Sign in

    Tristan Gerra • Robert W. Baird & Co.

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) leadership

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) leadership • Q4 2025

    Question

    Tristan Gerra from Baird asked whether a normalization of NAND production costs could create future pressure on HDD demand, or if Seagate's HAMR technology will maintain a sufficient cost-per-terabyte advantage.

    Answer

    CEO Dave Mosley asserted that Seagate's technology roadmap, which continuously increases drive capacity, maintains a strong value proposition for mass data storage. He argued that the fundamental economics and massive capital required to replace HDD exabytes with NAND mean the architectural roles of HDD and NAND in the cloud are not changing significantly.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Tristan Gerra asked if Seagate is increasing CapEx to ramp capacity following the recent supply shortfall and whether any capacity ramp plans are being paused due to tariff uncertainties.

    Answer

    CEO Dave Mosley clarified that the previous supply issue was specific to PMR products and that the CapEx for the HAMR ramp is already planned and sufficient. CFO Gianluca Romano added that the strategy is not to add more head and media production lines but to generate more exabytes from existing lines through technology transitions, which is a more capital-efficient way to meet growing demand.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Rambus Inc (RMBS) leadership

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Rambus Inc (RMBS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Tristan Gerra of Robert W. Baird & Co. asked if the quarter's customized IP revenue was primarily for custom ASICs and inquired about the typical timeline between IP licensing and product ramp. He also sought to confirm if the growing new product revenue was mainly from companion chips tied to a specific platform.

    Answer

    CEO Luc Seraphin confirmed the customized IP is mostly for custom ASICs targeting the AI market, with revenue typically recognized 12-24 months before the customer's product ramps. He clarified that the new product revenue growth comes from a combination of all eight companion chips introduced last year, not just for one specific platform, and that different customers are at different stages of adoption.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Rambus Inc (RMBS) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Tristan Gerra asked for the outlook on operating margin and whether the Q1 mid-single-digit price erosion on products was typical or influenced by unique factors.

    Answer

    CFO Desmond Lynch stated that he expects the second-half chip gross margin to improve and that the overall business model will continue operating at a mid-40% operating income level with strong cash generation. He confirmed that the mid-single-digit price erosion is a normal, annual cycle and was in line with the company's expectations, reiterating that Rambus's pricing is not directly tied to DRAM supply-demand dynamics.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Rambus Inc (RMBS) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Tristan Gerra sought clarity on the drivers for H2 2025 product revenue acceleration and asked how the company views the impact of non-module architectures like NVIDIA's Grace.

    Answer

    CEO Luc Seraphin and CFO Desmond Lynch explained the H2 2025 ramp will be driven by a combination of new server platforms with more memory channels and a larger design footprint for Rambus's new companion chips. Seraphin noted that NVIDIA's Grace platform serves a niche market and is not expected to impact demand for standard server DIMMs.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Diodes Inc (DIOD) leadership

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Diodes Inc (DIOD) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Tristan Gerra of Baird inquired about the specific catalysts and potential headwinds for gross margin improvement in the second half of the year, including the impact of in-sourcing. He also asked if Diodes sees an opportunity to acquire manufacturing assets from peers and whether channel inventories have fully normalized to target levels.

    Answer

    Executive Emily Yang explained that gross margin improvement will be driven by increased internal loading, higher revenue, manufacturing cost reductions, and an improved product mix, despite slower customer qualifications and some price pressure. Executive Gary Yu stated that Diodes' current capacity is stable and they are focused on optimizing utilization rather than acquiring new assets, with Executive Brett Whitmire adding that peer disruption is seen as a top-line opportunity. Regarding inventory, Emily Yang confirmed it is still slightly above the 11-14 week target but is at a comfortable level to support expected second-half growth.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Diodes Inc (DIOD) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Tristan Gerra inquired about automotive pricing negotiations for next year and how the company balances taking on potentially lower-margin business to improve factory utilization. He also asked about the materiality of the company's PCIe packet switch products for growth into next year.

    Answer

    Executive Emily Yang described automotive pricing as stable, with a 1-2% quarterly decline already factored into their model. She explained that the company evaluates overall account margin and strategic potential rather than a strict margin threshold for new business, balancing it with factory loading needs. Executive Gary Yu added that the focus remains on new product introductions. Regarding PCIe switches, Emily Yang noted that while it's still early in the deployment cycle, momentum is strong in AI servers and related subsystems, and she expects it to be a significant growth driver in 2025.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC) leadership

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Tristan Gerra asked about the revenue lifecycle for the Nexus product line, questioning when it might roll over and how new products would offset that. He also asked about the risk of inventory obsolescence and if the cautious outlook could prompt a more acquisitive M&A strategy.

    Answer

    CEO Fouad Tamer explained that FPGAs have very long product ramps, with Nexus expected to accelerate in 2026 and Avant in 2027, ensuring sustained growth. CFO Lorenzo A. Flores added that the long-lived nature of FPGAs means inventory obsolescence is not a significant concern. Regarding M&A, Tamer stated the primary focus is organic growth, but they will consider inorganic opportunities that offer good shareholder value.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Tristan Gerra of Robert W. Baird & Co. inquired about the product cycle for the successful Nexus platform, asking if a successor product is planned, and requested more details on Lattice's traction in AI, including dollar content, adoption rates, and sustainability.

    Answer

    CEO Fouad Tamer confirmed that Lattice is 'doubling down' on both small and mid-range FPGAs, with more details to be shared at the December developer conference. He stated that AI revenue is around or slightly above the previously mentioned $100 million mark and is growing as a percentage of total revenue. Tamer highlighted significant progress in AI with design wins in Dell XPS laptops, an NVIDIA Edge AI board, and a data center server platform using over 50 Lattice devices.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Semtech Corp (SMTC) leadership

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Semtech Corp (SMTC) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Tristan Gerra inquired about the outlook for free cash flow generation and the company's debt leverage ratio targets for next year. He also asked if Coherent's NVIDIA-based DSP announcement creates new TIA content opportunities for Semtech.

    Answer

    Executive Mark Lin noted strong Q3 free cash flow of $29.1 million and stated the company will continue to prioritize debt repayment, suggesting annualizing current EBITDA could indicate future leverage ratios. CEO Hong Hou confirmed that Semtech expects to have content in all DSP-retimed transceivers, including new ones, and that this market remains a core driver of data center revenue growth.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Luminar Technologies Inc (LAZR) leadership

    Tristan Gerra's questions to Luminar Technologies Inc (LAZR) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Tristan Gerra asked when software might become the primary revenue contributor for Luminar. He also questioned how a potential industry shift from EVs to hybrids would impact the company's revenue pipeline and asked for an update on engagements with other OEMs like Nissan and those in China.

    Answer

    CEO Austin Russell projected that software would become a significant part of the business in the second half of the decade, roughly three years behind the LiDAR hardware timeline. CFO Tom Fennimore stated that Luminar is powertrain-agnostic but acknowledged near-term headwinds from an industry-wide pause in LiDAR decisions as OEMs re-evaluate platform strategies. He confirmed ongoing relationships and progress with other OEM partners.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI