Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Magnachip (NYSE:MX) and the best and worst performers in the analog semiconductors industry.

Demand for analog chips is generally linked to the overall level of economic growth, as analog chips serve as the building blocks of most electronic goods and equipment. Unlike digital chip designers, analog chip makers tend to produce the majority of their own chips, as analog chip production does not require expensive leading edge nodes. Less dependent on major secular growth drivers, analog product cycles are much longer, often 5-7 years.

The 15 analog semiconductors stocks we track reported a weaker Q4; on average, revenues were in line with analyst consensus estimates, while next quarter's revenue guidance was 3.6% below consensus. Valuation multiples for many growth stocks have not yet reverted to their early 2021 highs, though the market was optimistic at the end of 2023 due to cooling inflation. The start of 2024 has been a different story as mixed signals have led to market volatility, and while some of the analog semiconductors stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they collectively declined, with share prices falling 4.3% on average since the previous earnings results.

Magnachip (NYSE:MX)

With its technology found in common consumer electronics such as TVs and smartphones, Magnachip Semiconductor (NYSE:MX) is a provider of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors.

Magnachip reported revenues of $50.82 million, down 16.7% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 3.1%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a miss of analysts' revenue estimates.

YJ Kim, Magnachip’s Chief Executive Officer commented, “As we reflect on the past year and look ahead, we’re shaping our future with the transformation of our business. First, we have shifted our Display business to be laser-focused on the burgeoning OLED market in China and our efforts there are already showing promising results. We now have two design-wins and a dedicated team on the ground to help build on this momentum. Additionally, we are working to optimize our Gumi Fab to transition from lower-margin Transitional Foundry Services to higher-margin Power products. Finally, we’ve restructured our company to streamline operations, enhance shareholder value and increase transparency for our investors with the completion of our legal separation of historical Display and Power businesses into MSS and PAS.”

Magnachip delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates of the whole group. The stock is down 24% since the results and currently trades at $5.08.

Read our full report on Magnachip here, it's free.

Best Q4: Himax (NASDAQ:HIMX)

Taiwan-based Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) is a leading manufacturer of display driver chips and timing controllers used in TVs, laptops, and mobile phones.

Himax reported revenues of $227.7 million, down 13.2% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its inventory levels.

The stock is down 7.9% since the results and currently trades at $5.2.

Is now the time to buy Himax? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Weakest Q4: Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN)

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas since the 1950s, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) is the world’s largest producer of analog semiconductors.

Texas Instruments reported revenues of $4.08 billion, down 12.7% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 1.4%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a miss of analysts' revenue estimates.

The stock is down 4.7% since the results and currently trades at $166.17.

Read our full analysis of Texas Instruments's results here.

Impinj (NASDAQ:PI)

Founded by Caltech professor Carver Mead and one of his students Chris Diorio, Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) is a maker of radio-frequency identification (RFID) hardware and software.

Impinj reported revenues of $70.65 million, down 7.8% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 1.5%. It was a decent quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its inventory levels but a decline in its operating margin.

The stock is up 14.2% since the results and currently trades at $121.63.

Read our full, actionable report on Impinj here, it's free.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR)

Founded in 1997 by its longtime CEO Michael Hsing, Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) is an analog and mixed signal chipmaker that specializes in power management chips meant to minimize total energy consumption.

Monolithic Power Systems reported revenues of $454 million, down 1.3% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its inventory levels but a decline in its gross margin.

The stock is down 0.6% since the results and currently trades at $641.39.

Read our full, actionable report on Monolithic Power Systems here, it's free.

Join Paid Stock Investor Research

Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here.