While I am not a financial analyst, as a tech analyst, I make a habit of tuning into many tech companies’ quarterly earnings reports. It really is “ground truth” for companies as they’re under the scrutiny of the SEC and investors. I make myself available for comments and questions from the media, but it’s rare that I feel moved enough to write an entire column on a company’s quarter. That said, Synaptics’ Q4-2021 earnings report was special enough to warrant a more in-depth analysis in my opinion. The company is really the bellwether high-end for IoT and I had the chance to chat with Synaptics CEO Michael Hurlston to get a deeper dive.

Background

To make sense of the company’s latest financials, it’s worth looking at Synaptics’ journey since its 1986 founding. Though the company originally distinguished itself as a manufacturer of computer trackpads, fingerprint readers and other biometric interfaces, its purview has expanded dramatically to include the likes of the IoT, mobile and automotive sectors. Amongst other things, it now builds touch controllers for car console displays, audio processors, neural network accelerators and video interfaces.

The company found itself floundering in the late 2010s, from an operational and market standpoint, trading below its value and struggling with its gross margins. I believe Synaptics has done a good job of refocusing under the recent leadership of Hurlston, developing product roadmaps and streamlining its portfolio to take full advantage of its impressive library of IP. Synaptics has even revamped its logo over the last few years, in case you hadn’t noticed.

For full article