Author: Alexey Cherkasov

NXP Semiconductors N.V. reported financial results for the first quarter, which ended March 31, 2024.

“NXP delivered quarterly revenue of $3.13 billion, in-line with the midpoint of guidance with all our focus end-markets performing as expected. Our first-quarter results, guidance for the second quarter, and our early views into the second half of the year underpin a cautious optimism that NXP is successfully navigating through this industry-wide cyclical downturn. We continue to manage what is in our control enabling NXP to drive solid profitability and earnings in a challenging demand environment,” said Kurt Sievers, NXP President and Chief Executive Officer.

Key Highlights for the First Quarter 2024:

• Revenue was $3.13 billion, up 0.2 percent year-on-year;
• GAAP gross margin was 57.0 percent, GAAP operating margin was 27.4 percent and GAAP diluted Net Income per Share was $2.47;
• Non-GAAP gross margin was 58.2 percent, non-GAAP operating margin was 34.5 percent, and non-GAAP diluted Net Income per Share was $3.24;
• Cash flow from operations was $851 million, with net capex investments of $224 million, resulting in non-GAAP free cash flow of $627 million;
• During the first quarter of 2024, NXP continued to execute its capital return policy with the payment of $261 million in cash dividends, and the repurchase of $303 million of its common shares. The total capital return of $564 million in the quarter represented 90 percent of first quarter non-GAAP free cash flow. On a trailing twelve month basis, capital return to shareholders represented $2.39 billion or 82 percent of non-GAAP free cash flow. The interim dividend for the first quarter 2024 was paid in cash on April 10, 2024 to shareholders of record as of March 21, 2024. Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, between April 1, 2024 and April 26, 2024, NXP executed via a 10b5-1 program additional share repurchases totaling $97 million;
• On March 1, 2024, NXP fully retired at maturity the $1 billion aggregate principal amount of outstanding 4.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024;
• On January 9, 2024, NXP announced the extension of its automotive radar one-chip family. The new SAF86xx integrates a high-performance radar transceiver, a multi-core radar processor and a hardware engine for state-of-the-art secure data communication over Automotive Ethernet;
• On January 11, 2024, NXP announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Honeywell to help optimize the way commercial buildings sense and securely control energy consumption. The collaboration aims to help make buildings operate more intelligently by integrating NXP Semiconductors’ neural network-enabled, industrial-grade applications processors into Honeywell’s building management systems (BMS);
• On March 19, 2024, NXP published its 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR), reinforcing its commitment toward transparency and sustainable business practices. Detailing NXP’s overall Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and guiding principles, the report highlights the company’s year-on-year progress in reaching its mid-term and long-term ESG goals; and
• On March 28, 2024, NXP announced the S32 CoreRide platform, the industry-first platform to combine processing, vehicle networking and system power management with integrated software to address the complexity, scalability, cost-efficiency and development efforts required for next-generation Software Defined Vehicles (“SDV”). Coincident with the CoreRide announcement, NXP introduced the S32N family of vehicle super-integration processors offering best-in-class real-time performance that enables S32 CoreRide central compute solutions, empowering OEMs with efficient and flexible processing choices. The 5nm S32N family greatly simplifies complex vehicle architecture development and cuts costs for automakers and tier-1 suppliers.

Summary of Reported First Quarter 2024 ($ millions, unaudited) ⁽¹⁾

1. Additional Information for the First Quarter 2024:
   1. For an explanation of GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments, please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
   2. Refer to Table 1 below for the weighted average number of diluted shares for the presented periods.
   3. Gross financial leverage is defined as gross debt divided by trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA.
   4. Net financial leverage is defined as net debt divided by trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA.

