你們的淨負債與過去12個月EBITDA的比率約為0.15，而大多數同業都習慣於3到4倍的比率。鑑於目前成長緩慢，持有現金的報酬幾乎為負，為什麼德州儀器還要持有這麼多現金？如果你們認為併購成本過高或目前併購並不划算，為什麼不回購更多股票呢？謝謝。

I take it from that you would consider our stock quite undervalued at the moment in time, so I appreciate that observation. We have been buying back shares, every quarter, since the fourth quarter of 2004. Our method for buying back shares is to be disciplined and consistent in how we go about doing it. More importantly, what we've talked about is that we will buy back more shares when the price is lower and probably fewer shares when the price is higher.

由此看來，您認為我們目前的股票被嚴重低估了，我很欣賞您的這一觀點。自2004年第四季以來，我們每季都會回購股票。我們的回購策略是嚴謹且持續。更重要的是，正如我們之前討論過的，股價越低，我們回購的股票就越多；股價越高，我們回購的股票數量可能就越少。

To that end, we recently -- as with today's announcement -- have updated our allocation budget, if you will, for what we allocate from free cash flow to dividends, from 50% of our trailing four years average free cash flow to 50% to 80%. We think this new range provides a more robust framework that allows us to adjust the allocation of our shareholder returns between dividend growth and share repurchases.

為此，我們近期（如今天的公告所示）更新了分配預算，將自由現金流分配至股息的比例從過去四年平均自由現金流的50%提高到50%至80%。我們認為，這個新的比例範圍提供了一個更穩健的框架，使我們能夠在股息成長和股票回購之間靈活調整股東回報的分配。

To as far as leveraging the balance sheet any further, right now, that balance sheet has been leveraged higher in the past. We have been slowly paying that debt back down over time, which means the debt is available should an important strategic opportunity present itself at the right moment in time. We believe that leveraging now, just for the sake of leveraging, would actually block the balance sheet from being available should an opportunity present itself from a strategic standpoint.

至於是否要進一步提高資產負債表槓桿率，目前該資產負債表的槓桿比率已高於以往。我們一直在逐步償還債務，這意味著一旦出現重要的戰略機遇，這些債務仍然可以利用。我們認為，現在僅僅為了提高槓桿率而提高槓桿率，實際上會阻礙我們在策略機會出現時利用資產負債表。

Okay. Great. Thank you, Vivek. We'll go to the next caller, please

好的，太好了。謝謝你，維韋克。我們接下來接聽下一位來電者，謝謝。

Amit Daryanani with RBC Capital Markets.

Amit Daryanani 的 RBC Capital Markets。

Thanks a lot. I have a question and a follow up as well. Just to start on the dividend increase that you guys announced. Could you just talk about how -- when I think about the future dividend payout strategy that you guys have, is it going to be more a reflection of your free cash flow growth on an annualized basis, or will the desire be to increase dividends along with free cash flow growth plus increasing the payout to get to the midpoint of the 50% to 80% range? How do I think about this on an annual basis?

非常感謝。我還有一個問題和一個後續問題。首先是關於你們宣布的股息成長。能否談談你們未來的股利支付策略？是會更反映你們的年度自由現金流成長，還是會隨著自由現金流的成長而提高股息，並最終達到50%到80%區間的中點？從年度角度來看，我該如何看待這個問題？

If you think about that what you have been seeing is probably what you will see. That is our free cash flow has been growing consistently for quite a few years now, and our formula design means that by definition our dividends are increasing consistent with that. What this new range does is just give us more framework to adjust the allocation between dividends and stock buybacks. Recall that we take all the free cash flow and we use it either for dividends or buybacks. This allows us to allocate more towards dividend growth as opposed to buybacks going forward.

