News: Microelectronics
5 February 2026
Skyworks’ continuing revenue growth in Broad Markets counteracts seasonal decline in Mobile
For its fiscal first-quarter 2026 (ended 2 January), Skyworks Solutions Inc of Irvine, CA, USA (which manufactures analog and mixed-signal semiconductors) has reported revenue of $1.035bn, down 5.9% on $1.1bn last quarter and 3.1% on $1.068bn a year ago. However, it exceeded the $0.975–1.025bn forecast, driven by upside in both Mobile and Broad Markets.
Comprising 62% of total revenue, Mobile product revenue was higher than expected (compared with the expected low- to mid-teens sequential decline), due to continued healthy sell-through and strong operational execution on new product launches at Skyworks’ largest customer (which comprised about 67% of total company revenue).
Broad Markets revenue grew for an eighth consecutive quarter, up 4% sequentially and 11% year-on-year (better than the expected mid- to high-single-digit growth), driven by growth across edge IoT, data-center and cloud infrastructure, and automotive. Broad Markets remains a key growth engine for the company, growing faster than the corporate average. “Our products are designed into high-growth areas across a wide range of end-markets, including connected vehicles, enterprise infrastructure, satellite communications, data-center networking, and emerging edge AI applications,” says CEO & president Phil Brace. “This breadth supports durability and reduces reliance on any single program,” he adds.
“We delivered results above our expectations for the fourth consecutive quarter, with outperformance across revenue, gross margin, and non-GAAP earnings,” notes Brace.
On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 46.6%, up slightly on 46.5% both last quarter and a year ago.
Operating expenses were $230m, at the low end of the guidance range, reflecting disciplined cost control while continuing to invest in priority growth areas.
Net income is down $258.3m ($1.60 per diluted share) a year ago and $263.7m ($1.76 per diluted share) last quarter to $232.2m ($1.54 per diluted share, although this is $0.14 above the expected $1.40).
Operating cash flow was $395.5m (up from just $200m last quarter). Capital expenditure was $56.5m. Free cash flow was hence $339m (free cash flow margin of 32.7%), up from just $144m (13.1% margin) last quarter. During the quarter, Skyworks paid $106m in quarterly dividends.
Cash and cash equivalents consequently rose from $1.161bn to $1.55bn, whereas debt remains about $1bn, “maintaining a strong balance sheet and ample flexibility to support strategic and financial priorities,” says chief financial officer & senior VP Philip Carter.
Business highlights of fiscal Q1/2026 are cited as:
- advanced Wi-Fi 7 design wins supporting enterprise access points, networking, and home connectivity platforms with customers including Comcast, Verizon, and TP-Link;
- expanded automotive connectivity programs, broadening in-vehicle infotainment and 5G module deployments with Volkswagen, BYD, and other leading OEMs;
- strengthened Skyworks’ 5G position in premium Android smartphones, including Samsung’s Galaxy S26;
- announced the industry’s first highly integrated Wi-SUN/LoRaWAN RF front-end modules (FEM) for smart home and smart city applications; and
- unveiled next-generation isolation solutions for high-voltage AI server power supplies and advanced electric vehicle (EV) architectures.
March-quarter outlook: further year-on-year growth in Broad Markets to counteract seasonal dip in Mobile
For fiscal second-quarter 2026 (to end-March quarter), Skyworks expects revenue to fall to $875–925m, with Mobile down 20% sequentially (consistent with historical seasonality) and Broad Markets flat sequentially but up by high-single-digits year-on-year (rising to 44% of total revenue).
Reflecting seasonally lower volume, gross margin is expected to fall to 44.5–45.5%.
Operating expenses should be $230–240m, as the firm continues to fund key R&D initiatives while maintaining tight control over discretionary spending.
At the $900m mid-point of the revenue range, diluted earnings per share is expected to fall to $1.04.
Skyworks’ board of directors has also declared a cash dividend of $0.71 per share, payable on 17 March, to stockholders of record at the close of business on 24 February.
Trends in Mobile and Broad Markets
In Mobile, smartphone replacement cycles, while still lengthy, are beginning to shorten. “This trend is driving increased unit growth, as consumers upgrade more frequently, especially with the rise of new AI-capable devices and more integrated features,” says Brace. “At our top customer, we successfully defended key mobile sockets and gained content where architecture changes created opportunities,” he adds. “We remain bullish on the long-term drivers of RF content supported by accelerated replacement cycles coupled with rising RF complexity tied to AI-driven workloads, and higher performance requirements.”
Regarding Broad Markets, in edge IoT, Wi-Fi 7 momentum continues to build, supported by bandwidth-intensive applications in the home and workplace. “Wi-Fi 7’s higher throughput, lower latency and reliability position it as an important enabler as AI inference move closer to the edge. Design-win activity remains strong, backlog is healthy, and we’re already engaged with customers on early Wi-Fi 8 programs, positioning us well for the next cycle,” says Brace.
“Automotive demand remains solid, driven by increased connectivity across telematics, infotainment and software-defined vehicle architectures. Our pipeline is broad, global and aligned with long-cycle platforms across multiple OEMs and tiers, giving us good visibility into fiscal 2026,” he adds.
“In data center and infrastructure, demand signals are improving across our customer base, supported by increasing design-win activity. Timing and power-management content is expanding as the ecosystem transitions to next-generation 800G and emerging 1.6Tb architectures. We are seeing higher activity particularly with cloud and networking customers that require tighter timing accuracy, improved power performance, and better synchronization across high-bandwidth systems,” Brace continues.
“Broad Markets continues to expand its reach across a more diversified set of customers while consistently delivering margins above the corporate average. The demand drivers across these end markets are long-cycle and multi-year, positioning the business well as we move into fiscal 2026 and beyond.”
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