MaxLinear (NYSE: MXL) reported Q4 EPS of $0.20, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $0.19. Revenue for the quarter came in at $87.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $87.03 million.

Non-GAAP basis:

• Non-GAAP gross margin was 62.7%. This compares to 62.5% in the prior quarter, and 62.0% in the year-ago quarter.
• Non-GAAP operating expenses were $36.7 million, or 42% of revenue, compared to $35.6 million or 42% of revenue in the prior quarter, and $38.3 million or 34% of revenue in the year-ago quarter.
• Non-GAAP income from operations was 21% of revenue, compared to 21% in the prior quarter, and 28% in the year-ago quarter.
• Non-GAAP effective tax rate was 7% of non-GAAP pre-tax income, compared to 7% in the prior quarter, and 4% in the year-ago quarter.
• Non-GAAP net income was $14.2 million, compared to $13.2 million in the prior quarter, and $26.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
• Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.20, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.19 in the prior quarter, and diluted earnings per share of $0.38 in the year-ago quarter.

“In the fourth quarter, our business performed well overall, highlighted by strong sequential revenue growth from our Infrastructure category. More specifically, in 2018, our wireless backhaul infrastructure business recorded nearly 50% growth. Our Connected Home business also delivered on the beginning of an anticipated recovery, which is now in its early stages. The Industrial and Multi-market business, as expected, was soft, which we believe reflects an overall industry slowdown. These results yielded GAAP net revenue of $87.6 million and net cash flows from operating activities of $24.2 million. These strong operating cash flows enabled us to pre-pay $15.0 million towards our outstanding term-loan debt, which further reduced our net leverage ratio to approximately 1.75 at the end of the fourth quarter,” commented Kishore Seendripu, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO.

“As we begin 2019, we are very excited about the positive early customer feedback regarding the new products launching this year which address the large communications Infrastructure market. Specifically, we have launched our 400G PAM4 DSP plus integrated driver and TIA system solution targeting high speed interconnect data center deployments in the second half of 2019 and our new wireless radio-transceiver targeting the 5G massive MIMO wireless opportunity, slated for sampling in the first half of 2019. These key infrastructure product launches combined with the aforementioned strength in our wireless backhaul business and the beginning of the recovery of our broadband business provide us confidence in our ability to realize our strong mid-term and long-term growth aspirations. Our technology leadership, along with our continued operating expense discipline, strongly position us to be able to navigate a turbulent market environment while supporting our long-term growth initiatives,” continued Dr. Seendripu.

GUIDANCE:

MaxLinear sees Q1 2019 revenue of $82-87 million, versus the consensus of $88.23 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on MaxLinear (MXL) click here.