Earnings Call Transcript
Maxlinear, Inc (MXL)
Earnings Call Transcript - MXL Q3 2025
Leslie Green, Investor Relations
Thank you, Alicia. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's conference call to discuss MaxLinear's third quarter 2025 financial results. Today's call is being hosted by Dr. Kishore Seendripu, CEO; and Steve Litchfield, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer. After our prepared comments, we will take questions. Our comments today include forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements relating to our guidance for the fourth quarter of 2025, including revenue, GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin, GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses, GAAP and non-GAAP interest and other expense, GAAP and non-GAAP income taxes and basic and diluted share count. In addition, we will make forward-looking statements relating to trends, opportunities, execution of our business plan and potential growth and uncertainties in various product and geographic markets, including without limitation, statements concerning future financial and operating results, opportunities for revenue and market share across our target markets, new products, including the timing of production and launches of such products, demand for and adoption of certain technologies and our total addressable market. These forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including risks outlined in our Risk Factors section of our recent SEC filings, including our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, which we filed today. Any forward-looking statements are made as of today, and MaxLinear has no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. The third quarter 2025 earnings release is available in the Investor Relations section of our website at maxlinear.com. In addition, we report certain historical financial metrics, including, but not limited to, gross margin, income or loss from operations, operating expenses, interest and other expense and income tax on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. We encourage investors to review the detailed reconciliation of our GAAP and non-GAAP presentations and the press release available on our website. We do not provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance for future periods because of the inherent uncertainty associated with our ability to project certain future changes, including stock-based compensation and its related tax effects as well as potential impairments. Non-GAAP financial measures discussed today are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP and GAAP financial figures. We are providing this information because management believes it is useful to investors as it reflects how management measures our business. Lastly, this call is also being webcast, and the replay will be available on our website for 2 weeks. And now let me turn the call over to Dr. Kishore Seendripu, CEO of MaxLinear. Kishore?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Thank you, Leslie, and good afternoon, everyone. We are excited about our strong Q3 2025 results and the strengthening momentum of our overall business over the last 12 months. Our Q3 2025 revenue of $126.5 million represents 16% sequential and 56% revenue growth year-over-year and drove a substantial increase in non-GAAP net income, both sequentially and year-over-year. Our focused investments in data center, optical interconnects, wireless infrastructure, PON broadband access, Wi-Fi 7, Ethernet and storage accelerator products are enabling us to lay the significant groundwork required for broadening customer traction, new and increased content opportunities and sustained growth in 2026. In our infrastructure end market, in Q3, revenues were up 16% sequentially and up 75% on a year-over-year basis. We also expect strong revenue acceleration in 2026 as new design wins begin to ramp across our portfolio. In high-speed data center optical interconnects, we are on track to deliver $60 million to $70 million in revenue in 2025 and accelerating growth in 2026. As evidenced, our Keystone PAM4 DSP family is now qualified at several major data centers in the U.S. and Asia for 400-gig and 800-gig deployment starting 2026 as part of their AI infrastructure build-out. We also made significant progress with our Rushmore family of PAM4 TIAs and 200 gigabit per lane DSPs for 1.6 terabit interconnections and are on track for production ramp in 2026. Rushmore advances our DSP road map and provides foundational technology for emerging optical connectivity trends such as active electrical cable, LROs, LPOs and co-packaged optics for 200 gigabit per lane and 400 gigabit per lane implementations. In wireless infrastructure, we expect increases in carrier CapEx spending to drive demand later this year and throughout 2026. Our Sierra 5G wireless access single-chip radio SoC and our millimeter wave and microwave backhaul transceivers and modems are seeing a significant increase in design activity and customer traction. In Q3, 2 major North American telecom providers launched new Sierra-based 5G macro remote radio unit products, which will continue to ramp through the end of 2025 and in 2026. At the IMC conference earlier this month, we also jointly announced and showcased Pegatron's next-generation 5G Open RAN macro radio unit powered by our Sierra product. As we look ahead, we project sustained growth in 5G wireless access and backhaul as the needs for cloud and edge AI functionality continue to grow in 2026 and beyond. Beyond wireless infrastructure, within our infrastructure category, we continue to see strong design win success for our Panther family of hardware storage accelerator systems-on-chip solutions across Tier 1 network appliance and cloud service providers. In Q3, we announced our Panther 5 storage accelerator that delivers ultra-low latency, 450 gigabits per second throughput and PCIe Gen 5 connectivity. The announcement coincided with a joint keynote