Earnings Call Transcript - MPWR Q4 2023

Operator, Operator

Welcome everyone to the MPS Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Webinar. My name is Genevieve Cunningham and I will be the moderator for this webinar. Joining me today are Michael Hsing, CEO and Founder of MPS, and Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO. In the course of today's webinar, we will make forward-looking statements and projections that involve risk and uncertainty, which could cause results to differ materially from management's current views and expectations. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ are identified in the Safe Harbor statements contained in the Q4 earnings release and in our latest SEC filings, including our Form 10-K and our Form 10-Q, which are accessible through our website. MPS assumes no obligation to update the information provided on today's call. We will be discussing gross margin, operating expense, operating income, other income, income before income taxes, net income, and earnings on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. These non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Tables that outline the reconciliation between the non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are included in our Q4 2023 earnings release. I'd also like to remind you that today's conference call is being webcast live over the internet and will be available for replay on our website for one year, along with the earnings release, which was furnished to the SEC earlier today and is available on our website as well. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Bernie Blegen.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

Thanks, Genevieve. For the full year of 2023, MPS achieved record revenue of $1.82 billion. This is our 12th consecutive year of revenue growth driven by consistent execution, continued innovation and strong customer focus. As announced today, MPS is expanding into a new $1 billion market with the acquisition of our partner Axign B.V. Axign is a Netherlands-based startup with early revenue, specializing in programmable multi-core digital signal processors. Axign's competitive difference is its ability to deliver signals with near-zero distortion and reduce power consumption for automotive and consumer audio systems. The combination of Axign and MPS's IP, which has been accepted by several high-end audio customers, will change people's experience in their cars, homes, concert venues, and stadiums. Let me turn to a few highlights from this past year. Our integrated power management solutions for artificial intelligence enabled our customers to unlock previously untapped opportunities for innovation and growth. We created new automotive content, powering the ramp of autonomous driving, the digital cockpit and lighting systems for both conventional and electric vehicles. We continued to diversify our global R&D footprint with the further expansion of our engineering centers of excellence in Europe and Taiwan. And finally, we continue to expand and diversify our operating footprint with the qualification of multiple new fab and packaging partners in Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Turning to our full-year 2023 revenue by market segment. Automotive revenue grew $94.6 million year-over-year to $394.7 million in 2023. This 31.5% gain was primarily driven by increased sales of our highly integrated applications supporting advanced driver assistance systems, the digital cockpit, and lighting applications. Automotive revenue represented 21.7% of MPS's full-year 2023 revenue, compared with 16.7% in 2022. Full year 2023 enterprise data revenue grew $71.6 million over the prior year to $323 million. This 28.5% increase was primarily due to higher sales of our power management solutions for AI applications. Enterprise Data revenue represented 17.7% of MPS’ total revenue in 2023, compared with 14.8% in 2022. Storage and computing revenue for 2023 grew $38.5 million over the prior year to $491.1 million. This 8.5% increase was primarily driven by increased sales of products for notebooks. Storage and computing revenue represented 27.0% of MPS’ total revenue in 2023, compared with 25.3% in 2022. Communications revenue fell by $46.5 million to $204.9 million. This 18.5% reduction was a result of lower 4G and 5G infrastructure sales. Communications revenue represented 11.3% of our 2023 revenue, compared with 14.0% in 2022. Industrial revenue fell by $46.5 million to $172.7 million in 2023. This 21.2% decrease primarily reflected lower sales in applications for industrial automation, security and power sources. Industrial revenue represented 9.4% of MPS' full-year 2023 revenue, compared with 12.2% in 2022. Consumer revenue decreased $84.8 million to $234.7 million in 2023. This 26.6% year-over-year decrease was a result of broad market weakness across all segments. Consumer revenue represented 12.9% of MPS' full-year 2023 revenue compared with 17.8% in 2022. Let me take a moment to talk about the general business conditions. Throughout 2023, we highlighted that customer ordering patterns were oscillating, reflecting general economic uncertainty. While we saw a nominal improvement in Q4 ordering patterns, we