仔細想想，現在看到的很可能就是你未來會看到的。也就是說，我們的自由現金流已經連續多年持續成長，而我們的公式設計也意味著，根據定義，我們的股利也會隨之成長。這個新的區間只是為我們提供了更大的框架，以便調整股利和股票回購之間的分配比例。請記住，我們會將所有自由現金流用於股利或股票回購。這使我們能夠在未來將更多資金用於股息成長，而不是股票回購。

If we reach a point where share price tends to be relatively lower at a point in time, then this allows us to slow down the dividend growth rate and adjust that back towards dividend repurchases. That's what this new range is designed to do, is to give us more flexibility to be responsive to the changing market valuations that we see out there.

如果股價在某個期間相對走低，那麼我們可以放慢股利成長率，並將資金重新用於股利回購。這個新的股息範圍旨在讓我們更靈活地應對不斷變化的市場估值。

Got it.

知道了。

Do you have a follow-on?

您還有後續問題嗎？

If I could just follow up on -- your R&D sort of increased double digits for a few quarters, sounds like it will do so again. Does that suggest that you're kind of shifting a little bit from -- harvesting towards investing more in your business? If that's the case, should we recalibrate expectations? Maybe come to 2017 and 2018, that the share gain that you guys have typically had of your 30, 40, 50 basis points, could be somewhat higher giving all the investments you're making?

我能否再追問一下——你們的研發投入連續幾季實現了兩位數的成長，聽起來還會繼續保持下去。這是否意味著你們正在從先前的收割階段轉向加大對業務的投資？如果是這樣，我們是否應該調整預期？考慮到你們目前的投資，到2017年和2018年，你們通常30、40、50個基點的市佔率成長幅度，是否有可能更高一些？

Certainly we're investing more into R&D with the intent of continuing our share gains and ideally accelerating them. Really what we're doing on this stuff is we're being very disciplined on R&D as well. We're not spending just for the sake of spending, but we're spending because we have a higher degree of confidence in the ideas that are coming to us that we can actually turn that into profitable revenue growth and ideally market share. We're doing that by just reallocating our internal resources, as we mentioned in the beginning. We're not taking our total spending up, but we're taking people who may have been working in the manufacturing lines or people who may have been working in sales or general administrative areas and putting them into working on R&D projects as well. It's an overall reallocation internally, and I would expect that that will continue to support market share gains as we go forward.

當然，我們正在加大研發投入，旨在持續提升市場份額，並盡可能加快成長速度。事實上，我們在研發方面也採取了非常嚴格的紀律。我們並非為了投入而投入，而是因為我們對研發成果更有信心，相信這些成果能夠轉化為獲利性的收入成長，並最終提升市場佔有率。正如我們開頭所提到的，我們透過重新分配內部資源來實現這一點。我們並沒有增加總支出，而是將原本在生產線、銷售或行政部門工作的人員調配到研發項目中。這是一次全面的內部資源重新配置，我預計這將繼續支持我們未來的市場份額成長。

I would add that we've gained, on average, 30 to 40 basis points of market share, and I think we've gained share each of the last six years. I think we're on track to be able to put a seventh year up, and we'll wait for the numbers to get posted before we declare that. Again, market share just doesn't move quickly in the markets that we've got. I think that that just speaks to the quality of the markets. I think these opportunities that Kevin's talking about just gives us confidence that we can continue to have share gains into the future.

我想補充一點，我們平均每年增長30到40個基點的市場份額，而且我認為過去六年我們每年都在增長。我認為我們預計將連續第七年實現這一目標，但我們會等到數據公佈後再正式宣布。再次強調，在我們目前的市場中，市佔率的成長速度並不快。我認為這恰恰體現了這些市場的品質。凱文提到的這些機會讓我們更有信心在未來繼續提升市場佔有率。

Thanks, Amit. We'll go to the next caller, please.

謝謝，阿米特。我們請接聽下一位來電者。

Ian Ing with MKM Partners.

Ian Ing 與 MKM Partners 合作。

Yes. Thank you. In your prepared comments you talked about being opportunistic in terms of purchasing assets ahead of demand. Do you anticipate any greater opportunities or fire sales as the industry, I would say, rapidly consolidates? I mean, you've probably got enough wafer fabrication equipment, but maybe there's other areas like test and packaging. Thanks.