address with Advanced Micro Devices at the FMS 2025 Storage Conference on the transformation of enterprise data storage. Panther delivers significant advantages over traditional software-based compression, including a 4x improvement in power savings and more efficient usage of CPUs and CPU cores and AI accelerators. Moving to broadband and connectivity, we saw another exceptional quarter of growth for the combined portfolio of fiber PON, cable DOCSIS and Wi-Fi solutions, driven by the early increases in service provider CapEx spending that has contributed to continued booking strength and incremental demand. Broadband was up 80% year-on-year and connectivity was up 50% year-on-year. This quarter, we are beginning ramp of our single-chip integrated fiber PON and 10 gigabit processor gateway SoC plus tri-band Wi-Fi 7 single-chip platform solution with a second major Tier 1 North American carrier. In cable broadband, we are seeing the initial commercial rollouts of DOCSIS 4.0 led by smaller MSOs. We expect DOCSIS 4.0 ramp to accelerate in 2026, which in turn drives content opportunities for our Wi-Fi 7 and Ethernet solutions. In the Ethernet market, we continue to see the adoption of our innovative high-functionality, low-power consumption 2.5 gigabit Ethernet switch and PHY portfolio into commercial, enterprise and industrial applications. This market continues to grow as demand for higher data rates and increased bandwidth intensifies and 2.5 gigabit Ethernet is well positioned to bridge the gap between gigabit Ethernet and costly higher-speed options of 10-gigabit Ethernet. In conclusion, in the last 12 months, we delivered significant and sustained improvement in our business, driven by strong revenue growth, growing profitability and positive cash flow generation. Through our strategic investments in high-value end markets such as high-speed data center optical interconnects, wireless infrastructure, multi-gigabit PON access, storage accelerators, WiFi connectivity and Ethernet, we're driving strong product traction with Tier 1 customers and partners. Our success in these areas, combined with the incremental tailwind from the ongoing recovery in our core markets, strongly positions MaxLinear for exceptional growth in 2026 and beyond. With that, let me now turn the call over to Mr. Steve Litchfield, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer.
Steven Litchfield, CFO
Thank you, Kishore. Total revenue for the third quarter was $126.5 million, up 16% from $108.8 million in the previous quarter and up 56% from $81.1 million in the third quarter of 2024. Infrastructure revenue for the third quarter was approximately $40 million, broadband revenue was approximately $58 million, connectivity revenue was approximately $19 million and our industrial multimarket revenue was approximately $9 million. GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for the third quarter were approximately 56.9% and 59.1% of revenue. The delta between GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin in the third quarter was primarily driven by $2.6 million of acquisition-related intangible asset amortization. Third quarter GAAP operating expenses were $113.2 million and non-GAAP operating expenses were $59.5 million. The delta between GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses was primarily due to stock-based compensation and performance-based equity accruals of $32.5 million combined, restructuring costs of $11.3 million and acquisition-related costs of $9.6 million. GAAP losses from operations for Q3 2025 was 33% and non-GAAP income from operations in Q3 was 12% of net revenue. GAAP and non-GAAP interest and other expense during the quarter was $2.1 million and $1.8 million, respectively. In Q3, net cash flow provided in operating activities was approximately $10.1 million. We exited Q3 of 2025 with approximately $113 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash ahead of our 2025 plan. Our day sales outstanding was down in Q3 to approximately 39 days. Our gross inventory was approximately flat versus the previous quarter with inventory turns improving to 1.8x. This concludes the discussion of our Q3 financial results. With that, let's turn to our guidance for Q4 of 2025. We currently expect revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025 to be between $130 million and $140 million. Looking at Q4 by end market, we expect to see some seasonal moderation in broadband and connectivity coming down from Q3, but expect growth from infrastructure and the industrial multi-market. We expect fourth quarter GAAP gross margin to be approximately 56.0% to 59% and non-GAAP gross margin to be in the range of 58% and 61% of revenue. We expect Q4 2025 GAAP operating expenses to be in the range of $92 million to $98 million. We expect Q4 2025 non-GAAP operating expenses to be in the range of $57 million to $63 million. We expect our Q4 GAAP interest and other expense to be in the range of approximately $2.2 million to $2.8 million. We expect our Q4 non-GAAP interest and other expense to be in the range of $1.9 million to $2.5 million, with FX volatility being the primary risk. We expect a $2.5 million tax benefit on a GAAP basis and a non-GAAP tax provision of approximately $2 million. We expect our Q3 basic and diluted share count to be approximately 87.5 million and 91.1 million. In closing, it's gratifying to see some strong improvement in our business over the past 4 quarters, marked by continued growth in customer orders, expanding traction across product portfolio and our solid return to profitability. Our focused investments in strategic high-growth areas such as optical, high-speed interconnects, wireless infrastructure, storage, Ethernet, WiFi and fiber PON gateways are beginning to generate exciting business opportunities that we expect to further grow in revenues in 2026. This reinforces our confidence in our sustainable growth and profitability into '26 and beyond. With that, I'd like to open up the call for questions.
