Company Reports

Nordic Semiconductor's second-quarter revenue of $219 million landed at the high end of $200 million–$220 million guidance, up 33% year over year and 14% sequentially. Management guided for third-quarter revenue of $220 million–$240 million, implying 28% year-on-year growth at the midpoint.

Nordic Semiconductor’s first quarter of 2026 was constructive, with sales of $192 million coming in at the upper end of guidance and pointing to further sequential acceleration in the second quarter.

Nordic Semiconductor ended 2025 with a solid rebound, delivering 30% year-on-year growth to $668 million after a weak 2024. Management guided for sales growth of 20% in the upcoming quarter, and we noted a more confident tone this time.

Nordic Semiconductor’s third-quarter revenue of $179 million reached the higher end of the $165 million-$185 million guidance, up 13% year-on-year and 9% sequentially.

Nordic Semiconductor designs Bluetooth Low Energy chips, the main source of its narrow-moat where it enjoys 30%-40% market share. Nordic Semiconductor has made a handful of good decisions in the last decade. The first was to bet early in the BLE market around 2009, which is the standard for short-range communications in battery-powered devices thanks to good data throughput and easy installation. Second, Nordic switched from selling application-specific integrated circuit chips, or ASICs, where each chip is designed for a specific customer and application, to selling application-specific standard products, or ASSPs, which a wide range of customers and applications can use. These caused Nordic’s revenue to multiply by 4 times from 2015 until 2022. After the pandemic boom in consumer digital products, Nordic went through a prolonged cyclical trough that lasted during 2024 and part of 2025. Nordic uses distributors as its main sales channel, which we see as the right sales channel for a mid-sized company like Nordic, given it can serve many small and mid-sized customers.

Nordic Semiconductor designs Bluetooth Low Energy chips, the main source of its narrow-moat and with 40% market share. Nordic Semiconductor has made a handful of good decisions in the last decade. The first was to bet early in the BLE market around 2009, which is the standard for short-range communications in battery-powered devices thanks to good data throughput and easy installation. Second, Nordic switched from selling application-specific integrated circuit chips, or ASICs, where each chip is designed for a specific customer and application, to selling application-specific standard products, or ASSPs, which can be used by a wide range of customers and applications. These caused Nordic’s revenue to multiply by 4 times from 2015 until 2022. After the pandemic boom in consumer digital products, Nordic is going through a prolonged cyclical trough that has lasted more than two years. Nordic uses distributors as its main sales channel, whereas larger competitors like Qualcomm or Broadcom are less interested given distributors only represent 25% of global chip sales and serve many small and midsize customers.

Investors liked Nordic Semiconductor’s second-quarter results, as revenue came in at the high end of the $145 million-$165 million guidance range at $164.5 million.

Nordic Semiconductor designs Bluetooth Low Energy chips, the main source of its narrow-moat and with 40% market share. Nordic Semiconductor has made a handful of good decisions in the last decade. The first was to bet early in the BLE market around 2009, which is the standard for short-range communications in battery-powered devices thanks to good data throughput and easy installation. Second, Nordic switched from selling application-specific integrated circuit chips, or ASICs, where each chip is designed for a specific customer and application, to selling application-specific standard products, or ASSPs, which can be used by a wide range of customers and applications. These caused Nordic’s revenue to multiply by 4 times from 2015 until 2022. After the pandemic boom in consumer digital products, Nordic is going through a prolonged cyclical trough that has lasted more than two years. Nordic uses distributors as its main sales channel, whereas larger competitors like Qualcomm or Broadcom are less interested given distributors only represent 25% of global chip sales and serve many small and midsize customers.

Nordic Semiconductor’s first-quarter 2025 results were in line with management’s guidance, reaching $155 million in sales compared with guidance of $140 million-$160 million. Next quarter’s outlook faces higher uncertainty than usual due to tariffs and global trade tensions.

Nordic Semiconductor delivered fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations, with revenue reaching $150 million, in the top part of its guided $130 million-$150 million range. For next quarter, management expects revenue of $140 million-$160 million, which we consider acceptable considering Nordic’s rough path in the past 12 months. When asked if Nordic’s sales will follow the common seasonal pattern of sequential acceleration through the year, management gave a vague response. We model $596 million in revenue for 2025, which would represent an average of $150 million in revenue per quarter, up from $511 million in 2024. Shares are up 18% in morning trading on Feb. 5 to NOK 134 per share, compared with our NOK 127 fair value estimate, which we maintain.

Nordic Semiconductor's third-quarter results were in line with guidance. Sales of $160 million recovered by 24% sequentially, as anticipated. The consumer segment was the main driver of growth, with sales of $108 million and a 35% year-on-year growth. Consumer demand was broad-based, with PC, gaming, and virtual-reality accessories as the highlights. Industrial growth was shyer at 8%, given weaker demand in Europe offset better growth in the US and Asia. Healthcare revenue dipped 21%, but it was coming from strong comparable figures last year. The $130 million to $150 million in revenue outlook also didn't impress investors, who are watchful about how 2025 will develop after management hinted that the year could look softer than expected at the September capital markets day. Comments from other firms under our coverage mirror these fears, as they have mentioned that semiconductor consumer demand remains frail. We are maintaining our NOK 127 fair value estimate.

Narrow-moat Nordic Semiconductor's recovery continues as the company is gradually exiting the cycle trough seen last quarter. For the second quarter, revenue reached $127.4 million, up 73% sequentially from the weak $73.6 million seen last quarter, and down 16% year over year. The recovery has been strong among all end markets as inventory levels at distributors decreased to normalized levels and orders started to return. Investors welcomed the healthy guidance for next quarter, with Nordic expecting revenue between $150 million and $170 million, an 11%-26% sequential improvement. Nordic’s performance can be lumpy among quarters due to its high exposure to consumer electronics and high revenue concentration, where the top-10 clients normally represent more than 50% of revenue. Sales in the second half of the year should remain stronger due to seasonal patterns, especially in the consumer segment with Black Friday and Christmas resulting in higher consumer sales. We are maintaining our fair value estimate of NOK 127.

