# MaxLinear (MXL.US)

Canonical: https://gigainvestors.com/s/MXL

Analysis as of: 2026-10-16T07:30:30.489Z. Financial observations: FY2007–FY2025.

Listing currency: USD. Reporting currency: USD.

## Verdict

Not a wonderful business

Quality tests for Buy: not passed (profit record: fail; earnings resilience is evidence only). Published buy qualification: no.

Share price: $78.18 per share; close as of 2026-10-15.

## Checklist

### understandable: fail

- 4 revenue declines in the last 10 years (informational)

- more than 2 net loss years

- negative average operating margin

- operating margin variation exceeds 0.35

- Financial history: 10 years

- Years with declining revenue: 4

- Years with a net loss: 7

- Operating margin variation: 3.00×

Chart: Operating margin; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 0.19×

- FY2017: -0.00×

- FY2018: -0.03×

- FY2019: -0.06×

- FY2020: -0.17×

- FY2021: 0.08×

- FY2022: 0.17×

- FY2023: -0.06×

- FY2024: -0.47×

- FY2025: -0.27×

### moat: fail

- ROIC median below threshold

- ROIC worst years below threshold (more than 1 bad year allowed)

- ROIC, median of available years: -4.0%

- ROIC, second-lowest year: -46.3%

- Typical minus recent gross margin: -2.5 pp

- Typical gross margin (annual median): 53.1%

- Recent gross margin (lower of latest and 3-year median): 55.6%

- Years with nonpositive capital: 0

- Capital spending / revenue: 2.4%

- ROIC including acquisitions, ten-year median: 7.1%

Chart: ROIC excluding acquisitions; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: 48.1%

- FY2017: -0.0%

- FY2018: -3.0%

- FY2019: -5.0%

- FY2020: -19.8%

- FY2021: 15.1%

- FY2022: 41.8%

- FY2023: -9.0%

- FY2024: -58.6%

- FY2025: -46.3%

### economics: fail

- owner earnings cash conversion below threshold

- incremental invested capital return below threshold

- Cash conversion uses consolidated totals: No

- Owner earnings, five-year total: -$102M

- Net income, five-year total: -$288M

- Return on incremental invested capital: 0.0%

- Working capital / revenue, annual change: 1.1 pp

- Working capital / revenue, change between three-year averages: 9.9 pp

- Working capital / revenue, final three-year average: 31.5%

Chart: Owner earnings · five years; fiscal year observations.

- FY2021: $80M

- FY2022: $156M

- FY2023: -$15M

- FY2024: -$217M

- FY2025: -$105M

### management: fail

- Historical market-dollar context (not the management verdict): 2016 to 2025 (9 years)

- potential debt-funded buybacks (informational)

- buybacks unrelated to price (informational)

- ROIC first 3 years vs last 3 years: -0.0% vs -46.3%

- Per-share earnings: -0.14 to -1.58 (three-year endpoint medians)

- per-share value declined or ends nonpositive

- five-year and ten-year diluted share growth both above threshold

- acquisition spending exceeds half of ten-year net income with low and deteriorating ROIC

- Management verdict uses per-share economic progress: Yes

- Ordinary dilution, 10-year annual growth: 5.0%

- Ordinary dilution, 5-year annual growth: 3.4%

- Market cap gain: $32M

- Cumulative retained earnings: -$440M

- Diluted shares, 10-year annual growth: 5.0%

- Diluted shares, 5-year annual growth: 3.4%

- $1 test, starting fiscal year: FY2016

- $1 test, ending fiscal year: FY2025

- Per-share value change: -$1.44

- Per-share value, starting three-year median: -$0.14

- Per-share value, ending three-year median: -$1.58

- Buybacks concentrated in cheaper years (correlation): -0.33

- Average buyback yield: 0.6%

- Buyback history: 9 years

- Debt-funded buybacks: Yes

- Acquisition spending: $788M

- Cumulative net income, 10 years: -$381M

- ROIC, first three-year median: -0.0%

- ROIC, last three-year median: -46.3%

Chart: Earnings per share; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: $0.91