是的，謝謝。您在事先準備好的發言稿中提到，要把握機會，搶在需求出現之前收購資產。隨著行業（我認為是快速整合）的推進，您是否預計會出現更多機會或大規模的拋售？我的意思是，您可能已經擁有足夠的晶圓製造設備，但或許在測試和封裝等其他領域還有發展空間。謝謝。

Ian, I would say that we are continuously on the lookout for buying assets that we don't need now but we believe we will need at some point in time or could be a strategic cost advantage to us at some point in time. We have been, in pretty much every quarter, picking up some piece of equipment here or there. Again we look at the total opportunity, meaning can we get it at the right price and can it be something that will contribute to our free cash flow as we go forward? So we look at it in that context when we considered these sort of things. I would expect that we'll continue to be out there making opportunistic acquisitions, some may rise to the level of an announcement, but most of them will probably just remain as they have been, just spot purchases we do from time to time as we look around the world.

伊恩，我想說，我們一直在尋找機會收購那些我們目前不需要但相信將來某個時候會需要，或者將來能為我們帶來戰略成本優勢的資產。幾乎每個季度，我們都會收購一些設備。我們會綜合考慮整體機會，也就是能否以合適的價格收購，以及它能否在未來為我們帶來自由現金流。我們在考慮這類事情時，都是從這個角度出發的。我預計我們會繼續進行機會性收購，其中一些可能會公開宣布，但大多數可能仍然會保持現狀，只是我們在全球範圍內不時進行的零星收購。

I'll also point out we're making those purchases while keeping our CapEx at about 4% of revenues so continuing to strengthen that competitive advantage. Do you have a follow-up, Ian?

我還要指出，我們在進行這些採購的同時，將資本支出控制在營收的4%左右，從而持續增強我們的競爭優勢。伊恩，你還有什麼後續問題嗎？

Yes. Over to Embedded Processing. Questions on expectations for DSP applications, should we think of it as largely communications infrastructure, 4G and 5G? I noticed there's DSP IP companies out there that are talking about using these chips as accelerators for things like deep learning, artificial intelligence, accelerating some applications.

是的。接下來是嵌入式處理部分。關於DSP應用的預期，我們是否應該將其主要視為通訊基礎設施，例如4G和5G？我注意到一些DSP IP公司正在討論將這些晶片用作深度學習、人工智慧等應用的加速器，以加速某些應用。

When you look at our portfolio, the lines between what's a DSP and what's not a DSP blur to some degree. Like you said, in the comms equipment space you've got processors that have multi-cores of both ARMs and DSPs but also have a heavy component of hardware accelerators. Our OMAP products that are gaining traction in automotive and other applications inside of industrial have DSPs inside of them. If you look at our communication products, where we support over a dozen different standards that help machines be connected and be smarter, they will have DSPs inside of them. We kind of just look at that as an enabling technology.

縱觀我們的產品組合，DSP 和非 DSP 之間的界線在某種程度上變得模糊不清。如您所說，在通訊設備領域，我們既有採用 ARM 和 DSP 多核心架構的處理器，也有整合了大量硬體加速器的處理器。我們 OMAP 產品在汽車和其他工業應用領域逐漸獲得市場認可，這些產品內部也整合了 DSP。再看看我們的通訊產品，我們支援十幾種不同的標準，這些標準有助於機器互聯並提升智慧化水平，這些產品內部同樣也整合了 DSP。我們將其視為一種賦能技術。

The good news is that that business complements our Analog product portfolio very well. It isn't one type of product or technology that's building that business. We've got a very good diversity of customers that we're building over time, so we're encouraged by the confidence and the sustainability of that revenue. The wires underneath and the technology underneath are important on how we deliver it, but the business model is what's really encouraging for us.

