Good day and welcome to the CEVA Inc. First Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. After today’s presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note today’s event is being recorded. I would now like to send a conference over to Richard Kingston, Vice President of Market Intelligence and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning everyone and welcome to CEVA's first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Amir Panush, Chief Executive Officer; and Yaniv Arieli, Chief Financial Officer of CEVA. Before handing over to Amir, I would like to remind everyone that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties as well as assumptions that, if they materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of CEVA to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our strategy and growth opportunities, market positioning, trends and dynamics, including with respect to significantly expanding market share in wireless communication IP and momentum in diversifying our royalty customer base; expectations regarding demand for and benefits of our technologies and revenues; expectations regarding technology innovations, including timelines to revenue generation, our sales pipeline, and backlog; and our financial goals and guidance regarding future performance. CEVA assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information which speaks as of their respective dates. We will also be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe provide a more meaningful analysis of our core operating results and comparison of quarterly results. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures is included in the earnings release we issued this morning and in the SEC filing section of our investor's relations website. With that said, I'd like to turn the call over to Amir who will review our business performance for the quarter and provide some insight into our ongoing business. Amir?

Thank you, Richard. Welcome everyone and thank you for joining us today. In the quarter, we delivered solid progress in our licensing business, reinforcing our long-term growth strategy, and expanding our customer engagement across all of our targeted use cases: connect, sense, and infer, enabling edge AI. Royalty revenue fell short of expectations due to the combination of soft low-cost smartphone shipments and an industrial customer who had a slower product ramp-up than in the prior year. However, by implementing cost control measures, we mitigated some of the revenue impact and achieved profitability close to non-GAAP EPS consensus. Importantly, our design wins this quarter not only strengthened our long-standing partnerships with key connectivity customers but also expanded our footprint with new customers embracing our sensing and edge AI IPs, laying a strong foundation for future growth. Total revenue for the quarter came in at $24.2 million, up 10% year-over-year. Licensing revenue was $150 million with 11 bills concluded in the quarter, including a number of notable strategic games, which I will elaborate on now in the context of the three use cases that underpin our business. Connectivity serves as the foundational pillar of edge AI, enabling seamless communication between devices and data centers. For this use case, we have solidified our market leadership position by securing several strategic agreements with multiple key Bluetooth and Wi-Fi customers, reinforcing our position in the long term. One of our current highest volume customers who has a well-established global customer base and who is already shipping in volume single and multi-protocol combo chips based on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6 IP has selected our Wi-Fi 7 IP for its next-generation products, demonstrating the trust and long-term partnership with us. In addition to this customer, we also signed a new long-term Wi-Fi 6 deal with another high-volume customer, a Bluetooth 6 Wi-Fi 6 combo deal with a top 10 MCU vendor, and next-generation Bluetooth deals with two of our leading audio customers as they continue to expand their connectivity offerings based on CEVA's market-leading