Operator, Operator
Our first question comes from Tore Svanberg with Stifel.
Tore Svanberg, Analyst
Congratulations on the results. So I had a question for you, Kishore. So with the Q4 guidance, the company is pretty much tracking to 30% year-over-year growth in '25. You did say you expect exceptional growth in '26 and beyond. I know you typically don't give guidance, obviously, more than a quarter out, but can you maybe put some context on that comment in relation to the about 30% that the company is going to grow here in '25?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Thank you, Tore. Clearly, 2025 demonstrated exceptional growth compared to 2024, and our return to profitability is quite solid, reflecting significant overall growth in the semiconductor sector. Looking ahead, analysts anticipate around 20% growth into 2026, which is about double the industry’s expectations. We are optimistic due to the design wins across our product portfolio, including infrastructure and optical customer acquisitions, as well as the timing of volume increases. Our wins in wireless infrastructure are also accelerating, alongside our storage accelerator business. We do expect some moderation in broadband growth, especially after its strong recovery, but we still anticipate gaining market share in these areas. Overall, we remain cautious since much of the growth is driven by infrastructure markets, which are large and complex with significant customer concentration. Therefore, we are being conservative while also expressing optimism about the overall acceleration driven by design wins, customer activity, and booking strength. I wish I could share more, but for now, we will focus on delivering the numbers.
Tore Svanberg, Analyst
Yes. No, that's fair. And as far as the infrastructure segment, so obviously, we know what's going on, on the data center side and the optical business you have there. But I think the one with the more surprising thing is all the strength that you're starting to see on the wireless side. Obviously, you have some company-specific product cycles there, but it also sounds like the service providers are starting to spend some more CapEx again. So just hoping you could add a little bit more color there. And how should we think about the wireless part of the infrastructure segment for calendar '26?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Absolutely. I see that telecom operators are beginning to invest in their wireless infrastructure now. Three years ago, this was a major topic, but currently they are coming out of a period of minimal investment, and we are experiencing significant demand for our Sierra product line. We are the only provider offering a single-chip solution for the remote radio units for the RAN network, and we are gaining substantial traction. The quality of our product is evident, especially with the two major North American telecom operators that have qualified it in Q3 and are now in the ramp phase. As for growth expectations, when you consider our millimeter wave, microwave backhaul infrastructure, and wireless access with Sierra, we anticipate strong growth, potentially on par with what we've seen in optics. I want to highlight that infrastructure is becoming a significant portion of MaxLinear's overall revenue, reflecting the strategic investments we've made over the past five years. I remain confident that in the next 2 to 3 years, our infrastructure revenue could reach between $300 million and $500 million, and I am very proud of our team's commitment to the plan and their execution.
Operator, Operator
Our next question comes from the line of David Williams with Benchmark Company.
David Williams, Analyst
Congrats on the really strong progress here. It's great to see. So if you kind of think about the optical side of the business and the strength that you've had there, you've got some qualification. You talked about some ramps. Just kind of wondering if you maybe could give us some insight into how you think that will trend for next year? Could it be another doubling of that revenue or maybe how do you think about just that infrastructure piece or the optical piece in infrastructure?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
I would say that everything is a possibility given our current traction, though we've seen some changes in the timeline for certain data center ramps and enterprise customers. This year, a significant portion of our revenue in the optical data center connectivity sector is coming from 400 gigabit solutions. However, as we approach the end of this year and move into 2026, 800 gigabit solutions are starting to see growth. This illustrates our momentum with the data centers we are monitoring. While I would like to see even greater traction, I am proud of our progress. We have faced strong competition, which has taken time to overcome, but we are making headway. As for our relationships with major OEMs, we are included in their solution portfolios, and I hope we are viewed as a preferred choice, either now or in the future. That's our aim.
David Williams, Analyst
Perfect. And then maybe, Steve, just kind of thinking about the gross margin guidance. I think just the 30 basis points there that you're guiding to, it would imply maybe a 64%, 65% type of incremental margin. Does that seem fair? And what are maybe the moving pieces there for that margin improvement for next quarter?
