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    MXL
    Earnings call· Mar 2026(Q1 FY26)

    MAXLINEAR Q1 FY26 earnings call MXL

    Apr 23, 2026 Source

    Executive summary

    MaxLinear Q1 FY26 — Optical Data Center Drives Strong Growth

    MaxLinear delivered a strong Q1 FY26, marking the beginning of a multiyear growth phase primarily driven by its optical data center business. The company is seeing accelerating adoption of its newest products, particularly the Keystone PAM4 DSP platform, and expects a significant step-up in data center revenue. While managing working capital needs for increased demand, MaxLinear is transforming into an infrastructure-focused company with new product ramps and customer engagements across its portfolio.

    Highlights

    5

    • Revenue grew 43% year-over-year to $137.2 million in Q1 FY26.

    • Infrastructure revenue grew 136% year-over-year in Q1 FY26, becoming the largest revenue category.

    • Optical data center revenue guidance for FY26 increased to $150 million to $170 million.

    • Storage accelerator (Panther) revenue expected to at least double in FY26 compared to FY25.

    • Secured first XGS-PON design win at a U.S. hyperscale data center and USB bridge controller designs with two major hyperscalers.

    Concerns

    3

    • Net cash flow used in operating activities was $8.9 million in Q1 FY26, primarily due to substantial wafer prepayments.

    • Gross margin guidance remains cautious due to rising input costs (wafer, packaging) despite favorable product mix.

    • FX volatility is a primary risk for interest and other expense.

    Guidance & targets

    16
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    Revenue
    $160 million to $170 million
    high materiality
    High
    GAAP Gross Margin
    56% to 59%
    medium materiality
    Medium
    Non-GAAP Gross Margin
    58% to 61%
    medium materiality
    Medium
    GAAP Operating Expenses
    $91 million to $97 million
    medium materiality
    High
    Non-GAAP Operating Expenses
    $61 million to $66 million
    medium materiality
    High
    GAAP Interest and Other Expense
    $1.8 million to $2.2 million
    low materiality
    Medium
    Non-GAAP Interest and Other Expense
    $1.8 million to $2.2 million
    low materiality
    Medium
    GAAP Tax Benefit
    $2 million
    low materiality
    High
    Non-GAAP Tax Provision
    $1 million
    low materiality
    High
    GAAP and Non-GAAP Diluted Share Count
    95 million
    low materiality
    High
    Optical Data Center Revenue
    $150 million to $170 million
    high materiality
    High
    Optical Data Center Revenue Step Function Increase
    strong upside
    high materiality
    High
    Rushmore Production Ramps
    beginning in late 2026
    medium materiality
    High
    Storage Accelerator (Panther) Revenue Growth
    at least double
    medium materiality
    High
    XGS-PON Design Win Ramp
    starts ramping sometime in '27
    medium materiality
    High
    Broadband Business Growth
    continue to grow
    medium materiality
    High

    Segment performance

    4
    SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
    Infrastructure
    Became the largest revenue category in Q1 FY26, driven by robust production ramps in optical data center-oriented platforms. Expected to be a much bigger driver of growth in the coming year.
    		$63 million136%——
    Broadband
    Experienced a pullback in Q1 FY26 after spectacular growth in FY25. Expected to start growing from Q2 FY26 and into FY27, with major fiber PON deployments in North America and Europe.
    		$44 million———
    Connectivity
    Expected to see growth in Q2 FY26.
    		$19 million———
    Industrial Multi-Market
    Expected to see growth in Q2 FY26.
    		$12 million———

    Operational metrics

    14
    Non-GAAP Gross Margin
    59.5%
    Q1 FY26

    Compared to GAAP gross margin of 57.5%.

    Non-GAAP Operating Expenses
    $59.9 million
    Q1 FY26

    Compared to GAAP operating expenses of $96.1 million.

    Cash and investments balance
    $89.9 million
    Q1 FY26

    Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of end of Q1 FY26.

    Net cash flow used in operating activities
    $8.9 million
    Q1 FY26

    Primary use of cash was due to substantial prepayment for wafers supporting rising demand for data center products.

    Days sales outstanding
    27 daysdown
    Q1 FY26

    Down in Q1 FY26.

    Inventory balance
    $8 millionup versus previous quarter
    Q1 FY26

    Inventory was up by approximately $8 million versus the previous quarter.

    Days inventory
    128 daysimproving
    Q1 FY26

    Improving to approximately 128 days.

    GAAP Operating Expenses
    $96.1 million
    Q1 FY26

    Reported GAAP operating expenses for Q1 FY26.

    GAAP Interest and Other Expense
    $1.4 million
    Q1 FY26

    Reported GAAP interest and other expense for Q1 FY26.

    Non-GAAP Interest and Other Expense
    $1.3 million
    Q1 FY26

    Reported non-GAAP interest and other expense for Q1 FY26.

    GAAP Loss from Operations
    13%
    Q1 FY26

    GAAP loss from operations for Q1 FY26 was 13% of net revenue.

    Non-GAAP Income from Operations
    16%
    Q1 FY26

    Non-GAAP income from operations for Q1 FY26 was 16% of net revenue.

    Stock-based compensation and performance-based equity accruals
    $28.5 million
    Q1 FY26

    Combined amount, primarily contributing to the delta between GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses.

    Acquisition-related and other costs
    $6.5 million
    Q1 FY26

    Contributing to the delta between GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses.