remain cautious as visibility beyond the current quarter is limited. Despite this ongoing uncertainty, we continue to execute against our long-term strategy by bringing innovative new products to market and expanding design wins across our broad base of customers. We believe these ongoing investments position us well for future growth when the macro environment stabilizes. Switching to Q4 results. MPS had fourth quarter revenue of $454.0 million, down 4.4% from the third quarter of 2023 and down 1.3% from the fourth quarter of 2022. Comparing year-over-year results, fourth quarter 2023 revenue for enterprise data grew by 88.4%. Storage and computing fell 2.9%. Automotive was down 7.8%. Consumer decreased 17.5%, Communications decreased 36.3% and Industrial fell 40.5%. Fourth quarter 2023 GAAP gross margin was 55.3%, down 20 basis points from the third quarter of 2023 and 290 basis points below the fourth quarter of 2022. Fourth quarter 2023 non-GAAP gross margin was 55.7%, flat with the third quarter of 2023, but 280 basis points lower than the fourth quarter of 2022. This year-over-year reduction in fourth quarter non-GAAP gross margin is largely due to sales mix. Turning to operating expenses. Our GAAP operating expenses were $141.6 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $128 million in the third quarter of 2023 and $130.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Our non-GAAP fourth quarter 2023 operating expenses were $96.7 million, roughly flat with the third quarter of 2023 and up from the $94.8 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2022. The differences between GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses for the quarters discussed here are primarily stock compensation expense and income or loss from an unfunded deferred compensation plan. Fourth quarter 2023 stock compensation expense, including a $1.2 million charge to cost of goods sold, was $41.1 million, compared with $33.6 million recorded in the third quarter of 2023. Switching to the bottom line. Fourth quarter 2023 GAAP net income was $96.9 million or $1.98 per fully diluted share, compared with $2.48 per share in the third quarter of 2023 and $2.45 per share in the fourth quarter of 2022. Q4 2023 non-GAAP net income was $140.9 million or $2.88 per fully diluted share, compared with $3.08 per share in the third quarter of 2023 and $3.17 per share in the fourth quarter of 2022. Fully diluted shares outstanding at the end of Q4 2023 were 48.9 million. As for our balance sheet, as of December 31, 2023, cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $1.11 billion, compared to $1.04 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2023. For the fourth quarter of 2023, MPS generated operating cash flow of about $153.3 million, compared with $175.9 million in Q3 2023. Fourth quarter 2023 capital spending totaled $13.8 million. Accounts receivable ended the fourth quarter of 2023 at $179.9 million, compared with the $185.8 million reported at the end of the third quarter of 2023 and $182.7 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. There were 36 days of sales outstanding across these comparable periods. Our internal inventories at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 were $383.7 million, down from the $397.3 million at the end of the third quarter of 2023. Days of inventory rose to 172 days at the end of Q4 2023 from 171 days at the end of the third quarter of 2023. We have carefully managed our internal inventories throughout the year given the uncertainty in the market. Using next quarter revenue as a basis, inventory was 175 days at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, down from 178 days at the end of the third quarter of 2023. I would now like to turn to our Q1 2024 outlook. We are forecasting Q1 2024 revenue in the range of $437.0 million to $457.0 million. GAAP gross margin in the range of 55.1% to 55.7%. Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 55.4% to 56.0%. Total stock-based compensation expense, including associated employer taxes of $46.2 million to $48.2 million, including approximately $1.4 million that would be charged to cost of goods sold. GAAP operating expenses between $147.2 million and $151.2 million. Non-GAAP operating expenses to be in the range of $101.8 million to $103.8 million. This estimate excludes stock-based compensation expense and amortization of recently purchased intangible assets, but includes litigation expense and the expense from our recent Axign acquisition. Other income before foreign exchange gains or losses expected to range from $5.3 million to $5.7 million. Fully diluted shares to be in the range of $48.8 million to $49.2 million of shares. We continue to execute the share buyback program that was announced in our Q3 '23 earnings call. Finally, I am pleased to announce a 25% increase in our quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share from $1 per share for stockholders of record as of March 29, 2024. In conclusion, while we continue to be cautious about the near-term business conditions, we believe our long-term growth strategy remains intact, and we can swiftly adapt to market changes as they occur. I will now open the webinar up for questions.