technology. The second pillar enabling Edge AI is the sensing use case, which includes inputs and outputs that help devices better understand their surroundings and deliver enhanced user experiences, such as improved audio performance. For this use case, we secured multiple deals, most notably an agreement for our RealSpace spatial audio software, which will be integrated into professional headsets and other audio devices from a leading PC OEM. This marks a significant milestone as it validates the quality and robustness of our spatial audio software solution. After sensing data about the environment, inferencing such data enables devices to better interpret their environment and proactively suggest appropriate courses of action. For this use case, we signed an important deal for our high-performance NeuPro-M Edge AI NPU with Nextchip, a Korean automotive semiconductor for their next-generation ADAS solutions. Let me explain a bit more about this use case and why we were selected. The overall performance and safety of ADAS systems continue to rapidly advance thanks to cutting-edge advancements in AI, such as vision transformers. Vision transformers are a way for AI to analyze an image holistically as opposed to traditional convolution neural networks that analyze images pixel by pixel. This brings significant benefits and superior performance for ADAS vision systems, including object recognition, segmentation, and free space detection in complex scenes. The NeuPro-M supports vision transformers, coupled with its ability to process multiple video streams and AI models, all in parallel, making it ideal for next-generation ADAS systems. We are currently engaged in multiple discussions related to AI inferencing using our NeuPro NPU family, including several automotive players for their next-generation platforms that require processor upgrades to support these latest AI advancements and techniques. In royalties, while overall revenue declined for the reasons previously mentioned, shipment volume remains strong, and we remain very positive about the long-term potential of our royalty business. Also, we have several notable achievements that highlight other royalty drivers for the business. In this regard, I'm pleased to share that we received the first royalty report from a leading US OEM using our technology in their in-house 5G model. As I discussed on our last earnings call, we anticipate this customer will significantly expand our market share in wireless communication IP and generate a meaningful long-term royalty stream in the years to come. Additionally, our Wi-Fi royalties grew 183% year-over-year from a 12% increase in unit shipments. This growth was driven by a favorable product mix shift towards Wi-Fi 6, which commands a higher royalty ASP compared to previous generations. This is a strong indicator that our Wi-Fi 6 customers are continuing to gain traction, particularly in the consumer and industrial IoT markets. All in all, our first quarter licensing performance and continued momentum in diversifying our royalty customer base reinforce the success of our transformation into a highly diversified IP powerhouse. We serve a broad range of end markets with a portfolio of high-value products and solutions that enable any smart edge device to connect, send, and infer data. As a reminder, success in the IP licensing business is measured over a horizon of several years. The innovations and technologies our engineers are designing today will reach commercial products and begin to generate royalties within three to five years. This long cycle view underpins how we think and manage our business and shape our strategy focused on accumulated and sustained value creation over time. Our priorities remain clear. Continue innovating for our customers, deepen our technology leadership, and build a strong future loyalty stream while managing expenses with discipline. I'm confident in our ability to navigate the short-term volatility while focusing on our mission to be the IT partner of choice for companies building smart edge devices that connect and infer data. Now, I will turn the call over to Yaniv for the financials.