Narrow-moat Nordic Semiconductor's shares jumped by a sharp 35% in trading on April 24, reaching NOK 120 per share and mostly converging with our NOK 127 fair value estimate, which we maintain. The surprise came from Nordic’s second-quarter guidance, which implies an important acceleration to NOK 115 million- NOK 135 million in revenue compared with the weak NOK 74.5 million recorded this quarter. Nordic’s guidance is in line with our assumptions as we expect a sequential acceleration in revenue through the year from the very low base recorded in the first quarter. At this point, we recommend investors look for opportunities with a higher margin of safety, given the low visibility of Nordic’s financials as management does not provide yearly guidance and sales are normally lumpy given consumer exposure and high revenue concentration. We assume a high-single-digit revenue decline in 2024, followed by a strong 37% recovery in growth in 2025, reaching almost EUR 700 million in sales at a 9% operating margin.

Nordic Semiconductor reported poor fourth-quarter results, missing guidance for the second time this year. Sales were $108 million compared with guidance of $110 million to $130 million, with negative EBITDA of $6.9 million. It is the first time Nordic reported negative EBITDA since the first quarter of 2019. The outlook for the next quarter also looks bleak, with management estimating $70 million to $80 million in sales, a 30% sequential decline and a 50% year-on-year decline at the midpoint of $75 million. According to management, there is still too much inventory at its main distribution clients, so new orders for Nordic’s chips are getting delayed. Avnet, a U.S. electronics distributor and one of Nordic’s main clients, reported on Jan. 31 that it has high inventory levels that it expects will go down through the year. Although we expect Nordic’s situation will improve once inventories at electronics distributors go back to more normal levels, we are reducing our fair value estimate to NOK 127 as we adjust our medium-term forecasts. We now assume high-single-digit revenue declines in 2024 with breakeven profitability, followed by a strong recovery in 2025 that will result in margin expansion. We also assume Nordic won’t reach $1 billion in sales until 2028.

Nordic Semiconductor designs Bluetooth Low Energy chips, the main source of its narrow-moat and with 40% market share. During the past decade we believe Nordic Semiconductor has made a handful of good decisions. The first was to bet early in the BLE market around 2009, which is the standard for short-range communications in battery-powered devices thanks to good data throughput and easy installation. Second, Nordic switched from selling application-specific integrated circuit chips, or ASICs, where each chip is designed for a specific customer and application, to selling application-specific standard products, or ASSPs, which can be used by a wide range of customers and applications. These two decisions have caused Nordic’s revenue to multiply by 5 times since 2014. We also support Nordic’s decision to use distributors as its main sales channel, whereas larger competitors like Qualcomm or Broadcom are less interested given distributors only represent 25% of global chip sales and serve many small and midsize customers.

Narrow-moat Nordic Semiconductor reported a disappointing third quarter. Revenue was $135 million compared with expected guidance of $140 million to $160 million. The biggest hit, however, came from fourth-quarter guidance, with management guiding for a 30%-40% year-over-year decline when a few months ago it expected positive growth by the end of the year. We are reducing our medium-term revenue and margin forecasts and reducing our fair value estimate to NOK 145 from NOK 165. Shares are down 17% at the time of the writing to NOK 95, which we see as exaggerated despite the negative news.

Nordic Semiconductor designs Bluetooth Low Energy chips, the main source of its narrow-moat and with 40% market share. During the past decade we believe Nordic Semiconductor has made a handful of good decisions. The first was to bet early in the BLE market during 2009, which is the standard for short-range communications in battery-powered devices thanks to good data throughput and easy installation. Second, Nordic switched from selling application-specific integrated circuit chips, where each chip is designed for a specific customer and application, to selling application-specific standard products, which can be used by a wide range of customers and applications. These two decisions have caused Nordic’s revenue to multiply by 5 times since 2014. We also support Nordic’s decision to use distributors as its main sales channel, whereas larger competitors like Qualcomm or Broadcom are less interested given distributors only represent 25% of global chip sales and serve many small and midsize customers.

The market was very pleased with narrow-moat Nordic Semiconductor's second-quarter results, and shares are up by 14% at the time of the writing, trading in the NOK 135 range. Our NOK 165 fair value estimate remains unchanged.

Nordic Semiconductor designs Bluetooth Low Energy chips, the main source of its narrow-moat and with 40% market share. During the past decade we believe Nordic Semiconductor has made a handful of good decisions. The first was to bet early in the BLE market during 2009, which is the standard for short-range communications in battery-powered devices thanks to good data throughput and easy installation. Second, Nordic switched from selling application-specific integrated circuit chips, where each chip is designed for a specific customer and application, to selling application-specific standard products, which can be used by a wide range of customers and applications. These two decisions have caused Nordic’s revenue to multiply by 5 times since 2014. We also support Nordic’s decision to use distributors as its main sales channel, whereas larger competitors like Qualcomm or Broadcom are less interested given distributors only represent 25% of global chip sales and serve many small and midsize customers.

We are initiating on Nordic Semiconductors with a narrow moat, supported by intangible assets, a Standard Morningstar Capital Allocation Rating, and fair value estimate of NOK 165, 30% higher than the last closing share price. We expect a weak performance during 2023, in line with other semiconductor stocks, with midteen revenue declines as the electronics market absorbs excess inventories, followed by a recovery in 2024. Our fair value estimate represents a forward 2024 enterprise value/EBITDA multiple of 18 times.