Steven Litchfield, CFO
Yes, David, I think we're kind of finally starting to see things improve a little bit. I mean, as revenue really starts to ramp back up to some more material levels and naturally the mix, as we've talked about a while, I mean, you're seeing our infrastructure business continue to grow at a faster rate than the rest of the business, which has a little higher gross margin mix. And so pleased with the progress. Looking into next year, hopefully, we can continue to see that.
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
And the growth is picking up some momentum and the lead times on the fabs that we have dramatically increased as well. We're not the only one looking to increase capacity. And the fabs have been increasing prices as well. And so we are not where we wanted to be on gross margins, but all the good work our team does seems like the fabs are consuming it. So yes, we are making good progress, but not as much as I'd hope on the gross margin front.
Operator, Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Joe Quatrochi with Wells Fargo.
Joseph Quatrochi, Analyst
Could you provide an update on your expectations for 2026 in relation to the data center optical segment? We’ve observed numerous announcements regarding AI data centers recently, and I’m interested in how your visibility or pipeline of opportunities has evolved since last quarter.
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Look, a quarter is a long time, but also it's a very short time in the data center world, right? These interops, one of the biggest learnings for me is the interops always take longer than they tell you and they're always juggling their current build-outs versus qualifying new players. So having passed the threshold with the major data centers on the interops, it has a way of generating its own momentum for MaxLinear's products. So naturally, you can tell by our tone, we are very, very excited and we're getting a lot of what I call pull now in terms of design win activity and such. So obviously, we're feeling very, very good. And like I told in response to Tore's question, we feel very, very good. And the growth that we expect for optical or wireless infrastructure is of the same order and infrastructure will grow very, very nicely next year.
Joseph Quatrochi, Analyst
Got it. And then on the broadband connectivity side, I appreciate that it's typically seasonally down in the December quarter. Any sort of help in just terms of kind of framing this year relative to normal seasonality, just given I think there's been some inventory kind of things at play there?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Okay. So perhaps Steve can provide a bit more insight. Typically, we experience seasonality where December can sometimes feel like Q1. We have generally faced uncertainty for those who have followed our progress over the years. However, this year feels different as we are seeing core recovery taking place. The significant growth has come primarily from cable recovery, and we are successfully securing designs on the PON side. We are very excited about a major telecom provider. Ideally, you’ll have one of our devices at home. The PON segment is set for substantial growth, although we do anticipate some moderation. We saw an 80% year-over-year growth, which is significant, but the broadband market isn't typically a continuous growth driver, so we expect some moderation.
Steven Litchfield, CFO
Yes. I think the only thing I would add, Joe, is maybe speak a little bit broader in '26 and '27. I mean, we are seeing nice CapEx spends over the next 2 years. You're seeing the telco guys rolling that out right now. We're certainly participating, as Kishore stated. And that's exciting because it's new business for us. At the same time, you still got kind of this DOCSIS upgrade that's happening and has a meaningful content improvement, and that's going to start kind of late '26 and even into 2027. I think some of the cable operators have been delayed a little bit with some of the amps and the node upgrades that are happening. So maybe to the earlier point, yes, a little bit of moderation in the short term with regard to seasonality, but I think our outlook continues to be strong over the next couple of years.
Operator, Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Tim Savageaux with Northland Capital Markets.
Timothy Savageaux, Analyst
Congratulations on the strong results. I would like to revisit a couple of questions that have already been asked. Specifically, I'm referring to the comments about accelerating growth. I'm unsure if that initial statement pertained to the overall business for 2026 compared to 2025, but it seemed to focus on the optical data center segment. I wanted to clarify that and get more insight into your direction regarding those comments.
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
So clearly, it's not related to where the business was '24 versus '25. It's really related to the new opportunities that we have in front of us. Obviously, the new opportunities will grow much faster than what the overall business that it's pointing to based on Street's numbers around 20% growth or so for the company. So the acceleration we're talking about is really in terms of the various opportunities here, okay? The first one is the data center connectivity, then I told wireless is in the same order, infrastructure. And then we have storage accelerators. Those are all brand-new or exciting data center type-driven markets. Those are where the exciting growth is, very, very strong growth, well above the company's overall growth rate. Then we said broadband will moderate to its potentially normal level. But within broadband, with the puts and takes, PON is going to grow strongly because there's a large North American operator coming online. And so those are the buckets I would look at as strong growth opportunities that are accelerating. And at the overall company level, that translates to a pretty robust growth that I referred to earlier.
