(Bloomberg) -- Arm Holdings Plc, the chip designer that went public last year, gave a disappointing sales forecast for the current period, signaling that a still-recovering smartphone market may overshadow growth from artificial intelligence.
Revenue will be $920 million to $970 million in the current period, which ends in December, the company said Wednesday. The midpoint of that range would fall short of the $950.9 million that analysts had estimated. Profit will be 32 to 36 cents a share, minus certain items, meeting the consensus prediction of 34 cents on average.
The shares, which were up 93% this year at the close in New York, fell more than 3% in extended trading.
Investors have poured money into the stock since its initial public offering last year, betting that Arm is well placed to benefit from massive spending on AI gear. But the company’s designs and underlying technology are still used more heavily in other parts of the electronics industry, particularly in smartphones, leaving it vulnerable to demand swings in that area.
Revenue in the three months running through September rose about 5% to $844 million. That compares with the $810.9 million analysts had projected. Earnings were 30 cents a share in the fiscal second quarter, excluding some items. Analysts had estimated 26 cents on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Cambridge, UK-based company maintained its annual forecast, predicting sales of $3.8 billion to $4.1 billion. “We’re not trying to get too far ahead of our skis,” Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas said in an interview, referring to the outlook.
Arm has a unique role in the chip industry: Its designs and standards are fundamental to semiconductors that run most of the world’s smartphones. Under Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas, the company has been trying to extend that reach into the lucrative market for data center components. Arm also is offering more complete chip designs as part of its licensing arrangements, a shift aimed at making it more profitable and less reliant on royalties.
Arm licenses the fundamental set of instructions that software uses to communicate with chips. It also provides so-called design blocks that companies such as Qualcomm Inc. use to build their products. Arm licensees pay for access to its blueprints in fixed agreements — and then pay royalties based on the variety and amount of chips they ultimately make, use or sell.
Licensing revenue was $330 million last quarter, while royalty revenue was $514 million.
Arm is still roughly 90%-owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. The IPO in 2023 raised $4.9 billion, marking the biggest debut on a US exchange that year.
(Updates share reaction in third paragraph.)
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