Quinn Bolton, Analyst

Can you hear me? Michael, Bernie, can you hear me? Hey, congratulations on the very stable outlook in a pretty choppy environment. Looks like the enterprise data segment was up $30 million quarter-on-quarter, really driving a lot of the growth in the near term. As you look into 2024, can you just talk about your expectations for enterprise data specifically your opportunity to perhaps expand the customer set with some of the other leading GPU and AI accelerator companies? And then I've got a follow-on question. Thank you.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

Sure. I'll take that, Quinn. As far as the initial ramp that we've been experiencing over about the last four quarters, we've really seen or benefited from the acceleration of demand for these applications and solutions. As we look ahead, we see a broadening of the number of market participants or customers that will be participating in that. But at the same time, we also believe that competition within the supply chain will continue. So for a majority of the period to date, we've enjoyed a pretty high percentage of market share, but expect that to decrease as we introduce second and third suppliers.

Michael Hsing, CEO

But overall, the market segment is growing very rapidly. We are expanding our production lines and will meet the demand in the second half.

Quinn Bolton, Analyst

Got it. Maybe just looking at sort of the road map for some of these accelerators in 2024. I think you guys have some new ramps with probably higher content, but I think you also have perhaps lower cost cards coming out where you guys may see a step down in your dollar content. Can you just kind of walk through the puts and takes? We should be thinking about your average dollar content per win? Do you still see that trending higher as power consumption goes up? Or is the increase in competition and perhaps efforts to design cost down cards starting to perhaps limit that dollar content opportunity?

Michael Hsing, CEO

The dollar content is increasing as the market accelerates again, with more competitors entering. We are currently the primary provider of power solutions and expect to see many other players entering the market in the second half of this year or next year, overcoming technical challenges. On the cost side, we are consistently working to lower our expenses and believe we have addressed the issues that arise during this rapid growth phase. Right now, cost is not the main concern; it's more about throughput and meeting customer demand.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

And one final comment on content is that with each following generation of new products that are being introduced for AI, the power requirements are increasing. And at this point, we have a belief that the dollar content will go up per server. But at this point, it's very hard to gauge that.

Michael Hsing, CEO

In the next version, the power is much higher, as Bernie mentioned. We began these product developments a couple of years ago, and we are set to release them to our customers this quarter and in the next few quarters.

Quinn Bolton, Analyst

Perfect, thanks. Thank you for all that color.

Rick Schafer, Analyst

Thank you. I appreciate the congratulations. I have a couple of questions. Michael, could you elaborate on what surprised you the most in the last 90 days? I'm particularly interested in the auto sector, as enterprise data has performed better than expected, but it seems like the auto market has softened significantly lately. Can you share your observations on that? Additionally, I remember there were some delayed model year launches last year in the second half, and I'm trying to understand when those may ramp up. Do you see that as a potential offset to the slower auto market overall?

Michael Hsing, CEO

Good questions and good observation. Towards the end of last year, the auto segment slowed down somewhat. However, as Bernie mentioned earlier, we still experienced growth in the high 20% to 30% range overall in that segment. This growth is primarily driven by the advanced driver assistance systems, infotainment, and other digital cockpit technologies. Looking ahead to next year, we anticipate that our customers will work through the inventories we shipped around May or June, leading to an increase in volume, especially in the electric vehicle sector. This trend is expected to continue in the first part of this year.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

So I think that there has been some softness that has occurred in Q3 of last year and Q4 of last year that was observable both for IC and EVs. And as we said in our earlier comments, and it applies to automotive, we don't have great visibility beyond just the next quarter. So it's hard for us to predict what the second half of ‘24 ramp might look like for automotive.

Michael Hsing, CEO

The ramp in early EV adoption is uneven, with different automakers increasing production at their own pace. However, the overall trend is that they will increase their output of EVs using more of our products.