Timothy Savageaux, Analyst
Yes, okay. Let me try one more time. So if we take AI optical in particular, somewhere in the middle of your range. And I'd be interested as an aside as to whether you have any thoughts about the higher or low end of that $60 million, $70 million range as we stand here in October. But assuming we're mid-range, that's 80%, 90% growth, something like that. So accelerating growth there would be up toward triple-digits. And from an absolute dollar standpoint, I think what you're telling us is that growth you should see on the wireless side as well. I want to make sure I got that right. And I have one more very quick one.
Steven Litchfield, CFO
Yes. So Tim, since nobody likes Kishore's answers, I'll try. Joking aside, look, I think we're very excited about the outlook on the infrastructure side. I mean, optical is clearly where we've been spending a lot of time and efforts. And we're seeing that potential that you're referring to, I think we're having a great year this year. It's very back-end loaded. And looking out into next year as these new data center wins ramp into production, yes, I mean, these numbers go up meaningfully and we're very excited about that. Are there other pieces in infrastructure that continue to do well? Yes, absolutely. And we're excited about those also. But data center is going to lead the way from a growth number, nonetheless.
Timothy Savageaux, Analyst
Great. And that's actually very relevant to my very brief final question, which is on the Q4 guide. Looks like infrastructure is doing most of the work there, maybe up 20% plus sequentially. Could you break that down between optical or wireless or any other big drivers for that sequential growth in Q4?
Steven Litchfield, CFO
Yes. Look, it's a good question. I guess, I would just say with regard to some of that end market guidance. So you're right, infrastructure is the biggest contributor in Q4. I think that was, for the most part, expected that you would see that particular end market growing the most. I mean, some of the moderation that we spoke of earlier on broadband and connectivity is modest. I mean, indeed modest. It's not that big. Industrial multi-market is on the mend, I would say, and we're starting to see some improvements there. But I'll keep from going into specifics on all the line items that drive infrastructure growth. But suffice it to say, we're very excited about some strong back-end and infrastructure growth that will lead to nice revenues in 2026.
Operator, Operator
The next question comes from the line of Christopher Rolland with Susquehanna International Group.
Christopher Rolland, Analyst
Congrats, guys. So this one is probably for Kishore. So Kishore, I felt like I sensed a bit of hesitation to really extend yourself in the optical guide or comments for next year. You did mention stuff like competition, and there's a lot to this beyond just kind of pure DSP performance, like laser availability and/or bundling and other dynamics. So I was wondering if you could kind of expand a little bit more there on your outlook and what gets you to like a hyper growth outcome for next year for MaxLinear versus like just a solid growth outlook?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
That's a very complicated question with many dynamics involved. Yes, availability will be a significant issue, whether it's optics or silicon, for example, which is a big factor. Another factor is the timing of our wins and how they translate to actual revenue growth. At this point, our growth assumptions are based on what has already started ramping. Based on that, I can assure you that we expect very solid growth. The term hyper growth is quite exaggerated. It will require things that are already ramping to achieve greater market share than we initially planned. So, the growth we are discussing is not based on many new design wins. We can only predict growth based on what we have secured and what has begun ramping. This clarifies the situation; hyperbolic growth would depend on gaining much more market share than anticipated, while solid growth is based on the shares we currently assume in our data center strategy.
Christopher Rolland, Analyst
Perfect. Following up on your comments about broadband, you mentioned DOCSIS 4. Will this be a significant driver for new upgrades in this business, or do you believe that the fiber opportunity and its growth are more substantial as we look ahead?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
As the Professor always said, it depends. It depends on a number of things. One of the things that it depends upon is DOCSIS 4.0 ramp. And clearly, the main players have delayed their DOCSIS 4.0 ramp because the network upgrades that they planned for, they have sort of slowed down for whatever reasons, right, due to the complexity of it or not. So that could make a huge meaningful difference on the cable growth. So that brings the question, as you rightly pointed out, on the fiber side. So we have a lot of North America operator ramping. We are winning a bunch of shares right now and the timing of those. So at this point, when I think of broadband, there are 2 factors that would make for a meaningful broadband growth and not overly moderated as we were alluding to. One is the DOCSIS 4.0 ramp and rollout. And we are very confident of the North American telecom operator ramping, the second one, the big one. And there are a couple of others that if the timing is right, that could also set up a nice growth for broadband.
Operator, Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Ananda Baruah with Loop Capital Markets.