Thank you, Amir. Good morning. I'll now start by reviewing the results of our operations for the first quarter of 2025. Revenue for the first quarter increased 10% to $24.2 million as compared to $22.2 million from the same quarter last year. A revenue breakdown is as follows; licensing and related revenues increased 32% to $15 million, reflecting 62% of our total revenues, and compared to $11.4 million for the first quarter of 2024. Royalty revenue decreased 14% to $9.2 million, reflecting 38% of our total revenue, down from $10.7 million for the same core last year. Quarterly gross margins came in 1% lower than forecasted and guided, at 86% on GAAP and 87% on non-GAAP. If you recall, we discussed the allocation of design activities for the strategic customer in the satellite modem space. So some R&D costs for these efforts are presented in the cost of revenue and not in the R&D expense line. Total gross operating expenses for the first quarter was at the low end of our guidance range at $25.1 million. Total non-GAAP operating expenses for the first quarter, excluding equity-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible and deal costs, were $20.7 million, below the low end of our guidance and similar to last year's level. GAAP operating loss for the first quarter was $4.4 million, down from a GAAP operating loss of $5 million in the same quarter a year ago. Non-GAAP operating margin income was 1% of revenue and $0.3 million, compared to an operating loss margin of 4% and an operating loss of $0.8 million recorded for the first quarter of 2024, respectively. Expense monitoring contributed to partially offset lower than expected total revenues. Financial income was $2.1 million, compared to $1.3 million of income for the first quarter of 2024, significantly higher than our estimates from the prior year. This is due to a significant increase in the value of the euro versus the US dollar for the first quarter of over 7%, impacting the value of our euro dominated assets, especially French tax receivables. GAAP and non-GAAP taxes were approximately $1 million, slightly lower than our guidance and affected by the geography of the revenue recognized for deals and the royalty revenues. GAAP net loss for the first quarter was $3.3 million, and diluted loss per share was $0.14 as compared to a net loss of $5.4 million and diluted loss per share of $0.23 for the first quarter of 2024. Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2025 was $1.4 million or $0.06, respectively, as compared to a net loss of $1.3 million and diluted loss per share of $0.05 reported for the same period last year. With respect to other related data shipped units by CEVA licensees during the first quarter of 2025 were 420 million units, up 13% from the shipments reported in the first quarter of 2024. Of the 420 million units reported, 49 million or 12% were for mobile handset modems. 337 million units were for consumer IoT markets, up 19% from 284 million units in the first quarter of 2024. 34 million units were for Industrial IoT markets, up 26% from 27 million in the first quarter of 2024. Bluetooth shipments were 233 million units in the quarter, up 15% from 202 million in the first quarter of 2024. Cellular IoT shipments were 48 million units, up 31% year-over-year. Wi-Fi shipments were 35 million units, up 12% from 31 million units a year ago. Wi-Fi royalties, however, were up 183% year-over-year due to a strong contribution from Wi-Fi 6 shipments, which carry a higher ASP than older Wi-Fi 4 and Wi-Fi 5 standards. Overall, royalties were below our expectations primarily due to slower smartphone shipments for the low-cost smartphone markets and an industrial customer who had a slower product ramp-up than a year ago. As for the balance sheet items, as of the end of March, CEVA’s cash and cash equivalent balances, marketable securities and bank deposits were approximately $158 million. Our DSO for the first quarter of 2025 was 54 days, similar to our prior quarters. During the first quarter, we used $7 million cash from operating activities; ongoing depreciation and amortization was $0.9 million, and the purchase of fixed assets was $0.3 million. At the end of the first quarter, our headcount was 435 people, of whom 354 were engineers. Now for the guidance. As we discussed in our prepared remarks, our licensing business continues to perform well, with robust interest in our edge AI portfolio and continued expansion of our wireless leadership. In royalties, we highlighted a US smartphone OEM that reported its first 5G modem royalties to us in the quarter and the ASP uplift in Wi-Fi 6 as our customers' volume shipments increase. As for the global macro environment and tariffs, while we don’t see any direct impact from tariffs, the indirect impact on consumer demand, among other factors, has increased the uncertainty about the year. Given these evolving dynamics, as well as our lower-than-anticipated revenues for the first quarter, we are adopting a more cautious outlook for the rest of the year, lowering 2025 revenue guidance from a high-single digits range to a low-single digits range for growth over 2024 annual revenues. On the expense side, we are lowering our overall expense levels—COGS, revenues and OPEX—from the range of 2% to 6% over 2024 to in-line with 2024 or $96 million to $100 million, with non-GAAP OPEX slightly lower than 2024. Based on these changes, we anticipate a double-digit percentage increase in non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margins, non-GAAP net income, and fully diluted non-GAAP EPS relative to 2024, but at a lower percentage than our earlier guidance. Specifically for the second quarter of 2025, on royalties, we expect sequential growth due to the seasonality and expansion of the CEVA-powered 5G smartphone modem in the second quarter and beyond. Total revenue is forecasted to be $23.7 million to $27.7 million. CEVA's margin is expected to be similar to the first quarter we just reported. We forecast approximately 86% on a non-GAAP basis and 87% on a GAAP basis, excluding an aggregate of $0.1 million for equity-based compensation expenses, the amortization of acquired intangibles, and costs associated with business acquisitions. Non-GAAP OpEx for the second quarter of 2025 is expected to be similar to the first quarter level and in the range of $20.3 million to $21.3 million, also lower than the second quarter of 2024 OpEx level. Net interest income is expected to be approximately $1.3 million. Taxes for the second quarter are expected to be approximately $1.2 million and the share count for the second quarter is expected to be 25.6 million shares.