- FY2017: -$0.14

- FY2018: -$0.38

- FY2019: -$0.28

- FY2020: -$1.35

- FY2021: $0.53

- FY2022: $1.55

- FY2023: -$0.91

- FY2024: -$2.93

- FY2025: -$1.58

### accounting: fail

- restructuring or one-time charges in at least three of five years

- stock compensation exceeds 15% of operating cash flow

- Sloan accruals: -19.6%

- Receivables to sales index (DSRI): 0.42×

- Restructuring years, last five: 5

- Stock compensation / operating cash flow: 393.1%

- Earnings backed by cash: Yes

- Accounting red flags: 2

- Goodwill and intangibles / equity: 0.81×

Chart: Sloan accruals; fiscal year observations.

- FY2016: -13.3%

- FY2017: -10.2%

- FY2018: -17.4%

- FY2019: -13.6%

- FY2020: -16.7%

- FY2021: -12.0%

- FY2022: -22.2%

- FY2023: -9.1%

- FY2024: -23.1%

- FY2025: -19.6%

## Holders

- [Lee Ainslie](https://gigainvestors.com/mc): tracked 13F investor; follow the investor page for holding quarter and amounts.

## Price story

Down 39% since Jun 2026 · sales +29.7%

Story as of 2026-10-16T09:59:14.127Z; price observation 2026-10-15.

- 2025-07-23: MaxLinear outlines $60M–$70M 2025 data center revenue target as new product ramps accelerate ([seekingalpha.com](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4471104-maxlinear-outlines-60m-70m-2025-data-center-revenue-target-as-new-product-ramps-accelerate?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news))

- 2026-01-31: MaxLinear (MXL) Q4 Revenue Jumps 48% Driven by Infrastructure and Data Center Demand ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/maxlinear-mxl-q4-revenue-jumps-144733533.html))

- 2026-04-26: MaxLinear (MXL) Rockets 130% on Stellar Earnings, Upbeat Outlook ([finance.yahoo.com](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/maxlinear-mxl-rockets-130-stellar-105736235.html))

### Sales · FY2024–2025

sales +29.7%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288469/000128846926000011/mxl-20251231.htm; observed 2026-01-29.

- FY2016: $388M 

- FY2017: $420M 

- FY2018: $385M 

- FY2019: $317M 

- FY2020: $479M 

- FY2021: $892M 

- FY2022: $1.1B 

- FY2023: $693M 

- FY2024: $361M 

- FY2025: $468M 

### Gross margin · FY2025

gross margin 56.8%; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288469/000128846926000011/mxl-20251231.htm; observed 2026-01-29.

- FY2016: 59.3% 

- FY2017: 42.5% 

- FY2018: 45.9% 

- FY2019: 45.6% 

- FY2020: 39.5% 

- FY2021: 52.9% 

- FY2022: 56.9% 

- FY2023: 55.6% 

- FY2024: 53.4% 

- FY2025: 56.8% 

## Owner memo

Memo as of 2026-10-16T08:06:05.509Z.

### How it makes money

Operates in semiconductors; annual sales are USD 467.6 million.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288469/000128846926000011/mxl-20251231.htm (filed 2026-01-29); FY2025: revenue 467641000; grossProfit 265814000; margin = grossProfit / revenue.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); MXL.US: MaxLinear, Inc. provides communications systems-on-chip solutions in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. Its products integrate various portions of a high-speed communication system, including radio frequency, high-performance analog, mixed-signal, digital signal processing, security engines, data compression and networking layers, and power management. Its products are used in various electronic devices, such as radio transceivers and modems for 4G/5G base-station and backhaul infrastructure; optical transceivers; wi-fi and wireline routers for home networking; broadband modems compliant with data over cable service interface specifications, passive optical fiber standards, and digital subscriber line, as well as power management and interface products. It serves electronics distributors, module makers, original equipment manufacturers, and original design manufacturers through a direct sales force, third-party sales representatives, and a network of distributors. The company has a strategic collaboration with Edgecore Networks Corporation for the development network infrastructure for enterprise and SMB applications. MaxLinear, Inc. has strategic partnership with GCT Semiconductor Holding, Inc. to develop 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) gateways and converged gateways for consumer and enterprise applications. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