    Industry KPIs

    8
    MetricValueDetails
    Lead timesnecessary for providing the product
    Backlog order bookincreasing order backlog
    Ai data center revenue$150 million to $170 millionUSD
    Bookings net order intakeincreasing order backlog
    Design wins socket pipelinemultiplewins
    Inventory channel inventory$8 millionUSD
    Node platform ramp scheduleKeystone, Rushmore, Annapurna
    End market segment revenue mixInfrastructure: $63M; Broadband: $44M; Connectivity: $19M; Industrial Multi-Market: $12MUSD

    Orderbook & backlog

    1
    Order backlogincreasingQ1 FY26

    increasing

    for data center low challenger products, in the second half of the year

    Product announcements

    4
    ProductTypeDetails
    Rushmoreroadmap
    Washingtonroadmap
    Annapurnaroadmap
    Panther5roadmap

    Deals & partnerships

    2
    Tier 1 OEM partnerXGS-PON design win at a U.S. hyperscale data center

    Secured first XGS-PON design win at a U.S. hyperscale data center through a Tier 1 OEM partner, supporting cloud operators deploying resilient, dedicated PON-based control plane architectures.

    two major hyperscalersUSB bridge controller designs

    Won USB bridge controller designs with two major hyperscalers to support rack-level AI system management.

    Risks & headwinds

    4
    Cash outflow for wafer prepaymentsQ1 FY26

    $8.9 million net cash used in operating activities in Q1 FY26

    Mitigation: Prepayments were planned for working capital needs; future prepayments depend on demand. Expect inflection as revenues increase.

    Rising input costsQ2 FY26 onwards

    wafer cost, packaging, et cetera, are moving up

    Mitigation: Company expects to pass along these costs to customers. Gross margin guidance remains cautious due to this uncertainty.

    FX volatilityQ2 FY26

    primary risk for interest and other expense

    Mitigation: Not explicitly stated, but acknowledged as a risk for Q2 interest and other expense.

    Supply constraintsongoing

    some supply constraints out there

    Mitigation: Company planned well and worked closely with partners, seeing good success.

    What to watch in Q2 FY26

    4

    Optical Data Center Revenue Step-Up

    next quarter
    CurrentInfrastructure revenue grew 136% YoY in Q1 FY26
    Targetstep function increase in Q2 FY26

    Why it matters

    This is a key indicator of the company's transformation into an infrastructure-focused business and the success of its AI-centric product ramps.

    We also expect a step function data center revenue increase beginning in Q2 with expected strong upside as run rates expand into 2027.

    Q&A highlights

    7

    What factors led to the significant increase in FY26 optical data center revenue guidance, specifically if it's due to new customers or steeper ramps at existing ones?

    The increase is due to strong visibility, successful ramps across both 400G and 800G solutions, and the company's ability to scale to meet surging demand, rather than new customers. Management had been conservative initially and is now seeing the expected strong growth materialize.

    “Now with all the visibility and the lead times that are necessary for providing the product, we have very good visibility. And the ramps are sitting in very nicely, both across 400 gig and 800 gig solutions.”

    asked by Tore Svanberg · answered by Kishore Seendripu

    2 min read6 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    Optical Data Center Momentum

    MaxLinear's optical data center business is experiencing significant momentum, driven by robust production ramps of its Keystone PAM4 DSP optical transceiver platform. Keystone is now ramping at multiple major hyperscale customers in both the U.S. and Asia, supporting 400G and 800G PAM4 deployments for scale-up and scale-out applications. The company showcased its 1.6 terabit data center platform at OFC, featuring Rushmore (200 gigabit per line PAM4 DSP), Washington (matching 200 gigabit per laying), and Annapurna (1.6 terabit AEC and 3.2 terabit onboard electrical retimer). Customer engagement for Rushmore has accelerated, with production ramps anticipated in late 2026.

    02

    Expansion Beyond PAM4 Interconnects

    MaxLinear is expanding its footprint within hyperscale data centers beyond PAM4-based optical and electrical interconnects. The company secured its first XGS-PON design win at a U.S. hyperscale data center through a Tier 1 OEM partner, as cloud operators deploy resilient, dedicated PON-based control plane architectures. Additionally, MaxLinear won USB bridge controller designs with two major hyperscalers to support rack-level AI system management, which is expected to increase content per rack over time⏳.

    03

    Panther Hardware Storage Accelerator

    The Panther hardware storage accelerator SoC family continues to build momentum, with growing design win activity among Tier 1 network appliance and cloud service providers. Persistent memory constraints are highlighting Panther's advantages in hardware-accelerated compression, high throughput, and ultra-low latency memory access. The company is actively sampling the next-generation Panther5 with key customers and expects storage accelerator revenue to at least double in 2026 compared to 2025, with strong growth anticipated into 2027.

    04

    Wireless Infrastructure Improvement

    Wireless infrastructure momentum is improving as carriers increase investments in 5G RAN access and backhaul to support cloud-connected and edge AI functionality. MaxLinear's single-chip radio ASICs are deployed with multiple North American operators, with expanding opportunities as 5G networks evolve. The company anticipates a tailwind from this segment, though growth rates are not expected to match those of the data center business.

    05

    Broadband and Connectivity Deployments

    In broadband and connectivity, MaxLinear is executing large-scale deployments of its single-chip fiber PON and WiFi 7 gateway platforms with a second major Tier 1 service provider in North America. Additional ramps are expected later in the year in Europe. These long-cycle deployments provide a stable foundation, leveraging the company's strengths in integration and power efficiency. The broadband business is expected to resume growth from Q2 FY26 into 2027, with DOCSIS 4.0 certifications and deployments contributing to future growth.

    06

    Supply Chain and Gross Margin Dynamics

    MaxLinear acknowledged general supply constraints but stated it planned well and worked closely with partners to meet demand. The company experienced significant cash outflow in Q1 FY26 due to substantial prepayments for wafers to support rising data center demand. While the product mix is shifting favorably towards higher-margin infrastructure products, gross margin guidance remains cautious due to rising input costs for wafers and packaging. Management expects the infrastructure business to be a positive influence on gross margins going forward⏳.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.