Rick Schafer, Analyst

Thanks, Michael. I wanted to follow up on Quinn's questions about the 48-volt system. I'm aware that you have a strong position in the second stage of 48-volt technology and that a stage 1 product has also been introduced. Could you share your expectations regarding market share or revenue contribution? I'm particularly interested in how the Stage 1 power might impact your content and the enterprise data segment. Additionally, you mentioned new competition entering the 48-volt space, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on whether competition will become tougher as companies like NVIDIA shift from a two-year cycle to an annual one for new processor releases.

Michael Hsing, CEO

This game is consistently one of our top performers. I prefer not to discuss our competition at this moment. What we have is resonating well with our customers, and we hold a significant portion of the volume. They continually ask us to address their system issues, our own, and those arising from our side. As the volume increases, it's beneficial to have additional sources. We don't aim to monopolize the market. The competition is quite similar to what we experienced on the server side, where we entered the market a couple of years ago and gained traction. We had a product ready long before that, but we had to scale down to fit common footprints since the power density wasn't high enough. With the emergence of AI, the common footprint is no longer a constraint, allowing us to capture a larger share. The same trend is happening in servers, and that is how we achieved success in the market. As we've mentioned previously, our goal is to push technology forward and ensure that we remain the best.

Rick Schafer, Analyst

Michael, do you have any insights on the contribution from Stage 1 this year for your team?

Michael Hsing, CEO

We encountered some issues with the Stage 1s, but we also secured some design wins and achieved small volumes in various systems. Now, all those issues have been resolved, which will greatly enhance the content in each AR system.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

And Stage 1, for us, at least, represents about 20% to 25% of the dollar content of Stage 2, and we expect to see the incremental ramp from these products in Q1 and Q2.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Yes. We have started shipping some of the 48-volt systems. Additionally, we provide chips and silicon, but not for the modules. Now we have increased our output to two modules.

Rick Schafer, Analyst

Great. Thank you guys.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Matt Ramsay of Cowen. Matt, your line is now open.

Matt Ramsay, Analyst

Thank you very much. Congratulations to everyone. Good afternoon. I'm going to ask both of my questions at once because we have a few calls happening tonight, and I want to avoid being on multiple lines. I don't think we want to mix earnings calls. My first question is for Michael. Since you co-founded the company, you've traditionally not been active in mergers and acquisitions. I'm curious to hear more about the company you are acquiring, the markets you plan to target, how the deal came together, and what the potential is for the new technologies and people you may integrate into the company. Any background you can provide would be appreciated.

Michael Hsing, CEO

That's a great question. So otherwise, we are taking to the old AI call.

Matt Ramsay, Analyst

Just really quickly on my second one, so I'll go back. Bernie, if you could just help us out with the guidance for March by segment, that would be helpful to make sure we're all modeling from the same footing.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Let me address your first question. You mentioned that we are inactive in the M&A market, but that's not accurate. We prioritize what is best for our shareholders. We don't pursue revenue acquisitions because it's more cost-effective for MPS to grow revenue organically. However, we do focus on applying technology. In the past, we made an acquisition that was financially insignificant for our shareholders, but this time we have made appropriate disclosures. Regarding Axign, we have collaborated with them for three years, and their technology, combined with our power stage, will create substantial benefits in the fields of audio signal processing and amplification. We have already demonstrated this with high-end customers, resulting in unique products that effectively eliminate signal distortion in speakers at a very low cost. Furthermore, we have achieved significant programmability through software adaptation. When I listen to the sounds produced, I can truly appreciate the audio quality we aim to deliver, making it accessible to everyone while significantly reducing costs. This will transform how we experience audio.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

Matt, I'll address the second question regarding our outlook for Q1. The main driver of growth continues to be enterprise data. It's encouraging that, alongside AI, we are also experiencing increased demand for our traditional CPU data center solutions. In other areas, we are observing a stabilization in communications, while other groups are seeing declines in sequential growth between Q4 and Q1, generally between the high single digits and low double digits. Does that address your question, Matt? Gen, I think we can proceed to the next topic.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Tore Svanberg of Stifel. Tore, your line is now open.