### Why customers stay

Margins ranged from 53.4% to 56.8% during 2023–25; it lost 4% on its capital.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2023: grossProfit / revenue = 55.6%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2024: grossProfit / revenue = 53.4%.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288469/000128846926000011/mxl-20251231.htm (filed 2026-01-29); FY2025: grossProfit / revenue = 56.8%.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); 10-year return on capital observations [[2016,0.4807395489429361],[2017,-0.0002724304086104243],[2018,-0.029870134757624445],[2019,-0.05037178211808121],[2020,-0.19752201909778197],[2021,0.15103278359691885],[2022,0.4178097842869971],[2023,-0.089574799458895],[2024,-0.5859970634522899],[2025,-0.4631835026013991]]; median -0.04012095843785283. ROIC follows the displayed moat series; financial companies use return on tangible equity.

### Where the cash goes

Paid dividends in 4 of 10 years; bought back USD 20 million of shares.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2016: growth capex 0; upkeep 8512000; cash acquisitions 101000000; owner earnings 79483000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 1.2707119761458425.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2017: growth capex 0; upkeep 7468000; cash acquisitions 473304000; owner earnings 50083000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 9.450392348701156.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2018: growth capex 0; upkeep 7825000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 45003000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2019: growth capex 0; upkeep 6887000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 37530000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2021: growth capex 0; upkeep 46757000; cash acquisitions 40000000; owner earnings 79619000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.5023926449716776.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); FY2022: growth capex 0; upkeep 41253000; cash acquisitions 0; owner earnings 155684000. Growth capex plus acquisitions / owner earnings = 0.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); Dividend observations: [[2016,0],[2017,416846000],[2018,0],[2019,11986000],[2020,3535000],[2021,350000000],[2022,0],[2023,0],[2024,0],[2025,0]]. Zero only counted when supported by a complete cash-flow statement.

- Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288469/000128846926000011/mxl-20251231.htm (filed 2026-01-29); FY2025: cash repurchases 20000000 USD.

### Are managers owners

Insiders own 5.9% of the company.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-10-16); MXL.US SharesStats.PercentInsiders = 5.872999999999999 percentage points; cache date 2026-10-16.

### What the price says

The price is 14.5 times annual sales; cash earnings are negative.

- Source: https://eodhd.com/financial-apis/stock-etfs-fundamental-data-feeds/ (filed 2026-01-29); Closing price 78.18 USD; reporting-to-trading FX 1; FY2025 annual sales per share 5.400759920543262; price multiple 14.475740664313012. FY2025 cash earnings/share -1.2159537118307386. Closing-price date 2026-10-15.

