Licensing & related revenue $17.8M, strongest licensing quarter in 3 years, up 18% YoY (CEO), (CFO). Royalty revenue $9.2M, flat YoY; non-mobile royalties grew 8% (CFO). Total revenue $27M, up 11% YoY (CFO).
Non-GAAP gross margin 87% (CFO). Non-GAAP operating margin 2% of revenues, operating income $0.5M (CFO). Non-GAAP net income $1.1M, diluted EPS $0.04 (CFO). GAAP net loss $4.5M, diluted loss per share $0.16 (CFO).
Units shipped: 458M CEVA-powered devices, up 9% YoY; Wi-Fi shipments record 91M units, up 158% YoY; Bluetooth 206M units; Cellular IoT 66M units, up 38% YoY (CFO).
Key wins: 14 licensing agreements signed, including 3 strategically important deals: Bluetooth HDT solution for a leading US semiconductor company; satellite OEM expanded from DSP cores to baseband processing; next-gen UWB platform win with a major US MCU provider (CEO).
AI: >20% of licensing and related revenues from AI; 2 new AI licensing agreements; Renesas R-Car V4H in production in 2026 Toyota RAV4 (first mass volume automotive AI deployment); NXP collaboration on S32E2/S32Z2 processors (CEO).
"We exceeded our expectations on both revenues and non-GAAP EPS, including licensing and related revenues of $17.8 million, our strongest licensing quarter in 3 years." (CEO)
"We believe that moving to a full stack solution increases value per design for CEVA through higher licensing fees and greater royalty content." (CEO)
"We are seeing a structural shift towards hybrid AI, where inference is increasingly moving to the device while more complex processing remains in the cloud." (CEO)
"We now expect non-GAAP operating margins and non-GAAP net income to increase by 40% to 50% year-over-year, which is above our prior expectations." (CFO)
"Wi-Fi shipments reached an all-time high in the quarter, driven by record Wi-Fi 6 volumes, highlighting the continuing expansion of this market." (CEO)
Prepared Metrics
Metric
Value
Speaker/Context
Total Revenue
$27M, +11% YoY
(CFO)
Licensing & Related Revenue
$17.8M, +18% YoY
(CFO), (CEO)
Royalty Revenue
$9.2M, flat YoY
(CFO)
Non-GAAP Gross Margin
87%
(CFO)
Non-GAAP Operating Income
$0.5M (2% margin)
(CFO)
Non-GAAP Net Income
$1.1M
(CFO)
Non-GAAP Diluted EPS
$0.04
(CFO)
GAAP Net Loss
-$4.5M, -$0.16/share
(CFO)
Units Shipped (total)
458M, +9% YoY
(CFO)
Wi-Fi Units
91M (record), +158% YoY
(CFO)
Cellular IoT Units
66M, +38% YoY
(CFO)
Cash & Equivalents
~$216M
(CFO)
Q2 2026 Revenue Guidance
$26M–$30M
(CFO)
FY 2026 Revenue Growth Guidance
Top end of 8%–12% range
(CFO)
FY 2026 Non-GAAP Op Income/Net Income Growth Guidance
+40%–50% YoY
(CFO)
Q&A Batch (1-5 of 7)
Q1 — Ruben Roy
Topic: Bluetooth HDT RF win, value per design, and second-half outlook
Key points:
Win is a full system solution from antenna to full stack/software, including internally developed RF (investment over last 1–2 years).
Royalty is "meaningfully higher" than sum of individual components; customers get faster time-to-market and shift from internal development to CEVA solutions.
Q1 results strong despite weak mobile (memory allocation/inventory utilization); IoT less impacted by memory; second-half expected stronger due to seasonality and premium-tier market share gains.
Historical trend: second-half royalty shipments ~40% sequential growth vs. first half over last 3 years.
Mgmt stance: Bullish — excited about RF win momentum, expects more wins in 2026 and beyond; well-positioned to navigate memory/macro challenges.
Q2 — Sujeeva De Silva
Topic: Cross-selling across connect, sense, infer; Wi-Fi and UWB attach curves
Key points:
Multiple customers licensing multiple technologies (connect + infer, or all three: connect, sense, infer); Lenovo ramping 3D spatial audio (sense) alongside wireless connectivity.
Wi-Fi reached all-time record high volume in Q1 2026; expects Wi-Fi shipments to exceed $0.5 billion; transition from Wi-Fi 4/6 to Wi-Fi 7 and combos.
Bluetooth/Wi-Fi combo chip volume doubled year-over-year in Q1; combo chips counted as combo (not Bluetooth), with higher ASPs.
UWB: newer technology, major license deal with a U.S. customer; penetration starting in smartphones, expanding to edge devices.
Mgmt stance: Bullish — Wi-Fi ramp strong and accelerating; UWB expected to follow similar penetration path as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Q3 — Unknown Analyst (Samik)
Topic: Wi-Fi Q1 strength, seasonality, and capital allocation/M&A
Key points:
Q1 Wi-Fi revenue of $91 million (strong despite typical seasonal downtick); driven by migration from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 6 and new customers ramping (30+ Wi-Fi license agreements in last 2–3 years).
Second-half Wi-Fi expected stronger than first half due to seasonality and new customer volume ramps (both industrial and consumer).
Mgmt stance: Bullish — Wi-Fi still in ramp-up phase; M&A pipeline active, expects to discuss progress through the year.
Q4 — Gary Mobley
Topic: RF subsystem process node scope and license pipeline
Key points:
Links200 RF subsystem previously on TSMC 12nm; strategy is to support multiple process nodes and foundries, but not all permutations; confident in covering majority of market needs.
License pipeline trends: more repeat customers (generation-to-generation), more multi-technology licenses, and more solution-based licensing (higher value/economics).
Licensing business expected to show good growth in 2026; pipeline supports that view.
Mgmt stance: Bullish — confident in RF subsystem scalability and licensing pipeline momentum.
Q5 — Joshua Buchalter
Topic: Edge AI/CPU adoption, NPU portfolio, and second-half outlook specifics
Key points:
Hybrid AI model moving to edge is encouraging; CEVA's connect, sense, infer IP complements any CPU architecture (RISC-V or others); NPU portfolio positioned as accelerator.
Second-half outlook: built top-down with seasonality (Christmas, new product launches); no specific customer feedback on memory headwinds yet; includes estimates for large North American smartphone OEM (modem-based IP).
Guidance raised to top of previous 8%–12% annual range; supported by combo chips (higher ASPs), automotive AI (NXP, Renesas), 5G networks, and U.S. OEM opportunities.
Mgmt stance: Bullish — edge AI tailwinds positive; second-half outlook promising despite memory uncertainties.