Not all AI semiconductor stocks are buys.
Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS -16.27%), maker of power chips for charging electric devices, tumbled 15.2% through 10:30 a.m. ET Tuesday despite fulfilling analyst predictions in its second-quarter earnings report last night.
Heading into the report, analysts forecast Navitas would lose $0.05 per share — and it did. They also predicted sales would be about $14.4 million; Navitas reported nearly $14.5 million in sales. All of which sounds fine to me, so why is the stock down so much today?
Image source: Getty Images.
Navitas’ Q2 earnings
Turning to the report itself, here’s what you’ll find: Revenue may have met expectations, but it was still down more than 29% year over year. And although Navitas met expectations on earnings (i.e., losses) as well, the nickel it says it lost in the quarter was only a non-GAAP (adjusted) number. Earnings as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), in contrast, showed a loss of $0.25 per share.
That’s twice the sum Navitas lost per share a year ago. It’s also 5 times the $0.05-per-share loss Wall Street is talking about.
Is Navitas stock a sell?
Management tried to put a brave face on this miserable result, with CEO Gene Sheridan insisting that “despite industrywide headwinds [he is] pleased with our teams’ Q2 performance,” and continuing to focus on making chips for the popular artificial intelligence and energy sectors.
Meanwhile, though, the business keeps shrinking. Management forecast sales in Q3 will be only $10 million and, even non-GAAP, the company expects to continue losing money — and probably not just in Q3. According to analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, losses will continue as far as the eye can see, to 2028 at least, and probably beyond.
It’s hard for me to recommend buying a stock like that.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