Tore Svanberg, Analyst

Yes. Thank you, Michael, Bernie. And congratulations on the 12th consecutive year of growth, especially in this environment. That's stunning. My first question for you, Michael, is 2024. So you've already talked about AI and Bernie just sort of gave us directionally things for Q1. But you always seem to surprise us a little bit but something throughout the year. So I'm just wondering, is there anything that you could share with us that could happen either in industrial or communications. I'm not thinking about cyclical stuff. I'm thinking about more sort of new secular stuff that you're working on that could surprise us on the upside this year.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Last year, the growth was not very impressive, only about 1.5%. This year is uncertain. Last year, we were surprised by the impact of ChatGPT, which boosted our AI business beyond our expectations. To address your question about our consecutive years of growth, this is the 11th year we've consistently grown. We stick to our principles, ensuring that all products we deliver to customers are top-tier. Our priority is to outperform our competitors. Additionally, we are quick to react to customer demands. Our strategy is straightforward; we don’t chase market trends. This year may bring growth in some segments, but I don't anticipate it will match the growth we've seen in AI. I do see potential in a few smaller segments, and we have noticed an influx of orders as we expected, with our products consistently outperforming those of our competitors.

Tore Svanberg, Analyst

Makes sense. And as my follow-up, I think most people, when they think about MPS, obvious they think about power management and how much share you've gained there. But when I look at the Axign acquisition, I think about your penetration into the data converter space, you're doing much more stuff on the single processing side. I mean, you're clearly building out, I think, a pretty impressive portfolio in what I would call more the mixed signal part of the market. So will you be able to maybe share that with us over time? I don't know, a percentage of revenue collectively so how much these subsegments can represent for the overall business?

Michael Hsing, CEO

I believe that in the next couple of years, we will see significant growth from various areas, including single processing and data converters. As mentioned today, we are already designing for the audio processing market, particularly targeting high-volume consumer segments. Additionally, we plan to expand into the automotive sector. We have numerous smaller projects in development, including silicon carbide initiatives aimed at supporting green energy, such as solar inverters. These efforts tie into power management and communications, particularly solar inverter communications. The automotive sector will also see communication developments within vehicles. Overall, MPS will transition into these segments over the next few years.

Tore Svanberg, Analyst

Excellent. Thank you and congrats again.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Thank you.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from William Stein of Truist. William, your line is now open.

William Stein, Analyst

Thank you. I want to echo the congratulations on the strong outlook. In relation to that, the company has maintained a long-term revenue growth and margin model that has been previously discussed. I believe you mentioned a target of around 20% top-line growth and then an additional 10 to 20 basis points per quarter on gross margin. Recently, however, we've been quite far from that model due to the volatility since the onset of COVID. I'm curious if we might be getting back on track with that model, or if it’s time to abandon it entirely. How do you suggest we approach revenue growth and margins in the long term?

Michael Hsing, CEO

Yes, those kinds of models are just that, models. I think given the current circumstances, we will return to a more reliable model. It's similar to weather forecasting; we create models, but we haven't been able to predict these storms. For the past couple of years, our model has been inaccurate, swinging between too much and too little. Considering the current economic environment, that model hasn’t been entirely accurate. Additionally, our approach isn't very scientific; it's based on our empirical historical data. However, we shouldn't stray from our observations moving forward.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

To clarify what the model Will is referring to, we generally outperform the market by 10 to 15 percentage points. In stable market conditions with growth ranging from 5% to 8%, it is reasonable to expect growth between 15% and 20%. Our targeted non-GAAP gross margin falls between 55% and 60%. In more predictable environments, we aim to increase gross margin by 10 to 15 percentage points on a quarterly basis.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Yes, I might as well add that we emphasize product development and customer design wins. I see a lot of successes in many different segments, and I may have forgotten some in my mind. There are numerous initiatives underway. Looking towards the future, as Bernie mentioned, when economic conditions normalize, there is no reason we won't grow. We anticipate growth of 1.5%, at least stating it that way.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

But the market contracted 10%.