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. The first question comes from Kevin Cassidy from Rosenblatt Securities. Please go ahead.

Yes. Thanks for taking my question. Congratulations on the AI NPU ADAS win, but can you say whether this was just a win with a tier one supplier or does the tier one supplier have a program at an automotive OEM that's secured?

Kevin, thanks for the question. First, this is a very important design for us with the new program. This is really validating the technology and maturity to go all the way into the ADAS automotive market segment, and we believe that this will propel significant additional designs as we go into the rest of the year. Specifically to your question, this is with the ones they already have secured as OEM customers, but it is not going to go into only one specific OEM; rather it will be part of the next-generation platform that will be utilized.

Okay. Great. Congratulations, and you showed great increase with the transition to Wi-Fi 6 with Wi-Fi 7 designs being one. Now, is there a similar, I guess, increase in ASPs with Wi-Fi 7 or is it even greater than the transition from 5 to 6?

Yes. Thanks for the question, Kevin. So a few things here to unpack and talk about the whole licensing quarter and the impact for us moving forward in the long term. So first, we are really happy to see multiple of our customers that have licensed the previous generation now adding either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or the combination, and we have two new deals for the Bluetooth Wi-Fi 6 combination this quarter. But also, we are very happy to see one of our high volume customers of Wi-Fi 4 that is already migrating to Wi-Fi 6 now licensing Wi-Fi 7 from us. Again, this is a great testimony to see how our customers trust our technology and how we are expanding our leadership position in the marketplace, specifically illustrated from the numbers this quarter. While the volume shipments grew by about 12% year-over-year, the revenue grew by more than 180%. This growth is contributed to the transition from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 6. So with that migration, we will see a significant uplift in the average ASP. On top of that, as customers will migrate in volume production to Wi-Fi 7, we expect to see another uplift. But of course, those designs and production volumes will come later in the future years. So already through 2025 and as we discussed also 2026 and beyond, we will see tremendous increases in volume as well as average ASP for Wi-Fi, following the transition to Wi-Fi 6. And on top of that, Wi-Fi 7 will generate further uplift.

Okay, great. Thank you.

The next question comes from David O’Connor from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Yeah, great. Good morning, thanks for taking my questions. Maybe just to carry on from Kevin's question there just on the new ADAS win. Amir, can you give us a sense of the competitive environments around that? What other types of solutions were the customer looking at? Was it kind of internal or other off-the-shelf solutions, and what key metrics enabled you to get that design win over the line? I have another follow-up, thanks.

Yeah, definitely, David. So if we look overall at the market right now for AI NPU high-end solutions for the edge, what is happening is really a migration to the more advanced models using transformers in that specific case, vision transformers. But for the edge, it really requires a combination of extremely power-efficient solutions, as well as smaller size or cost structure. Very importantly for automotive, it requires extremely low latency. The reaction and ability to interpret the data need to be very, very quick, in nanoseconds or milliseconds. Our technology excels in those metrics as we put them together, coming from our ability and history in edge devices and low-power devices. On top of that, it is really the combination of the hardware and the software integrated and scalable to go into the different tiers of performance that those customers need. As I mentioned for the last several quarters, we have built a scalable architecture for NPU that can go from several tops all the way to hundreds of tops. With that, all the software stack is supported, and I think this gives us a great advantage in the market. I strongly believe that you will see more and more design wins of our NeuPro AI NPU in the marketplace this year and through the quarters.

That’s very helpful. Great color there…

Sorry, David, one last comment. Just to remind everyone, we talked about two other customers that are already ramping right now in 2025 based on our Vision AI DSP technology. So not only are we winning designs, but we will also see a royalty ramp this year.

Awesome. Thank you, Amir, for that. Maybe just another question. Just on the softness you saw in the kind of low end of the smartphone market. Was that anything tariff related, in your view? Was it kind of customer product transition? Is that just a one-quarter impact? Do you expect that to recover? Any color on that lower end of the market that stands out to you guys? And I have one last follow-up.

Yes, David, great question. Let me unpack what happened in Q1 related to our smartphone customers and overall how we see the market. Overall, yes, in Q1, we saw a slower start than what we expected. The seasonality of this customer from Q4 to Q1 dropped more than we anticipated, due to some of the supply chain activities that needed to be addressed in Q1. However, after my discussions with the customers and my understanding of the market, I believe these customers will be able to ramp on a quarterly sequential volume basis, doing very well and aligning with what we've seen in 2024. Overall, we anticipate customers to contribute nicely, the same as we saw in 2024. One last piece I will mention is that this customer ships the majority of the volume worldwide outside the US, so we don't expect a direct impact of tariffs on this customer. With that, we expect a nice ramp through the year.

