Earnings Call Transcript - LSCC Q4 2020

Operator, Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by for Lattice Semiconductor’s Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Results Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later we will conduct a question-and-answer session. A replay will be available approximately 2 hours after the call today. The replay dial-in number is 404-537-3406. The conference ID number is 4589457. The replay will also be accessible on Lattice’s website at www.lscc.com. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Rick Muscha, Lattice Semiconductor’s Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Rick Muscha, Director of Investor Relations

Thank you, Operator, and good afternoon, everyone. With me today are Jim Anderson, Lattice’s President and CEO; and Sherri Luther, Lattice’s CFO. We’ll provide a financial and business review of the fourth quarter of 2020 and the business outlook for the first quarter of 2021. If you have not obtained a copy of our earnings press release, it can be found at our company website in the Investor Relations section at latticesemi.com. I would like to remind everyone that during our conference call today, we may make projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company. We wish to caution you that such statements are predictions based on information that is currently available and actual results may differ materially. We refer you to the documents that the company files with the SEC, including our 10-Ks, 10-Qs, and 8-Ks. These documents contain and identify important risk factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements. This call includes and constitutes the company’s official guidance for the first quarter of 2021. If at any time after this call, we communicate any material changes to this guidance, we intend that such updates will be done using a public forum, such as a press release or publicly announced conference call. Some financial information that we present during the call will be provided on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. By disclosing certain non-GAAP information, management intends to provide investors with additional information to permit further analysis of the company’s performance and underlying trends. Management uses non-GAAP measures to better assess operating performance and to establish operational goals. For historical periods, we provide reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures that can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website at latticesemi.com. Before we get started, I’d like to let everyone know that we will be hosting a virtual Investor Day in May. We will be sharing more details over the coming month and hope you can all join us. Let me now turn the call over to Jim Anderson, our CEO.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thank you, Rick, and thank you everyone for joining us on our call today. I want to start by thanking the Lattice team, as well as our partners and customers for their strong support and execution in 2020. I’m pleased with the progress that we made last year and I’m even more excited about the opportunities ahead of us in 2021.

Sherri Luther, CFO

Thank you, Jim. We are pleased with our full year 2020 results. In a challenging environment, we delivered significant profit expansion, continued to strengthen our balance sheet and ended the year in a net cash position for the first time in six years. Let me now provide a summary of our results. Fourth quarter revenue was $107.2 million, up 4% sequentially from the third quarter and up 6.9% year-over-year. Revenue growth came primarily from our two largest segments, communications and computing and industrial and automotive. The consumer market segment grew sequentially in Q4, but was down year-over-year and IP revenue was lower. Full year 2020 revenue was $408.1 million, up 1% from 2019. Revenue growth from industrial and automotive, as well as communications and computing was offset by lower revenue in consumer and IP. Gross margin on a GAAP basis was flat at 60.5% in Q4 compared to the prior quarter, but was up 130 basis points compared to the year ago quarter. Our non-GAAP gross margin increased 10 basis points to 61.6% in Q4 compared to the prior quarter and was up 200 basis points compared to the year ago quarter.

Operator, Operator

Our first question is from Hans Mosesmann from Rosenblatt Securities. Your line is open.

Hans Mosesmann, Analyst

Thank you. Congratulations, guys. Good execution. Hey, a couple of questions. I get the theme of this earnings season is supply constraints. How is that impacting your business and I have a follow-on. Thank you.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thanks for the question, Hans. Our supply chain team has done a commendable job in ensuring that we support our customers' demand. While there is tightness in the overall semiconductor supply chain, Lattice is in a good position. A few quarters ago, we took proactive measures to secure our supply. We began building inventory strategically in Q2 of last year to ensure we had enough to meet our customers’ expected demand and any potential increases. We continued to build inventory in Q3 and Q4, especially for high-demand parts where there is significant volume and no risk of obsolescence. It's important to note that this inventory is internal to Lattice, not including channel or distributor stock. This has positioned us favorably to support customer demand moving forward. Additionally, since 2018, we have worked closely with our strategic suppliers to refine our supply chain strategy. By providing them with long-term, multi-year forecasts for our demand and collaborating proactively on capacity planning, we've enhanced our ability to meet customer needs. These proactive measures have placed us in a strong position regarding supply for our customers. You mentioned you had a follow-up question as well.

Hans Mosesmann, Analyst

I'm curious about your growth despite the decline in the consumer segment of the business. Can you explain why you're seeing growth in your FPGA offerings when Xilinx and Intel's Altera programmable business experienced a downturn in 2020?

