Corsair Gaming - Earnings Call - Q2 2025

Executive Summary

• Q2 2025 delivered broad-based strength with revenue up 23% year over year to $320.1M and total gross margin expanding 270 bps to 26.8%; revenue exceeded consensus while adjusted EBITDA improved to $8.1M from a loss in Q2 2024.
• Results were driven by next‑gen GPU upgrades (NVIDIA 5000 series, AMD 9000 series), favorable product mix, and efficiency gains; management highlighted strong momentum in Asia and early traction from Fanatec channel rollout.
• Guidance: revenue reaffirmed at $1.4–$1.6B for FY2025; adjusted operating income and adjusted EBITDA outlook deferred pending tariff visibility—implying revenue confidence, but prudence on profitability targets.
• Key watch items: tariff mitigation (CFO sees small net impact), a $1.4M bad debt expense, and continued debt reduction ($24M term loan repayment and proactive refinancing), supporting liquidity and margin trajectory catalysts.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

• Strong top-line and margin expansion: revenue +23% YoY to $320.1M; gross profit +36% to $85.9M; total gross margin up to 26.8% on mix and operational efficiency.
• Components & Systems +30% YoY led by next-gen GPU cycle and graphically intensive game launches, reinforcing Corsair’s enthusiast ecosystem positioning.
• Early Fanatec channel rollout traction and Elgato leadership sustained; CEO: “disciplined execution…across product development, business operations, and go-to-market strategy,” with notable Asia momentum.

What Went Wrong

• GAAP profitability remains a headwind: operating loss of $(16.9)M and GAAP diluted EPS of $(0.16), missing EPS consensus, partly reflecting $1.4M bad debt expense.
• Sequential revenue decline vs Q1 (seasonality/mix): $320.1M in Q2 vs $369.8M in Q1; peripherals revenue also down sequentially (Q2 $102.6M vs Q1 $112.0M) despite YoY growth.
• Tariff uncertainty persists—management reaffirmed revenue but deferred adjusted OI/EBITDA guidance; pricing may need adjustment to preserve margins if semiconductor tariffs evolve.

Transcript

Speaker 1

morning and welcome to Corsair Gaming's second quarter 2025 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star and then zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mr. David Pascali, with Investor Relations. Thank you, and you may proceed, sir.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Corsair Gaming's financial results conference call for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025. On the call today, we have Corsair Gaming's CEO, Thi La, and CFO, Michael Potter. Thi will review highlights from the quarter. Michael will then review the financials and our outlook. We will then have time for any questions. Before we begin, allow me to provide a disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements. This call, including the Q&A portion, may include forward-looking statements related to the expected future results for our company and are therefore forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from our projections due to a number of risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties that forward-looking statements are subject to are described in our earnings release and other SEC filings.

Note that until our 10-Q has been filed, these numbers are preliminary. Today's remarks will also include references to non-GAAP financial measures. Additional information, including reconciliation between non-GAAP financial information to the GAAP financial information, is provided in the press release we issued after the market closed today. With that, let me now turn the call over to Corsair Gaming's CEO, Thi La. Please go ahead, Thi.

Speaker 1

Thank you, David, and thank you all for joining us today. Q2 2025 was a strong quarter for Corsair Gaming. We delivered 23% year-over-year revenue growth, with total revenue of $320 million and EBITDA of $8.1 million, exceeding consensus expectations on both the top and bottom line. Gross profit increased 36% year-over-year with improved margin performance across our portfolio due to favorable mix, channel execution, and continued operational discipline. What stood out this quarter was the strength across both our gaming components and system segment, where we grew revenue 30% year-on-year, and our gamer-creator peripheral segment, where we grew revenue 9% year-on-year. Supported by successful new product launches and according to third-party analysts, Corsair Gaming gained market share in both keyboard and headset categories. We saw a meaningful increase in system upgrades and new builds, driven by excitement around the launch of the latest powerful GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD.

This was coupled with the release of graphically intensive games like Doom: The Dark Ages and Elder Scrolls IV Remastered, which required a high-performance graphics card and are catalysts for PC enthusiasts to upgrade their hardware to get an enriched gameplay experience. Spending was concentrated in components as expected, particularly power supplies, cooling, and memory, as gamers sought to leverage new GPU capabilities such as real-time ray tracing, AI rendering, and generative AI support. We expect peripherals to follow this upgrade cycle, fueled by upcoming releases like Witcher 3 Remastered, Battlefield 6, and the highly anticipated GTA 6. This multi-stage refresh cycle is well aligned with our product roadmap across hardware and software. Adding to our confidence is the momentum of our Elgato business, which continues to lead in the creator space.

Demand for our award-winning Elgato stream deck and popular video capture products remains strong, particularly with the rise of new content driven by the Nintendo Switch 2 launch late Q2. We were also excited by the positive market response to our Facecam 4K and the Video Capture 4KS, both of which launched at the perfect time to deliver pro-grade 4K60 video resolution at a more accessible price point and better availability. We believe these solutions will extend our leadership position. Another Q2 highlight was our presence at Computex 2025, where we showcased several next-gen technologies and earned multiple awards. One of the most exciting was the launch of our virtual stream deck integration embedded into our Scimitar Elite gaming mouse and the Xenon Edge Companion Display.

This feature allows users to display a fully interactive software stream deck directly on the user's monitor, enabling instant access to near-unlimited powerful shortcuts for gamers and creators. You can expect to see more cross-brand tech synergy in upcoming launches to demonstrate the strength of our ecosystem, as we focus on leveraging our IP and platforms to add value for customers and accelerate revenue growth. In the gaming category, we introduced the Maker 75 DIY keyboard family, which combines custom-built flexibility with gaming-grade performance. Integrated with the Corsair web app for seamless online personalization, Maker 75 was honored with both a Red Dot Best of the Best and IF Design Award. On the system side, we announced the launch of our Origin PC AI Workstation 300, a compact 4.4-liter system powered by AMD Ryzen AI Max 300 series.

