Alek Valero

Alek Valero from Loop Capital asked CEO George Kurian about the impact of AI agents on NetApp's AI business and the progression from early adoption to AI agents driving meaningful revenue and product demand.

Answer

CEO George Kurian explained that AI agents rely on high-quality data and robust guardrails, which NetApp's AI Data Engine (AIDE) helps simplify. He added that AI engines' recursive data requests benefit from high-performance systems like AFX and NetApp's caching technologies, which optimize the data pipeline. Kurian indicated that NetApp is actively working on further innovations in this area and will provide more updates as they come to market.

Alek Valero from Loop Capital inquired about the impact of the rise of AI agents on NetApp's AI business and the progression from early adoption to a point where AI agents significantly drive revenue and product demand.

Answer

CEO George Kurian explained that AI agents rely on high-quality data and guardrails, which NetApp's AI Data Engine (AIDE) simplifies. He also noted that AI engines' recursive data requests benefit from high-performance systems like AFX and caching technologies, with more innovations in progress to support agentic AI.

Alek Valero asked what specific improvements would be needed for CEVA to reach the high end or exceed its fiscal 2026 guidance range. He also questioned the company's M&A strategy, given the recent equity capital raise and strengthened balance sheet, and their perspective on current valuations.

Answer

CFO Yaniv Arieli indicated that stronger licensing, royalty ramp-up from various markets, and less impact from memory issues could drive higher revenue. He noted that currency exchange rates are a significant expense factor. CEO Amir Panush added that drivers for top-line growth include leadership in wireless communication, AI momentum, and market share gains in mobile (from a U.S. OEM) and Wi-Fi (transition to Wi-Fi 6/7, Bluetooth 7). Yaniv Arieli and Amir Panush confirmed the capital raise aims to strengthen the balance sheet for non-organic growth through M&A, seeking additional IP assets to expand growth and profitability.

Alek Valero asked what specific improvements would be needed for CEVA to reach the high end or exceed its fiscal 2026 guidance range. He also inquired about CEVA's M&A strategy, considering the recent equity capital raise and current market valuations.

Answer

CFO Yaniv Arieli indicated that stronger licensing, increased royalty ramp-up, and less impact from memory issues could drive higher revenue, while currency exchange rates are a significant macro factor affecting expenses. CEO Amir Panush added that leadership in wireless communication, AI momentum, and market share gains in mobile (from a US OEM) and Wi-Fi (transition to Wi-Fi 6/7, Bluetooth 7) are key drivers. Both executives stated the capital raise strengthens the balance sheet for non-organic growth, aiming to acquire additional IP assets within the next 12 months to expand growth and profitability.

Alek Valero asked about the expected seasonality for fiscal year 2027, considering the largest customer's staggered product launch across high-end and low-end models. He also inquired about the impact of rising costs for the largest customer on component pricing negotiations for Cirrus Logic.

Answer

CFO Jeff Woolard stated that based on current long-term forecast signals, they do not anticipate any significant changes to historic seasonality for fiscal year 2027. CEO John Forsyth addressed the pricing question, assuming a reference to memory pricing. He explained that Cirrus Logic operates in a normalized pricing environment, working collaboratively with customers on pricing, and that anticipated pricing reductions are typically offset by cost reductions and supply chain efficiencies, which is standard business practice.

Alek Valero, on behalf of Gary Mobley, asked how Cirrus Logic anticipates its seasonality in fiscal 2027, considering its largest customer's staggered product launch across high-end and low-end models. He also questioned the impact of rising costs for the largest customer, such as memory pricing, on component pricing negotiations for Cirrus Logic.

Answer

CFO Jeff Woolard stated that based on current long-term forecast signals, they do not foresee any significant changes to their historic seasonality for fiscal 2027. Regarding pricing, Jeff Woolard explained that Cirrus Logic operates in a normalized pricing environment, engaging collaboratively with customers on pricing. He noted that the 50 basis points gross margin contraction was largely due to anticipated pricing reductions, which were offset by cost reductions and supply chain efficiencies. He expects ongoing pricing adjustments and continued efforts to drive cost improvements to maintain gross margin.

Alek Valero asked about MaxLinear's biggest opportunities to gain market share in 2026.

Answer

CEO Kishore Seendripu identified optical transceivers, storage accelerators, PON, and wireless infrastructure as the key market share gain opportunities and drivers of absolute dollar growth. For the follow-up, Alek asked for more color on scale-up opportunities. CEO Kishore Seendripu described it as a concentrated but huge opportunity within compute systems and racks, encompassing PAM4 interconnects, PAM4 Ethernet retimers (to be announced at OFC), and CPU opportunities, emphasizing that it's still early innings and the company remains focused.

Alek Valero, on for Ananda at Loop Capital Markets, asked if MaxLinear becomes more attractive to customers as speeds increase to 3.2T and whether its 'asset-light' model is an advantage in a Co-Packaged Optics world.

Answer

CEO Kishore Seendripu positioned MaxLinear as the only credible new optical entrant, with low power as a key differentiator. He reiterated that being a pure-play silicon vendor is a 'net positive' for CPO, as it allows them to partner with the many competent optics producers who will need a silicon supplier.

Alek Valero asked about the size of the dental opportunity, how much Stratasys expects to capture, and any timing details. He also followed up on the purchase of four F3300 systems by an AI social media company, asking if future purchases are foreseen and what the transition from prototyping to manufacturing production parts would mean for incremental product and software purchases.

Answer

CEO Dr. Yoav Zeif did not share specific numbers for the dental vertical but highlighted the strategic recruitment of Chris Cabot, a leading digital dental expert, and the clear plan to focus on restorative dental using PolyJet and P3 technologies. He mentioned existing customers like Affordable Care and Glidewell, expressing confidence in Stratasys's superior offering in color, lightweight, and cost. Regarding the F3300 purchase, Dr. Zeif emphasized the huge potential and the validation of their high-end FDM capabilities after a long sales cycle. He noted the customer's advantage of using the same machine for both prototyping and manufacturing, enabling faster market entry.

Alek Valero inquired about the size of the dental market opportunity for Stratasys, the company's potential market capture, and any details on timing. He also followed up on the purchase of four F3300 systems by an AI social media company (implied Meta), asking about the potential for future purchases and the implications for incremental product and software sales if they transition from prototyping to manufacturing production parts.

Answer

CEO Dr. Yoav Zeif stated that Stratasys does not share specific numbers for applications but expressed strong positivity about the dental vertical, highlighting the recruitment of Chris Cabot and the clear plan for restorative dental using PolyJet and P3 technologies. He mentioned existing partnerships with leading U.S. providers like Affordable Care and Glidewell, emphasizing the superior offering in color, options, lightweight, and cost. Regarding the F3300 purchase, Dr. Zeif confirmed the huge potential and validated Stratasys's high-end FDM capabilities after a long sales cycle. He noted the advantage for the customer in using the same machine for both prototyping and immediate manufacturing, enabling faster market entry.

Alek Valero of Loop Capital Markets LLC inquired if the successful collaborations with General Motors and Toyota would lead to more partnerships with other auto OEMs, and asked about potential upsell opportunities with these customers, particularly in consumables.

Answer

CEO Yoav Zeif confirmed that these partnerships serve as a proven use case to replicate with other OEMs, highlighting the demonstrated value in speed and cost savings. He emphasized the significant upsell opportunity, noting that machines in production environments can have utilization rates up to 85% and consume up to ten times more material than those used for prototyping, which is central to their manufacturing strategy.

Alek Valero from Loop Capital Markets asked for an update on the progress of the previously announced 15% headcount reduction and inquired about key upcoming milestones for the TrueDent dental solution.

Answer

CFO Eitan Zamir clarified that the restructuring plan is broader than just headcount, including closing locations and canceling projects, and noted the company is ahead of schedule in its execution. CEO Dr. Yoav Zeif outlined key milestones for TrueDent, which include geographic expansion into EMEA and APAC, and deeper penetration into clinics by building credibility with leading dental institutions, with a major showcase planned for the IDS show in Germany.

Alek Valero asked about the expected normalization timeline for entry-level gaming ASPs in the Americas and the current mix of B2B versus consumer business, along with future growth expectations.

Answer

CEO Hanneke Faber explained that trends for entry-level gaming in the Americas improved throughout Q2, and while the exact normalization timeline is uncertain, the Q3 outlook range accounts for different scenarios. She noted that Logitech for Business (B2B) constitutes about 40% of the total business, showing strong growth in Q2, particularly in higher ASP solutions like the Rally Board 65, and highlighted continued focus on strengthening go-to-market capabilities and the education vertical.

