Texas Instruments stock soars on Q1 earnings as AI demand jumps

Texas Instruments headed for its best day on Wall Street since 2000 after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected quarterly results and gave upbeat guidance due to high demand for its analog chips that are crucial for the AI data center buildout.

Shares of Texas Instruments soared 18% on Thursday and are trading at a record, up about 60% for the year.

For the first quarter, Texas Instruments reported revenue growth of 19% to $4.83 billion, topping the $4.53 billion average analyst estimate, according to LSEG. Earnings per share of $1.68 also beat estimates, as analysts on average predicted EPS of $1.27.

Texas Instruments said revenue in the second quarter will be between $5 billion and $5.4 billion, representing growth of 17% at the midpoint. EPS will be between $1.77 and $2.05, the company said.

CEO Haviv Ilan said on the earnings call late Wednesday that revenue in the company’s data center segment increased around 90% from a year ago. The industrial unit was up 30%.

With hyperscalers like Meta and Amazon building data centers at a dizzying pace, Texas Instruments is a major beneficiary.

“We are prepared,” Ilan said. “If the market wants to grow at the same rate as Q1, we mentioned 19% year over year, we are ready. If it wants to accelerate, we are ready as well.”

Although Texas Instruments doesn’t make the most advanced processors, like those from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, its analog chips perform essential tasks such as regulating power and converting signals from the real world into data needed for other chips to execute more complex jobs.

Apple is among its biggest customers. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, last year committed to making “critical foundation semiconductors” for iPhones and other devices at Texas Instruments’ new chip fabrication plants in Utah and Texas.

Other major customers include Nvidia, Ford, Medtronic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Texas Instruments is spending $60 billion to build three new plants in the U.S. It also makes chips in Germany, Japan and China.

In February, the company bought chip design firm Silicon Laboratories for $7.5 billion, expanding its ability to make wireless and connectivity chips for industrial and consumer applications.

Ilan also addressed concerns about the memory shortage, saying there’s no evidence to suggest it will negatively impact his company’s personal electronics segment in future quarters.

“Customers are very aware of it, but I think they are doing well preparing themselves,” he said. 

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