## Monthly share-price history (USD per share)

- 2016-10: $18.71 per share

- 2016-11: $20.43 per share

- 2016-12: $21.80 per share

- 2017-01: $25.58 per share

- 2017-02: $26.04 per share

- 2017-03: $28.05 per share

- 2017-04: $27.83 per share

- 2017-05: $31.15 per share

- 2017-06: $27.89 per share

- 2017-07: $26.20 per share

- 2017-08: $21.60 per share

- 2017-09: $23.75 per share

- 2017-10: $24.47 per share

- 2017-11: $26.41 per share

- 2017-12: $26.42 per share

- 2018-01: $25.79 per share

- 2018-02: $22.73 per share

- 2018-03: $22.75 per share

- 2018-04: $22.33 per share

- 2018-05: $18.35 per share

- 2018-06: $15.59 per share

- 2018-07: $17.31 per share

- 2018-08: $19.28 per share

- 2018-09: $19.88 per share

- 2018-10: $19.41 per share

- 2018-11: $20.40 per share

- 2018-12: $17.60 per share

- 2019-01: $19.62 per share

- 2019-02: $25.14 per share

- 2019-03: $25.53 per share

- 2019-04: $26.91 per share

- 2019-05: $21.17 per share

- 2019-06: $23.44 per share

- 2019-07: $21.98 per share

- 2019-08: $19.82 per share

- 2019-09: $22.38 per share

- 2019-10: $18.96 per share

- 2019-11: $19.87 per share

- 2019-12: $21.22 per share

- 2020-01: $19.49 per share

- 2020-02: $15.46 per share

- 2020-03: $11.67 per share

- 2020-04: $16.49 per share

- 2020-05: $17.32 per share

- 2020-06: $21.46 per share

- 2020-07: $25.35 per share

- 2020-08: $24.35 per share

- 2020-09: $23.24 per share

- 2020-10: $26.44 per share

- 2020-11: $31.25 per share

- 2020-12: $38.19 per share

- 2021-01: $31.39 per share

- 2021-02: $39.77 per share

- 2021-03: $34.08 per share

- 2021-04: $35.99 per share

- 2021-05: $38.02 per share

- 2021-06: $42.49 per share

- 2021-07: $48.23 per share

- 2021-08: $52.23 per share

- 2021-09: $49.25 per share

- 2021-10: $63.00 per share

- 2021-11: $67.33 per share

- 2021-12: $75.39 per share

- 2022-01: $60.02 per share

- 2022-02: $61.35 per share

- 2022-03: $58.35 per share

- 2022-04: $47.87 per share

- 2022-05: $39.59 per share

- 2022-06: $33.98 per share

- 2022-07: $40.41 per share

- 2022-08: $35.93 per share

- 2022-09: $32.62 per share

- 2022-10: $30.88 per share

- 2022-11: $36.60 per share

- 2022-12: $33.95 per share

- 2023-01: $41.20 per share

- 2023-02: $34.21 per share

- 2023-03: $35.21 per share

- 2023-04: $24.13 per share

- 2023-05: $29.21 per share

- 2023-06: $31.56 per share

- 2023-07: $24.67 per share

- 2023-08: $23.50 per share

- 2023-09: $22.25 per share

- 2023-10: $15.20 per share

- 2023-11: $18.73 per share

- 2023-12: $23.77 per share

- 2024-01: $20.82 per share

- 2024-02: $19.44 per share

- 2024-03: $18.67 per share

- 2024-04: $20.79 per share

- 2024-05: $17.77 per share

- 2024-06: $20.14 per share

- 2024-07: $14.14 per share

- 2024-08: $15.18 per share

- 2024-09: $14.48 per share

- 2024-10: $12.97 per share

- 2024-11: $15.13 per share

- 2024-12: $19.78 per share

- 2025-01: $17.86 per share

- 2025-02: $14.61 per share

- 2025-03: $10.86 per share

- 2025-04: $9.99 per share

- 2025-05: $11.39 per share

- 2025-06: $14.21 per share

- 2025-07: $15.82 per share

- 2025-08: $15.72 per share

- 2025-09: $16.08 per share

- 2025-10: $15.15 per share

- 2025-11: $15.57 per share

- 2025-12: $17.43 per share

- 2026-01: $17.35 per share

- 2026-02: $17.43 per share

- 2026-03: $17.39 per share

- 2026-04: $70.75 per share

- 2026-05: $92.93 per share

- 2026-06: $128.03 per share

- 2026-07: $66.82 per share

- 2026-08: $59.91 per share

- 2026-09: $90.31 per share

- 2026-10: $78.18 per share

## Annual estimated value (USD per share)

- FY2018: low $8.14 per share, central $9.13 per share, high $10.45 per share

- FY2019: low $7.00 per share, central $7.80 per share, high $8.86 per share

- FY2020: low $11.08 per share, central $13.27 per share, high $15.16 per share

- FY2021: low $15.73 per share, central $17.70 per share, high $20.33 per share

- FY2022: low $19.98 per share, central $22.42 per share, high $25.67 per share

- FY2023: low $10.54 per share, central $11.69 per share, high $13.23 per share

Historical values use today's bond yield for every fiscal year

Historical values use today's FX rate into trading currency for every fiscal year

Historical values use current restated fundamentals and current commodity classification; they are not point-in-time estimates

## Sources

[Original 10-K filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288469/000128846926000011/mxl-20251231.htm); period 2025-12-31, filed 2026-01-29.

Estimates depend on assumptions and are not guarantees or investment advice. Underlying data remains subject to its source licenses; public reading does not grant bulk redistribution rights.