Alek Valero from Loop Capital asked about the expected timeline for normalization of entry-level gaming in the Americas following price increases and inquired about the current mix of Logitech's B2B versus consumer business and its future trajectory.

Answer

CEO Hanneke Faber explained that trends for entry-level gaming in the Americas improved throughout Q2, and while normalization timing is uncertain, the Q3 outlook range accounts for faster or slower recovery. She stated that Logitech for Business (B2B) currently accounts for about 40% of the total business, slowly increasing over time, driven by strong Q2 performance in higher ASP solutions like RallyBoard 65 and improved go-to-market capabilities.

Alek Valero requested an update on the Poly (hybrid systems) business and whether enterprise spending in that area was improving. He also asked if any specific product lines were being targeted for refresh.

Answer

CEO Enrique Lores acknowledged a weak quarter for hybrid systems, noting that some companies, particularly in Europe, de-prioritized spending on headsets and video in favor of PCs and AI. He reaffirmed the category's long-term importance and contrasted the weakness with strong growth in HyperX gaming peripherals. He confirmed that product refreshes are planned across the entire portfolio, including PCs, workstations, and printing, as innovation is a key pillar of HP's strategy.

Alex Valero of Loop Capital inquired about the back-to-office assumptions baked into the print forecast and HP's view on the AI PC competitive landscape, particularly with new entrants like NVIDIA.

Answer

CEO Enrique Lores stated that HP assumes a stable return-to-office environment with no radical changes. Regarding AI PCs, he positioned NVIDIA as a key partner rather than a competitor, noting that HP is actively working to integrate NVIDIA's technology into its upcoming products and views the collaboration as exciting.

Alek Valero of Loop Capital Markets LLC inquired about the progress of in-sourcing manufacturing to mitigate tariff impacts and asked if customers were considering purchasing 3D Systems' printers as a way to manage their own tariff exposure.

Answer

President and CEO Jeffrey Graves stated that the manufacturing in-sourcing initiative is nearly complete and primarily benefits COGS and gross margin through better quality control and efficiency, helping to offset component tariff costs. He confirmed customers are discussing buying printers to mitigate tariffs, but the volatile tariff landscape makes them hesitant to commit capital to a specific location, which slows printer sales and creates a bridge opportunity for 3D Systems to supply parts directly.

Alek Valero requested more detail on 3D Systems' involvement in the AI infrastructure market and asked which areas represent the greatest growth opportunities for the company, independent of the current macroeconomic environment.

Answer

CEO Jeffrey Graves outlined three key application areas in AI infrastructure: 1) thermally stable components for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, 2) high-purity copper parts for heat dissipation in data centers, and 3) components for energy turbines that power data centers. He identified aerospace & defense as a primary growth opportunity due to its relative insulation from tariff volatility and strong demand, alongside AI infrastructure and oil & gas, leveraging the company's advanced metal and polymer printing capabilities.

An analyst on behalf of Alex Valero of Loop Capital Markets asked for Lumentum's view on when co-packaged optics (CPO) might gain significant traction and compete with traditional transceivers. They also inquired about the economic differences between the two technologies.

Answer

Wupen Yuen, President of Cloud and Networking, explained that CPO adoption will take time due to its complexity, and pluggable transceivers will remain the dominant form factor for the next several years. He and CEO Michael Hurlston described CPO as a different consumption model where the switch vendor controls the optics, making a direct ASP comparison to transceivers difficult as pricing will depend on competition and overall system benefits.

Alek Valero asked about the primary growth levers for the Hyve business from generative AI demand this year. He also followed up with a question about networking inventory levels and whether the industry has moved past its recent surplus.

Answer

CEO Patrick Zammit explained that Hyve is active in both compute and networking, with current strength in traditional compute and emerging opportunities in AI compute. Regarding networking, he stated that the tough year-over-year comparison from the 2023 backlog release is now over, and the company expects growth driven by underlying demand from trends like WiFi 7 and AI-related data center switching upgrades.

Alek Valero asked if the company is seeing a pickup in demand for traditional, non-GenAI servers and whether there was any revenue impact from changes at large customers in Q3 or Q4.

Answer

CEO Patrick Zammit stated that enterprises are still determining how to best utilize GenAI, and the company's 'Destination AI' initiative is aimed at helping resellers with this. He believes the positive impact of GenAI on the server market will likely be seen more in the second half of next year. Regarding large customers, particularly in North America, he noted that this market segment continues to be 'a little bit more muted' with no significant acceleration in demand yet.