Ananda Baruah, Analyst
Congratulations on the steady progress. It's good to see. This raises a broader growth question that we all share. Kishore, coming out of COVID, you've had a solid growth year similar to 2025, followed by an amplified growth rate after that year, despite starting from a negative comparison. This is likely why people are focused on these similarities. Can you identify any significant differences in the business, supply chain, or inventory that might lead to a different pattern this time compared to the COVID period? I understand COVID was unique, but the growth rates appear to be comparable. Additionally, you have more market opportunities that you've been preparing for following this pause than you did back then. I have a quick follow-up as well.
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Ananda, let me try to take a stab at your question. There's a fundamental difference between what we are talking today versus what you saw in the COVID phenomenon, as I call it. That was a very broadband-driven growth. And now it's really infrastructure being a huge part of the growth. And secondly, as always, these events happen, businesses change, legacy businesses. And so right now, the infrastructure growth, there are components of it that are really primarily brand new revenues. And they have a huge TAM and massive TAMs, much more than anything we were looking at before, where our share of that market is very tiny. So there's a large growth in front of us as we become successful and continue in our strategic focus and investments. That's, I would say. Secondly, the inventory situation is totally different. Nobody is doing excess stocking whatsoever, right? So now we are in a place where sell-through and sell-in, if you will, are kind of in balance equilibrium, let's call it, right? So there's no unusual sort of events of that nature. So on the supply chain side, it's dramatically different. There are geopolitical issues that are in play now. And then there's a large dependency on the foundry choices one can have in the SoC markets versus non-SoC markets. So very, very different. And the advanced nodes are much more entrenched now than they used to be before. So if you look at 16 nanometer and beyond, it's all FinFET-based versus previously it was older nodes than 16 nanometer. So I just want to leave it there. And the fabs have now completely muscled on their pricing power. So you have to be incredibly more innovative to maintain your margins than it's not a one-trick scenario that you can charge margins because you were there at the right time for the right market. But if you're going to be a company like MaxLinear across portfolios, you really have to have a sustainable, consistent execution and value proposition to maintain or grow your gross margins. I would say that with the comprehensive color. Okay. So let me allow you to ask your second question. So let's see, maybe Steve is better positioned for that.
Ananda Baruah, Analyst
That's great. I have a quick question regarding neoclouds. With more hyperscale workloads and AI workloads transitioning to neoclouds, as well as large AOIs moving there, does this mean you need to expand your relationships to engage in that space? Could you provide some insight into that overall situation? That's all I have.
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
That's a very broad question. We need to expand our relationships while also strengthening them, which can be quite challenging. Once we start generating revenue, those conversations become easier and more natural. As we gain trust, this leads to more discussions, which is typical in our field. Successful interactions naturally lead to more conversations, allowing us to expand our outreach. However, when entering new areas, it’s important to focus on deepening those initial conversations, as we need to establish credibility before addressing broader topics. This approach is typical in new markets, especially in data centers, which present their own challenges. The resources required for marketing and support are significantly higher before we see any revenue, which adds to the difficulty in entering these markets.
Operator, Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Quinn Bolton with Needham & Company.
Quinn Bolton, Analyst
I guess, maybe I'm a little just thick-headed, but I just wanted to come back on the broadband comments. You're talking about moderating or a moderation in that business. Are you talking about the growth rate is going to moderate from something like 80% year-on-year to a lower percentage, but still growing or are you talking about the business actually potentially declining next year? And if it declines, is it simply just maybe normalization in cable, the DOCSIS 4 ramp really not ramping until late calendar '26. And so the moderation in cable kind of offsets the growth in PON. Is that the right way to be thinking about it or do you think the overall business just still grows. It's just not going to grow at 80%?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Quinn, nobody accused you ever of being thick-headed. I just want to clarify that first, okay? The second part of it is you're absolutely right. We're talking in absolute terms and not in percentage terms. We don't see overall decline. But on the broadband side, we just see sort of growth through the next year, so to speak, range we are thinking about. Can it grow? I think it was asked by Chris Rolland that you've got the fiber PON design wins that are in place and the DOCSIS 4 ramp has to set in to see some good growth beyond this year. That's fairly correct. So Steve, do you want to add anything more?
Steven Litchfield, CFO
No, no. I mean, look, the moderation comment is around Q4. That was the guidance. We just talked about Q4. We haven't given any guidance beyond that. But my comments about the market and the CapEx spend, I mean, kind of to Kishore's point, PON is picking up. There's lots of great opportunities. These are all market share gains for MaxLinear, a market we haven't been in. So it's really exciting times from that standpoint. And then I think the excitement around DOCSIS is a 50% content increase, right? So you got the DOCSIS rolling out. We're shipping products this year, but it will pick up next year and even into 2027. So that content increase is exciting.