That's very helpful. Thank you for that. And maybe just one for Yaniv, just on the licensing pipeline, how would you describe that? I know you've given guidance for the year, but through Q1, are you seeing an acceleration in terms of design activity? Any change in customer behavior, perhaps pushing out design decisions? Anything along those lines, with an eye on tariffs and macro concerns in the background? Any color around that activity and momentum would be appreciated. Thank you.

Sure. So it's a good question. I think this is a concern that's around many companies in the technology space. We haven't seen any decisions in the first quarter or postponing deals or decisions because of the macro. Obviously, this is a concern that is out there, which is why we've decided to take a more cautious approach for the rest of the year. In theory, things like that can happen. When we guide, we don’t break out the licensing and the royalties; we don't have the crystal ball ahead of the beginning of the quarter. But the level that we just reported, and if you look at Q3 and Q4 of last year, the average of the first and second quarter of last year, this is a decent range that we want to continue with our licensing activity. Obviously, if things look better, then maybe we could pick up the pace. If different players in the industry express concerns due to macro, this may affect licensing decisions, but we haven't seen that happen per se.

The other thing, David, I will add on that, is that we also see opportunities as an IP supplier, thanks to localization and the need to have the technology within those specific regions. Yes, on the mix, there's risk of headwinds due to market softness from tariffs and consumer demand. But there are also tailwinds from customers looking to have their technology and road map for licensing.

Very helpful color. Thank you, guys.

The next question comes from Chris Reimer from Barclays. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. I'm sorry if this was asked already. I was cut off earlier and didn't hear the first part of the question. I'm just wondering about the gross margin and this one design customer that you mentioned. Can you give us an idea of maybe what percent that actually is of the overall? And how long do you expect to continue with the extra allocation there?

Sure. So last year, we talked about a few designs with 5G Advanced solutions, very high-end, and sophisticated for many new use cases. Some are satellites, and some are base stations. Not necessarily, those new customers and spaces know how to deal with the modem or build the right use case efficiently. One of the advantages we offer is customization and assistance in design activity to adapt from an off-the-shelf type of modem to something that matches their specific use case. We have a group of engineers dedicated to that project, which typically lasts a couple of quarters, anywhere from one to two years. In the first quarter of last year, we recorded a 90% gross margin of about $2.2 million, then around $2.5 to $2.6 million in the following quarter. That clean quarter would likely see a million dollars or more above. This is partially the allocation from R&D; it doesn't change the overall cost of the company, just records some of these efforts for a specific customer. This is one of the advantages in advanced technologies like 5G Advanced, to win new business because, otherwise, they would not have taken that risk of such a complicated design. And you may see a 1% or 2% lower margins now and then but this maintains an IT business model with a nine-year plus gross margin percent. If design requirements and services are completed, we return to the R&D line, focusing those costs on new technologies.

The other thing I will add on top of that is that all the customization and enhanced features we are building, they are all our IP, and we can leverage that with other customers as well. So while there's a short-term potential dip in margins, this effort helps us secure high-end sockets, drive long-term royalties, and advance overall technology.

Great, thanks. That's really great color. And just touching on shipments, you mentioned the slowness in the smartphone market and that the customer would begin ramping up. So, given your reduced outlook, are there any other areas you're concerned about, or is it just an overall proactive conservatism?

There are two aspects to that question. One, as Amir explained, the low-cost smartphone is a bit slower at the beginning of the year, but we believe it's just a timing issue. We anticipate a ramp-up in the second quarter, and Q3 and Q4 usually follow a trend we've seen for many years. Q1 usually has the lowest numbers for a long period, and then it ramps up to the highest number by Q4. The other design win is ramping into production now, and we will report that on a full quarterly basis soon. Q2 is expected to have higher numbers since our guidance reflects sequential growth from Q1 to Q2, implying this will continue with new designs later in the year.