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thank you, Hans. We are quite pleased with our results, especially in our two largest market segments: communications and computing, and industrial and automotive, which accounted for about 85% of our total revenue in Q4. We see these as long-term growth areas for the company. In 2021, communications and computing grew by 12% year-over-year overall, and in Q4, it grew by 20% year-over-year. We are witnessing several drivers of specific growth within that segment. We have discussed servers previously, and we’ve observed an increase in our server attach rate, meaning more Lattice chips are being shipped per server, along with higher average selling prices for the parts used in servers as we’ve added more capability. Additionally, several new client computing platforms began production last year and will ramp up to full production this year, allowing us to realize the benefits of a full year’s output. Moreover, 5G infrastructure also contributed positively to our year-over-year growth last year within the communications and computing segment. In industrial and automotive, despite a challenging end market due to the pandemic, I am pleased with an 11% year-over-year growth, with 16% growth in just Q4. This growth is driven by new platforms from our customers focused on industrial automation, robotics, and industrial safety. While the consumer segment struggled last year because of the pandemic and an unexpected shift in our business mix, we are satisfied with our performance in communications and computing, and industrial and automotive. We expect these areas to continue being strong growth drivers in the future.

Hans Mosesmann, Analyst

Great. Thank you. Congratulations.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Yeah. Thanks, Hans.

Operator, Operator

Your next question is from Alessandra Vecchi from William Blair.

Alessandra Vecchi, Analyst

Congratulations on an outstanding quarter despite a challenging environment. I'd like to delve deeper into the industrial and automotive segment specifically. Can you explain how initial revenue from the Nexus CrossLink-NX contributes to that strength, or how the Nexus platform may serve broader applications?

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thank you, Alex. That’s a great question. In December 2019, we launched our first access-based product, CrossLink-NX. At that time, we aimed to see the first production shipments within about a year, which was by the end of 2020. We achieved that goal and saw initial production shipments of that product late last year. We anticipate continued ramp-up into full production throughout this year and the coming years. We expect CrossLink-NX to contribute to growth this year. That initial production shipment of Nexus products is significant for us as it marks the start of the Nexus revenue increase. Additionally, we launched another Nexus product, Certus-NX, in the middle of last year, which is a general-purpose FPGA based on Nexus technology. We expect it to begin generating production revenue in the latter half of this year. It’s encouraging to see the initial ramp for Nexus platforms. As sales increase, Nexus products will be relevant across all our market segments, so we anticipate they will be a strong driver of growth moving forward.

Alessandra Vecchi, Analyst

And then maybe just an extension to that in terms of the gross margin, you had really nice, if I’m doing the back of the envelope math correctly, really nice improvement on the product gross margin front. And on the total gross margin basis you have got 61.6%, now you’re getting close to that 62% plus, I’m sure that’ll be a topic for the May Analyst Day. But can you help us understand what additional impact as these Nexus products start to gain traction? How much that could further lift the gross margin from these levels, and just generally, how we should think about gross margin especially as industrial and comms continues to gain traction?

Jim Anderson, CEO

Certainly. Our target for gross margin has been set at over 62%, which we initially announced in May 2019 during our last Investor Day. We have made consistent progress towards that goal, achieving a gross margin of 61.6% in the most recent quarter. The improvements in our gross margin so far have primarily been due to pricing optimization and product cost reductions. We began implementing our strategies for pricing optimization and cost reductions in early 2019, and this approach has continued through the past year, with plans to maintain these strategies moving forward to support further gross margin expansion. Additionally, our new products are designed to contribute positively to the overall corporate margin. As we introduce these new products, we expect them to help drive gross margin expansion over time. We will provide more details on gross margin and our expectations in this area at our upcoming Investor Day in May.

Alessandra Vecchi, Analyst

Perfect. Thank you so much. With that, I’ll pass it on to the next person.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thanks, Alex.

Operator, Operator

Your next question is from Matt Ramsay from Cowen.