Guidance for the Second Quarter 2024: ($ millions, except Per Share data) ⁽¹⁾

Note (1) Additional Information:

1. GAAP Gross Profit is expected to include Purchase Price Accounting (“PPA”) effects, $(12) million; Share-based Compensation, $(15) million; Other Incidentals, $(13) million;
2. GAAP Operating Income (loss) is expected to include PPA effects, $(42) million; Share-based Compensation, $(115) million; Restructuring and Other Incidentals, $(22) million;
3. GAAP Financial Income (expense) is expected to include Other financial expense $(6) million;
4. GAAP Non-Controlling Interest (NCI) and Other includes non-controlling interest $(5) million and Other $(4) million;
5. GAAP diluted EPS is expected to include the adjustments noted above for PPA effects, Share-based Compensation, Restructuring and Other Incidentals in GAAP Operating Income (loss), the adjustment for Other financial expense, the adjustment for Non-controlling interest & Other and the adjustment on Tax due to the earlier mentioned adjustments.

NXP has based the guidance included in this release on judgments and estimates that management believes are reasonable given its assessment of historical trends and other information reasonably available as of the date of this release. Please note, the guidance included in this release consists of predictions only, and is subject to a wide range of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond NXP’s control. The guidance included in this release should not be regarded as representations by NXP that the estimated results will be achieved. Actual results may vary materially from the guidance we provide today. In relation to the use of non-GAAP financial information see the note regarding “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below. For the factors, risks, and uncertainties to which judgments, estimates and forward-looking statements generally are subject see the note regarding “Forward-looking Statements.” We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, including the guidance set forth herein, to reflect future events or circumstances.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In managing NXP’s business on a consolidated basis, management develops an annual operating plan, which is approved by our Board of Directors, using non-GAAP financial measures, that are not in accordance with, nor an alternative to, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In measuring performance against this plan, management considers the actual or potential impacts on these non-GAAP financial measures from actions taken to reduce costs with the goal of increasing our gross margin and operating margin and when assessing appropriate levels of research and development efforts. In addition, management relies upon these non-GAAP financial measures when making decisions about product spending, administrative budgets, and other operating expenses.

We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when coupled with the GAAP results and the reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of the Company’s results of operations and the factors and trends affecting NXP’s business. We believe that they enable investors to perform additional comparisons of our operating results, to assess our liquidity and capital position and to analyze financial performance excluding the effect of expenses unrelated to core operating performance, certain non-cash expenses and share-based compensation expense, which may obscure trends in NXP’s underlying performance. This information also enables investors to compare financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management.

These non-GAAP financial measures are provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. The presentation of these and other similar items in NXP’s non-GAAP financial results should not be interpreted as implying that these items are non-recurring, infrequent, or unusual.

Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable measures calculated in accordance with GAAP are provided in the financial statements portion of this release in a schedule entitled “Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Results (unaudited).” Please refer to the NXP Historic Financial Model file found on the Financial Information page of the Investor Relations section of our website at https://investors.nxp.com for additional information related to our rationale for using these non-GAAP financial measures, as well as the impact of these measures on the presentation of NXP’s operations.

In addition to providing financial information on a basis consistent with GAAP, NXP also provides the following selected financial measures on a non-GAAP basis: (i) Gross profit, (ii) Gross margin, (iii) Research and development, (iv) Selling, general and administrative, (v) Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, (vi) Other income, (vii) Operating income (loss), (viii) Operating margin, (ix) Financial Income (expense), (x) Income tax benefit (provision), (xi) Results relating to equity-accounted investees, (xii) Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders, (xiii) Earnings per Share – Diluted, (xiv) EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and trailing 12 month adjusted EBITDA, and (xv) free cash flow, trailing 12 month free cash flow and trailing 12 month free cash flow as a percent of Revenue. The non-GAAP information excludes, where applicable, the amortization of acquisition related intangible assets, the purchase accounting effect on inventory and property, plant and equipment, merger related costs (including integration costs), certain items related to divestitures, share-based compensation expense, restructuring and asset impairment charges, extinguishment of debt, foreign exchange gains and losses, income tax effect on adjustments described above and results from equity-accounted investments.

The difference in the benefit (provision) for income taxes between our GAAP and non-GAAP results relates to the income tax effects of the GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments that we make and the income tax effect of any discrete items that occur in the interim period. Discrete items primarily relate to unexpected tax events that may occur as these amounts cannot be forecasted (e.g., the impact of changes in tax law and/or rates, changes in estimates or resolved tax audits relating to prior year tax provisions, the excess or deficit tax effects on share-based compensation, etc.).

Original – NXP Semiconductors