Yes, I'll expand on that further. In Q1, we were pleased to see solid licensing execution, solidifying our leadership in wireless communication and AI. While royalties were below expectations due to two customers, we anticipate in the mobile handset sector that revenue will pick up through the year. The demand for new customers overall is gaining market share, so overall, mobile performance is a strong payment for us this year. Additionally, our Wi-Fi 6 discussions continue with significant volume ramping up in ASP, which are essential for strategy. Considering Q1 came short of expectations on the top line and due to the changing macro environment since last call three months ago, we've taken a cautious approach and lowered the growth guidance. However, we still expect growth. Our technologies and potential for growth remain strong, but we cannot ignore the market sentiment and a Q1 that came lower than expected in top line guidance.

Got it. Thanks a lot for the color. That's it for me.

Thank you, Chris.

There's a follow-up question from Kevin Cassidy from Rosenblatt. Please go ahead.

Yes. Thanks for taking my follow-up. Just as far as customer behavior goes, investors got into a bit of a panic about DeepSeek and these smaller LLMs that are coming into the market. Can you say how that's changing your demand for your NPU IP?

Yes. Thanks for the question. Actually, this transition is great for us for AI. We've seen success and growth mostly in the cloud for several years, and that will keep growing very nicely in the coming years. But the transition from running the models on the cloud to running them on the edge hasn't truly started yet. Now that's beginning and moving into the next few years. Models like DeepSeek are indicative of this trend, enabling our future growth in the marketplace. We believe we will witness a major transition, where smartphones, tablets, automotive systems, and other smart edge devices will integrate more AI or NPU capabilities.

Okay, great. Thanks for…

The next question comes from Suji Desilva from ROTH Capital. Please go ahead.

Hi Amir. Hi Yaniv. Can you talk about, given all the macro and tariff uncertainty, if you're seeing any impact in the licensing environment, if you're seeing any programs that were underway being pushed, or if the activity remains unimpacted so far?

Thanks, Suji, for the question. Just to clarify, we don't see direct impacts of tariffs in terms of taxes or licensing technology. The indirect demand has been strong in Q1. We've closed a good number of deals as well as strategic deals for us. We have a very good pipeline for Q2 and the rest of the year, with no decrease in pipeline observed. However, customers are overall a bit more cautious, expressing uncertainty about future developments. This is why we have decided to guide lower for the year. We haven't seen impacts on existing programs.

I appreciate the candid response. Then looking at your Royalty units and Wi-Fi, are those ramps tracking to follow the success and share growth you’ve had with Bluetooth? Is there any impact there as well, or are those programs coming to market?

Actually, we are extremely encouraged; we have licensed to numerous customers our Wi-Fi 6 technology, and many are ramping into volume production. We are on track to achieve our Wi-Fi ramp goals in the coming years. The competitive landscape indicates that we are becoming not only the de facto IP supplier for Bluetooth, but also for Wi-Fi, with a transition to Wi-Fi 6 and subsequently to Wi-Fi 7.

Okay, very good. Thanks Amir. Thanks everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you, Danielle. Thank you, everybody. As a reminder, the prepared remarks of this Conference Call are filed as an exhibit to the current report on Form 8-K and accessible through the investor section of our website. With regards to upcoming events, we will be participating in the following conferences: the JPMorgan 53rd Annual Global Technology Media and Communications Conference, May 13 and 14 in Boston; Oppenheimer 26th Annual Israeli Conference, May 18 in Tel Aviv; the Stifel Boston Cross Sector One-on-One Conference, June 3rd and 4th in Boston; the Rosenblatt Fifth Annual Technology Summit, The Age of AI on June 10th being held virtually; the 15th Annual Roth London Conference, June 24th and 25th in London; and the Northland Growth Conference 2025 on June 25th, also being held virtually. For information on these events and all events we will be participating in, it can be found on the investor section of our website. Thank you and goodbye.

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.