Operator, Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Tim Savageaux with Northland Capital Markets.
Timothy Savageaux, Analyst
Congratulations on the strong results. I’d like to revisit a couple of questions that have already been discussed, particularly regarding the accelerating growth commentary. I'm unsure if the initial remark pertained to the entire business or specifically to the optical data center segment. I would appreciate some clarification and additional insights on your plans related to those comments.
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
So clearly, it's not related to where the business was '24 versus '25. It's really related to the new opportunities that we had in front of us. Obviously, the new opportunities will grow much faster than what the overall business that it's pointing to based on Street's numbers around 20% growth or so for the company. So the acceleration we're talking about is really in terms of the various opportunities here, okay? The first one is the data center connectivity, then I told wireless is in the same order, infrastructure. And then we have storage accelerators. Those are all brand-new or exciting data center type-driven markets. Those are where the exciting growth is, very, very strong growth, well above the company's overall growth rate. Then we said broadband will moderate to its potentially normal level. But within broadband, with the puts and takes, PON is going to grow strongly because there's a large North American operator coming online. And so those are the buckets I would look at as strong growth opportunities that are accelerating. And at the overall company level, that translates to a pretty robust growth that I referred to earlier.
Operator, Operator
Our last question comes from the line of Richard Shannon with Craig-Hallum.
Richard Shannon, Analyst
A couple of questions here. First one is probably for Kishore on DSP here. On the last earnings call, you talked about the potential with your Rushmore family to potentially have some level of incumbency being the first one to be a supplier in any one particular situation. Wondering if that's playing out here. You're expressing certainly a lot of enthusiasm for how things are going there. I would love to get a sense of the degree to which that is happening or you think there's a good chance of it happening?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
We discussed Keystone, which is driving our revenues, particularly the Keystone family of products. Rushmore is our 200-gigabit per lane product that we demonstrated at OFC. As you know, our competitor announced their product a few months prior, so they are a bit ahead. However, we believe our product is significantly differentiated. We expect to begin production in 2026, but we are not currently accounting for any revenues from the 200-gig per lane at this moment. There's also a rollout challenge with the 1.6 terabit in data centers, as the 800-gig is not fully deployed yet. While we want to focus on future developments, I believe we have time for 1.6 terabit, and we are in a solid position. So for Rushmore, while the best-case scenario has us ready by the end of 2026, I'm being realistic. Keystone remains the priority. Will Rushmore be a strong option for 2027? Absolutely.
Richard Shannon, Analyst
Okay. My second question in an effort to express some love for all of our children. Let's ask one quick question here on the industrial multi-market business here. Obviously, it's come down a lot the last few years. It looks to be kind of bumbling along the bottom here so far this year. How do we think about the potential scale of this business in the next 1 to 2 years? Is this something where you're applying much effort here from a product and sales and marketing point of view to grow it nicely or is this just more of an afterthought relative to some of the other dynamics in your business?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
There are some businesses that take time to see a return on investment. I would categorize our approach as sustainable growth rate investments appropriate for the current marketplace. The significant decline we experienced was largely due to geopolitical issues and the industrial market. We lost considerable revenue when our licenses expired, preventing us from shipping to certain customers in Asia. This revenue drop was linked to that situation. Additionally, during the market downturn, we maintained pricing discipline to uphold a healthy gross margin. Some of these outcomes were deliberate choices, while others were outside our control. Regarding investments, our focus in the industrial multi-market sector is concentrated on edge, cloud, and data center initiatives. We're exploring innovative methods within data centers. These developments allow us to reposition our portfolio with an emphasis on edge and cloud data centers, and we are actively investing in these areas. Our primary focus is on the substantial dollars flowing into edge, enterprise, and cloud infrastructure, which require many components, even within the industrial analog space. So, to summarize, we are indeed investing.
Operator, Operator
Our last question comes from the line of Karl Ackerman with BNP Paribas.
Karl Ackerman, Analyst
I also have two questions. First, as we consider the possibility of the broadband segment revenue returning to $100 million a quarter, could you provide some insight into the opportunity with your gateway offerings, especially now that they are expanding beyond just a single carrier?