Matt Ramsay, Analyst

Thank you very much. Good afternoon. Jim, I wanted to ask a quick question about the consumer business. Despite the challenges posed by COVID, your company managed to grow revenue significantly, with the two main segments experiencing growth well into the double digits, specifically a 20% increase in the fourth quarter, despite facing a substantial consumer headwind. You also mentioned in your remarks that the quality and visibility regarding some of those consumer revenues have improved considerably. Could you provide some insight into your visibility in that segment for the future, particularly in terms of overall growth for the company? Are we anticipating growth, stability, or decline as we look ahead to the next 12 months? Thank you.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thanks, Matt. In 2020, the consumer sector posed challenges for us due to lower market demand stemming from the pandemic, along with an unexpected shift in our business mix. However, we began to see a positive stabilization in that sector towards the end of the year. Consumer revenue increased sequentially from the third to the fourth quarter. Additionally, the quality of this revenue stream has significantly improved over the past one to two years. We have been shifting our consumer revenue away from more volatile, short-term streams to a more consistent, multi-year revenue model. For example, we are focusing on Prosumer applications and high-end audio systems, which tend to have longer lifespans, higher gross margins, and more predictable revenue. As a result, our consumer revenue started to stabilize in the second half of the year, and we anticipate greater stability moving forward. We will provide more details at the Investor Day in May regarding expectations for the consumer segment and also for industrial automation, automotive, and communications and computing. We continue to view communications, computing, industrial, and automotive as key growth drivers, and we do not expect consumer to be the same challenge it has been in the past. We will share more insights at the Investor Day in May.

Matt Ramsay, Analyst

No. Great. That’s really helpful. I appreciate it. The next question I have is for Sherri. OpEx increased slightly, which is expected considering the investments being made to launch the Nexus products. Do you have any thoughts on how you foresee OpEx trending in the future, particularly with the factors related to the pandemic and when people start traveling again? You're launching new products, but I assume many development costs for what you are launching now are already accounted for in the current run rate. Any insights on this would be appreciated. Thank you.

Sherri Luther, CFO

Thank you for the question, Matt. Our Q4 operating expenses were indeed higher, which we anticipated due to our ongoing investments in the business as we pursue growth. We are specifically focusing on our research and development and product roadmap. In Q4, our operating expenses accounted for 35% of our revenue, aligning with our target model. Notably, our operating expenses in 2020 were flat compared to 2019, even as we increased our R&D spending by approximately 7.5% and decreased SG&A by 4.4%. This illustrates our commitment to achieving our long-term model of 35% operating expenses. As mentioned in our guidance, we expect operating expenses to rise because we are in a growth phase and plan to invest further in our product portfolio moving forward. During our Analyst Day in 2019, we set a goal for R&D to be 20% of revenues, and we are working towards that objective while maintaining our operating expenses at the 35% target level. This is how to view our expectations for the coming quarters, and we will provide more details during our Analyst Day in May.

Matt Ramsay, Analyst

Thanks very much.

Sherri Luther, CFO

Thanks, Matt.

Operator, Operator

The next question is from Tristan Gerra from Baird.

Tristan Gerra, Analyst

Hi. Good afternoon. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit on the Q1 revenue that you see strong. Is that server or computing design wins that are ramping? I know you’ve mentioned Nexus. Just trying to see what the primary driver will be for the upside? And also when would you expect Nexus to have a material impact, a positive impact on gross margin beyond the other factors that you’ve mentioned, such as pricing and cost?

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thanks for your question. Regarding Q1 revenue, we are observing that sequential growth from Q4 to Q1 is primarily in the communications and computing sectors. Looking at our Q1 guidance midpoint, we anticipate an increase from Q4, driven mainly by revenue growth from servers and new client computing platforms, one of which started shipping in Q4 of last year. This is expected to contribute positively to our revenue in Q1. We also foresee some sequential growth in the industrial and automotive sectors, supported by new platforms that cater to our customers in areas like industrial automation and robotics. On the consumer side, we expect revenue to remain roughly flat sequentially, and for IP revenue, which is the smallest part of our total revenue, we anticipate a modest decline from Q4 to Q1. Concerning Nexus and its impact on gross margin, I think we will see that effect further out, likely not significant this year, but potentially in 2022 and 2023. The primary focus for our gross margin improvement this year will be on optimizing pricing and reducing product costs.

Tristan Gerra, Analyst

Great. Thanks for the color. And then for my follow up, just wondering if the following hack is driving interest for your security chips into data centers, which obviously had a lot of success, what’s the potential timing of security related server refreshes and also can that chip be added to existing system updated required to be part of a brand new server?

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thank you for your question. I can certainly say that we are observing a strong interest in our security solutions among nearly all our customers across various market segments. Customers are focused on ensuring that their systems are fully secure, from the software level to the underlying hardware. The products we've launched, such as the MachXO3D and FPGA with advanced security processing technology, are effective in securing hardware platforms at both the foundational hardware and firmware levels. Additionally, the Century software stack we introduced last year complements these chips to create a comprehensive solution, and we are experiencing positive customer engagement and momentum in this area. Overall, the concerns about security and the protection of their systems are driving customer interest in our security-related product offerings. Regarding the second part of your question, I’m happy to discuss that as well.