好消息是，這項業務與我們的模擬產品組合完美互補。支撐這項業務的並非單一類型的產品或技術。我們擁有非常多元化的客戶群，並且正在逐步拓展，因此我們對收入的信心和永續性感到鼓舞。底層線路和技術固然重要，但它們決定了我們如何交付產品，而真正令我們振奮的是其商業模式。

Okay. We can go to -- have time for one more caller, please.

好的。我們可以繼續下去——請再接最後一通電話。

John Pitzer with Credit Suisse.

瑞士信貸的約翰‧皮策。

Yes, guys, thanks for squeezing me in here. Kevin, my first question is you talked about OpEx being down sequentially in December quarter. Depending upon how much down sequentially it is, you could still have gross margins kind of flat to up in the December quarter. Notwithstanding the revenue decline, you've had prior quarters were down revenue doesn't necessarily mean down gross margins. Curious how you think about gross margins going into the calendar fourth quarter, and what levers you can still pull other than just volume to keep moving gross margins up and to the right?

是的，各位，謝謝你們抽空讓我來這裡。凱文，我的第一個問題是，你提到12月份的營運支出較上月下降。根據環比下降的幅度，12月份的毛利率可能仍然持平甚至上升。儘管收入下降，但先前幾季的收入下降並不一定意味著毛利率下降。我很想知道你如何看待進入第四季後的毛利率，除了銷售之外，你還可以採取哪些措施來繼續提升毛利率？

John, I think you know that we normally don't try to give that precise a forecast other than just top-line and bottom and earnings. I will just remind you that just like 3Q benefited from lower costs as we increased production in 300mm and depreciation is rolling off, depreciation will continue to roll off and 300mm will continue to become a bigger portion of our wafers that we start. So you've got a number of underlying cost things that will continue to give us good results on the overall gross margin for those who are interested in that number.

約翰，我想你知道，我們通常不會給出除了營收、利潤和利潤之外的非常精確的預測。我只想提醒你，就像第三季受益於300毫米晶圓產能提升帶來的成本降低以及折舊逐漸減少一樣，折舊還會繼續減少，300毫米晶圓在我們晶圓生產中的佔比也會繼續擴大。因此，有許多潛在的成本因素會繼續為我們帶來良好的整體毛利率，供那些關注毛利率的人參考。

That's helpful. I appreciate it. Dave, as my follow-up, you talked about your largest customer in personal electronics being down year over year in the September quarter. Do you think that's an accurate reflection of their unit demand, or is there something going on with your content or pricing? Would you expect that customer to be down again year over year in the December quarter?

這很有幫助，謝謝。戴夫，我還有一個後續問題。你提到你們最大的個人電子產品客戶在九月的季度銷售額年減。你認為這準確反映了他們的實際需求嗎？還是說你們的內容或定價方面出了問題？你預計該客戶在十二月份的季度銷售額還會年減嗎？

Well, I will say that I'm not going to make any comments on their demand. With most of our large customers -- I'll just generalize the comment -- most of our large customers will be on some type of a consignment or hub-based system. There's usually not a large delay in the demand. When it actually gets pulled and when it is used, there's always exceptions to that overall.

嗯，我不會對他們的需求發表任何評論。我們大多數的大客戶——我只能概括地說——都採用某種寄售或樞紐式系統。通常情況下，需求不會有太大的延遲。當然，實際提貨和使用時總是會有一些例外情況。

From a content standpoint, I think we've mentioned before that we sell hundreds of products into our largest customers, including our largest one, and we continue to win new products. We're confident in the design wins that we've got and the revenue that that will drive overall.

從內容角度來看，我們之前提到過，我們向最大的客戶（包括我們最大的客戶）銷售數百種產品，而且我們還在不斷贏得新產品訂單。我們對已獲得的設計訂單以及這些訂單將帶來的整體收入充滿信心。

Okay. Thank you, John, for you call. Thank everyone for listening tonight. A replay of this call will be available on our website. Good evening.

好的。謝謝約翰的來電。感謝大家今晚的收聽。本次通話的錄音將在我們的網站上提供。晚安.

That does conclude today's call. We appreciate your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。