Steven Litchfield, CFO
We have a couple of points to discuss. The PON business is relatively new for us and has experienced significant growth over the past year and a half. We've gained considerable traction, especially with the two major North American companies now utilizing our products, which is quite exciting. Additionally, we have several other customers that we are either currently producing for or have integrated into our PON offerings. If we examine the revenue potential from the gateway, whether it’s from a PON gateway or a cable gateway, we’re looking at an opportunity of about $40 to $50 in content. Much of this comes from WiFi, Ethernet, and the system on chip itself, which are key contributors. We continue to see increases in content, which is a significant aspect of our growth potential. It's important to note that our focus isn't solely on unit growth or market share increase, although we are experiencing both and anticipate continued growth over the next two years. The gain in content is also a major revenue driver.
Karl Ackerman, Analyst
Got it. Understood. Shifting gears a bit, could you speak to the breadth of design engagements you have in optical DSPs for 800-gig? And second, when should we expect the revenue from 800-gig to cross over your revenue from 400-gig?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Let me address your question regarding the scope of our design engagements. We are currently involved with all the major module makers across Asia and America, regardless of their headquarters. This represents a significant engagement encompassing various configurations, not just limited to transceivers but extending further. It's important to consider this context. In terms of data centers, each has its own roadmap and timeline for transitioning. For instance, Google has progressed past 800, which is significantly ahead, and we have not engaged with them, nor do I believe others have, apart from one player. NVIDIA is also a unique entity of considerable size and we do not participate with them. Other companies are progressing at different rates and are lagging in their deployments. The extent of our engagement varies depending on the timing of the inquiry. Currently, we are engaged with various players, and our shipping activities primarily involve a subset of hyperscalers in the U.S. and Asia.
Operator, Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Suji Desilva with ROTH.
Sujeeva De Silva, Analyst
Congrats on the progress here. Kishore, you talked about DOCSIS 4 having adoption delays or push-outs. Are there technical issues that you could talk about in a little detail to help us understand what is maybe gating larger flagship adoption of DOCSIS 4?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Great question. There's nothing new to report. It's consistent with our expectations. We have a deep understanding of the cable industry. As we anticipated, there will be significant deployment of DOCSIS 4.0, but the majority will be Ultra DOCSIS. Due to network upgrades, whether it's the node or the amplifiers, there's a lot of work involved. They are facing stability issues in the network, which makes the process slow. They are taking an incremental approach, urging us to invest and prepare, but the deployment is progressing at its own pace. This is the primary reason for the delays. I still believe that Ultra DOCSIS 3.1 will see the most widespread deployment, which will occur across different regions. It's important to note that 4.0 is largely a phenomenon in North America. Steve, did you have something to add?
Steven Litchfield, CFO
Sure, there's no major update. I believe we are on track with arbitration this quarter, but it will extend into next year. Hopefully, we will see some resolution in the first half of next year. Overall, we feel positive about it.
Operator, Operator
Our last question comes from the line of Tore Svanberg with Stifel.
Tore Svanberg, Analyst
Yes. Two quick follow-ups. I promise real quick. First of all, so when I look at your various segments, it looks like broadband right now is running about 10 percentage points above infrastructure. But given the moving parts in calendar '26, it sounds like infrastructure will potentially be slightly bigger as a percentage of revenue. Do I sort of have that direction right?
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Well, so certainly, I think we've been consistent in saying infrastructure is going to be quite a bit bigger, and I think it's on its way. I think you're heading in the right direction.
Tore Svanberg, Analyst
Very good. And then the last one for you, Steve. So OpEx is coming in a little bit higher than where it was. I mean, obviously, your revenues are $6 million higher for Q4. So that's probably expected. But I was just wondering how we should think about OpEx, especially in relation to the restructuring you had early in the year. Does OpEx come down a little bit in the first half or is this sort of the new baseline?
Steven Litchfield, CFO
Yes. We acknowledge that OpEx was slightly higher this quarter, as was the guidance. You can observe the revenue increases we had projected and achieved. Looking ahead to next year, we anticipate this trend will continue. We have several large customers expressing a need for software and platform support, which requires our ongoing efforts. There may be minor adjustments from our original expectations for the year. Overall, as you consider next year, you should see improved operating margins developing throughout the year, and we are excited about the leverage we're beginning to see in our business model.
Operator, Operator
I'd like to turn the floor back over to Dr. Kishore Seendripu for closing comments.
Kishore Seendripu, CEO
Thank you, operator. I appreciate everyone who joined this Q3 earnings call. We will be attending several investor financial conferences this year, both in person and virtually, and the details will be available on our Investor Relations page. We look forward to seeing you at those events, and thank you for being here today as well. Happy Halloween, everyone. Talk to you later. Thank you. Goodbye.
Operator, Operator
This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.