Tristan Gerra, Analyst

Yes. I am trying to assess the potential timing for new design wins related to those chips, particularly how they will connect to the MachXO3D in relation to new server refreshes or whether they will be used in existing architectures.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thank you. Yes. So those are primarily targeted new server deployments. Generally, customers don’t engage in retrofitting existing servers that have already been deployed. We don’t anticipate much retrofitting, so the opportunity for those chips to be integrated into existing services is quite limited. Therefore, I would say that the vast majority of growth will come from new deployments. That’s really where we’ve been focusing our efforts with our customers. Regarding revenue timing, MachXO3D, our first FPGA with security technology, began production in Q3 of last year. Production increased in Q4 and ramped up nicely during that quarter. We expect this ramp to continue this year, and it will be one of the growth drivers since we will benefit from a full year's revenue from that product this year in 2021.

Tristan Gerra, Analyst

That’s very useful. Thank you very much.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Yeah. Thanks for the question.

Operator, Operator

Your next question is from Mark Lipacis from Jefferies. Your line is open.

Mark Lipacis, Analyst

Hi. Thank you for taking my question. I'm curious about the software side of your business. You've been investing heavily in software, and I'd like to know how this investment is helping Lattice enter new markets compared to simply enhancing customer retention in your existing markets. What did your customers do before you developed these software solutions?

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thank you, Mark. We've been focusing on developing higher-level software solution stacks to simplify the process for our customers to integrate our products into their systems and expedite their time to market. These solution stacks serve as pre-built software libraries, tools, and reference platforms. So far, we've launched three: the sensAI artificial intelligence software stack, the mVision embedded vision software stack, and the Century software stack focused on security solutions. I see our customers falling into two categories: those who are already experienced with FPGAs and those who are new to them. For customers familiar with FPGAs or competitive products, our software makes it easy to transition quickly to our offerings. The second category includes customers who have typically used microcontrollers. Our software solution stack aids these customers in switching to FPGAs, facilitating a fast market entry. Once the software integrates into their systems, this creates strong customer loyalty for future generations. We see distinct advantages over microcontroller solutions, especially in artificial intelligence applications. In scenarios like edge inference for IoT or industrial IoT, AI tasks are inherently parallel, and FPGAs excel because they can be designed for parallel processing, outperforming microcontrollers significantly. Moreover, FPGAs can be reprogrammed as AI algorithms evolve. Thus, our software solution stack enables even microcontroller users to swiftly access FPGA benefits and accelerate their time to market.

Mark Lipacis, Analyst

Great, that’s very helpful. Thanks for that insight. This brings me to a follow-up question. If I consider the past 10, 15, or 20 years, an FPGA company would have been associated with products like those from Altera, Xilinx, or Lattice, but it appears you are advancing in value and adding more significant offerings. Regarding your security solutions, it seems they are not standard solutions but rather application-specific. What’s the best way to understand the markets you are targeting and the competitive landscape you are navigating? It seems like your scope extends beyond just FPGAs; could microcontrollers be part of this market opportunity? If you could provide a framework for understanding this, it would be appreciated. Thank you.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thank you, Mark. We are definitely up against our traditional competitors in the FPGA market, as well as our established vendors. We believe we have a solid roadmap, especially in the area of power-efficient, small-sized FPGAs. However, we are now also competing with companies outside of the FPGA space. This shift is largely due to our focus on being more than just a component supplier, often referred to as the glue logic supplier, and instead positioning ourselves as a vital architectural component of the solutions we provide to our customers. We aim to assist our customers with their architectural and product competitiveness challenges, and our products, both hardware and software, are increasingly designed to address those needs. A good example is security, which is crucial for our customers, especially in the server market but also across various other sectors. To address this, we have enhanced one of our well-known FPGAs with security technology and accompanying software. Artificial Intelligence is another key area where customers from all our market segments are seeking to incorporate more intelligence and decision-making capabilities into their systems. FPGAs, and particularly our low-power, optimized FPGAs, are ideally suited for AI processing at the edge of the network. Thus, with our software solutions, we aim to offer not just glue logic but essential architectural components for our customers' systems. I would say this broadens our relevance in the market, allowing us to compete against a wider array of competitors than we did in the past, such as microcontrollers and application-specific processors. Ultimately, our focus is on our customers and addressing the significant challenges they face moving forward.

Mark Lipacis, Analyst

That’s helps. Thank you.

Jim Anderson, CEO

Thanks, Mark.

Operator, Operator

Your next question is from Christopher Rolland from Susquehanna. Your line is open.