As the Q2 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the analog semiconductors industry, including Himax (NASDAQ:HIMX) and its peers.

Demand for analog chips is generally linked to the overall level of economic growth, as analog chips serve as the building blocks of most electronic goods and equipment. Unlike digital chip designers, analog chip makers tend to produce the majority of their own chips, as analog chip production does not require expensive leading edge nodes. Less dependent on major secular growth drivers, analog product cycles are much longer, often 5-7 years.

The 15 analog semiconductors stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.2% below.

Inflation progressed towards the Fed's 2% goal recently, leading the Fed to reduce its policy rate by 50bps (half a percent or 0.5%) in September 2024. This is the first cut in four years. While CPI (inflation) readings have been supportive lately, employment measures have bordered on worrisome. The markets will be debating whether this rate cut's timing (and more potential ones in 2024 and 2025) is ideal for supporting the economy or a bit too late for a macro that has already cooled too much.

While some analog semiconductors stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 1.3% since the latest earnings results.

Best Q2: Himax (NASDAQ:HIMX)

Taiwan-based Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) is a leading manufacturer of display driver chips and timing controllers used in TVs, laptops, and mobile phones.

Himax reported revenues of $239.6 million, up 2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a significant improvement in its gross margin.

The stock is down 4.3% since reporting and currently trades at $5.61.

Is now the time to buy Himax? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Impinj (NASDAQ:PI)

Founded by Caltech professor Carver Mead and one of his students Chris Diorio, Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) is a maker of radio-frequency identification (RFID) hardware and software.

Impinj reported revenues of $102.5 million, up 19.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.2%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a significant improvement in its inventory levels.

Impinj delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 39.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $213.