William Stein, Analyst

We certainly are outgrowing long-term, no doubt. The other thing I'd like to ask about is inventories. I think on your own balance sheet, you're running below your long-term target now, maybe the maybe my view of the targeted sale. I'm not sure, maybe you can just update us on inventory relative to your target and also in the channel, what you think is going on there, please? Thanks so much.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

Sure. I can take that one. So as a reminder, the model is days on our balance sheet between 180 to 200 days. We came in at about the low 170s this quarter, which was really a reflection of how we have been managing our inventory in this uncertain environment. Having said that, we've started a lot of wafer starts ahead of what we believe will be a potential upside certainly in the next few quarters. As far as the channel, that's been a difficult aspect of this market for everybody. And we've had our share of putting inventory in the channel, but I'm very happy to report that over the last three quarters, it's been coming down appreciably. And we're right now just a little bit above our model.

Michael Hsing, CEO

We will start to build inventory.

William Stein, Analyst

Great. Thanks so much guys.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Travis Polan of Wells Fargo. Travis, your line is now open.

Travis Polan, Analyst

Hi, guys. This is Travis on for Gary. Congratulations on the results. I was wondering if you could provide color on how your customer base has evolved through 2023. Historically, MPS has been diverse from this perspective. But did any customer approach 10%? And along those lines, how do you expect this mix to evolve as we move into 2024?

Michael Hsing, CEO

Yes, we've seen our small customer base grow by a few thousand last year, which is quite exciting. While this doesn't necessarily translate to a significant increase in revenues, a larger customer base generally leads to greater stability for MPS in the long run. Ultimately, our customers will determine the next steps, and the market will play a key role as well. Our customers will seize opportunities as they come. We have been focused on improving our product offerings for these customers. In terms of segment distribution, we've noticed growth across the board. I can recall that our growth orders have surpassed five or six different areas, which is promising. It will take some time to reach a thousand, but this gradual growth will eventually result in larger revenues.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

And Travis, it's an excellent question because I think to align with Michael's point there is that the strength of MPS as far as resilience in different market conditions, is the breadth of the customer base and not have high levels of concentration. Now obviously, with this environment where it has been generally weak except for AI we're in sort of an unusual profile, but we don't expect that to last over the next couple of three years.

Travis Polan, Analyst

Got it. Thank you for the color. That’s all from me.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Yes, okay.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Tore Svanberg of Stifel. Tore, your line is now open.

Tore Svanberg, Analyst

Yes, thank you. I just had two quick follow-ups. First of all, is on revenue capacity. So I know in the past, Michael, you've talked about sort of getting to $2 billion in capacity. Obviously, you're there now. But then also any updates on getting to $3 and even $4 billion of revenue capacity?

Michael Hsing, CEO

We are aiming for $4 billion in revenue capacity, and we have remained consistent in our approach, particularly regarding operations outside of China, which aligns with our strategy. We will continue along this path. We recognize the capacity challenges in our MPS business, but we believe that segment will expand, and we will adjust our capacity to meet that growth. It's important to focus on long-term solutions, regardless of the current market conditions.

Tore Svanberg, Analyst

Very good. And then the other follow-up, any updates on the e-commerce business. We haven't heard about that in a while. So I just want to make sure we check in with you and get an update there.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Our module business is now focused on pure e-commerce, and while we initially were uncertain about this direction, it has turned out to be quite promising. The combination of our offerings and web services has helped us generate 150 million units in sales over the past year. Looking back seven or eight years, we were trying to get e-commerce customers to interact with our website, where they could customize their parameters and program our products, which we would then ship within a week. While this was not very common back then, it is becoming a reality now. I continue to believe that this business will thrive in the long term, especially with the growing demand for power management and product design. Young consumers prefer programming their products over traditional methods, and I think this trend will differentiate them from older generations. I am confident that this business has potential, and while we are still on a path of growth, I cannot describe our current situation negatively.

Tore Svanberg, Analyst

Great. Thank you again.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Melissa Fairbanks of Raymond James. Melissa, your line is now open.

Melissa Fairbanks, Analyst

Hey, guys. Thanks very much. I was wondering if maybe I could squeeze one in about storage and computing business. I know it's not quite as exciting maybe as what's going on in enterprise data.

Michael Hsing, CEO

That's not good.

Melissa Fairbanks, Analyst

I noted that you did pick up some business on the notebook side last year that was kind of opportunistic. We've got some seasonal factors coming in, in March. We've kind of heard that channel inventories, at least on the PC notebook side have normalized somewhat. But wondering if you could just give us a little bit of color on the storage portion of that business that we don't seem to talk about very much.

Michael Hsing, CEO

You know, the answer already. And I said, overall, it's not good. Overall, we take on some market shares, and we start to grow a little bit.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

So I think the way to look at it is that we anticipated softness in the storage market. And so as a result, we became more competitive on notebooks and accepted lower-margin business. And it was offsetting declines, particularly in SSD where we've seen a decline. We increased share with a lot of the major customers in the SSD market, but their business was in decline for much of 2023. And then the other positive in the group is that we saw the initial ramp of DDR5 during the year and also graphic cards expanded pretty nicely during the year. So this is a group that has different characteristics and net-net did pretty okay in a pretty difficult market.

Michael Hsing, CEO

I believe the DDR5 was expected to ramp up last year, but it didn’t happen as quickly as anticipated. The important thing is that we ensure our product design is ready, and when these products ramp up, it’s not solely within our control. What matters to us is that we have a product available for shipping.

Melissa Fairbanks, Analyst

Alright. Thanks very much, Michael, I'm sorry to bring up a sore point.

Michael Hsing, CEO

It's not a sore point. It's a reality like everybody else is. Alright, thank you.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is from Quinn Bolton of Needham. Quinn, your line is now open.

Quinn Bolton, Analyst

Hey, guys. Just wanted to follow-up, Bernie, I think you had mentioned that in addition to the GPU and AI, you guys are starting to see better traction on just the core CPU server market. I know in the past, you've talked about your goal to try to get your share in that segment to 25%. So wondering if you might just give us an update where do you think your share is in CPU core power today? And how are you feeling about that 25% market share target over, say, the next couple of years? Thanks.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

Sure. So what really generates interest with our customers is when they see the new product launches at both Intel and AMD ramping and we do the power management for both of those. And I think that as we observed in the last year or even 18 months that the most recent versions of their products have been delayed. And so we've experienced a slower ramp as far as being able to increase share or content on those platforms. But at least initially, is it was observing for Q1 as well as for the balance of '24, we see that both of those ramps starting to improve and that we'll participate with them. At this point, we don't have any reason to doubt our earlier projections as far as overall share opportunity between 20% and 30%. But right at this particular moment, it's hard to say what we have.

Michael Hsing, CEO

Yes, let me discuss this. We have not made significant progress, and we are currently at 13.5%. About 2.5 years ago, we had numerous design wins. We secured a few design wins, but there were challenges with customers who couldn't ship. We are becoming one of the larger players now. A few years back, we had four teams working on multiple projects, and we expect to grow as a major player. We still believe in the same narrative, and when the CPU market improves, our revenue will start to grow again. Looking back at last year, I don't recall the specifics, but the numbers were not impressive. Ultimately, I believe we will see a turnaround.

Quinn Bolton, Analyst

Got it. Thank you.

Operator, Operator

As there are no further questions, I would now like to turn the webinar back over to Bernie.

Bernie Blegen, EVP and CFO

Great. Thank you very much, everybody. I'd like to thank you for joining us on this conference call and look forward to talking to you again in our first quarter which will be in late April. And just to add to that, at that time, we'll be introducing a new format for this call. We will provide you content and context on how the end markets have performed in a written manner, and then we will use the conference call portion more for Q&A. So we believe that, that will be a more efficient use of your time and ours and also more complete communication. So with that, I will thank you. And again, I look forward to seeing you again in April.