This product is designed for quiet efficiency, supports local LLMs, creative workloads, and AI development straight out from the box. This small but powerful platform expands our reach into AI-native applications and offers professionals, creators, and developers a compelling new productivity solution. We expect AI to be a major long-term catalyst across every aspect of our business, from both our own operation efficiency to all of our product categories. We are taking a thoughtful approach and integrating functionality where it is most compelling for our consumers. We also began ramping distribution of the desirable Fanatec-branded sim racing products in late Q2 through our strategic channel partners. Early response was very encouraging and positioned us well in one of the fastest growing categories. Finally, I want to touch on tariffs. We continue to operate with flexibility across our supply chain, and we have successfully minimized impact to date.

That said, depending on how the semiconductor tariffs ultimately play out, we may need to consider pricing adjustments to protect margins. Our goal remains to shield our customers as much as possible while staying nimble and efficient. Overall, I'm proud of how our teams executed this quarter. We saw strength in core demand, drove margin improvements, and advanced our innovation roadmap across hardware, software, and AI. Looking ahead, as the new CEO, my focus is centered on three strategic priorities. First, we are accelerating our new product innovation cadence to ensure we deliver high-impact products for our customers. Second, we will continue to focus on margin expansion, drive more business efficiency, and expand synergies from our M&A portfolio. Third, we're focused on channel expansion, particularly in underserved markets like Asia and Latin America, where our recent investments are beginning to deliver strong returns year-on-year.

We are also seeing continued momentum in our direct-to-consumer business and will scale that model to strengthen our customer engagement and margin performance. With that, I will now turn it over to Michael Potter to walk through the financials.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Thi, and good afternoon, everyone. As Thi noted, this was a strong quarter for us. We delivered double-digit revenue growth and EBITDA expansion above expectations despite external headwinds. We are focused on executing to our business strategy, growing revenue, and increasing profitability as we leverage our portfolio of leadership brands. We are confident in our business fundamentals and remain firmly on track for continued growth this year with a healthy balance sheet to support our growth strategy. In terms of the specifics, Q2 2025 net revenue increased 23% to $320 million compared to $261.3 million in Q2 2024. For the first six months of 2025, net revenue increased 15.3% to $689.9 million from $598.6 million in the year-ago period.

European markets contributed 33.9% of our Q2 2025 revenues compared to 37.2% in Q1 2025, while the APAC region was 13.5% of our Q2 2025 revenues compared to 11.3% in Q1 2025. Turning now to our segments, the gamer and creator peripheral segment contributed $102.6 million of net revenue during the second quarter compared to $94.2 million in Q2 2024. For the first six months of 2025, gamer and creator peripheral segment revenue increased to $214.6 million compared to $201.2 million for the first six months of 2024. The gaming components and systems segment contributed $217.5 million of net revenue during the second quarter, from $167.1 million in Q2 2024. Memory products contributed $105 million in Q2 2025 compared to $81.8 million in Q2 2024.

For the first six months of 2025, gaming and systems segment revenue increased to $475.2 million from $397.4 million in the first six months of 2024, with the revenue from memory products increasing to $246.1 million from $206.7 million. Overall, the gross profit in the second quarter increased 36.1% to $85.9 million compared to $63.1 million in Q2 2024, reflecting our continued execution and increased contribution from higher growth products and channels. Gross margin increased 270 basis points to 26.8% compared to 24.1% in Q2 2024. Overall gross profit increased to $188.2 million for the first six months of 2025 compared to $149.7 million in the first six months of 2024. Gross profit in the gamer and creator peripheral segment increased to $41.1 million compared to $35.7 million in Q2 2024. Gross margin increased to 40% compared to 37.9% in Q2 2024.

The gaming components and systems segment gross profit increased to $44.8 million compared to $27.4 million in Q2 2024. Gross margin increased to 20.6% compared to 16.4% in Q2 2024. Our memory products gross margins in this segment were 15.6% for the second quarter compared to 11.5% in Q2 2024. Second quarter SG&A expenses were $85.3 million compared to $70.4 million in Q2 2024 in support of our higher revenue. Second quarter R&D expenses were $17.5 million compared to $17.4 million in Q2 2024. This reflects our continued investments in support of our expanded product line and new areas, including sim racing and product customization. We remain committed to controlling operating expenses while supporting the company's long-term growth opportunities. GAAP operating loss improved to $16.9 million in the second quarter of 2025 compared to a GAAP operating loss of $24.7 million in Q2 2024.

Second quarter adjusted operating income was $6.6 million compared to an adjusted operating loss of $3.8 million in Q2 2024. Adjusted operating income was $27.3 million for the first half of 2025 compared to $11.6 million in the first half of 2024. Second quarter net loss attributable to common shareholders was $17 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $29.6 million, or $0.28 per diluted share in Q2 2024. On an adjusted basis, second quarter net income was $1.3 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to an adjusted net loss of $6.8 million, or $0.07 per share in Q2 2024. For the first six months of 2025, adjusted net income was $13.6 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to $2.7 million, or $0.03 per share in the first six months of 2024.

Finally, second quarter adjusted EBITDA was $8.1 million, compared to a loss of $1.2 million for Q2 2024. For the first six months of 2025, adjusted EBITDA increased 83.4% to $30.8 million, compared to $16.8 million in a year-ago period. Turning now to our balance sheet, we ended Q2 with a cash balance including restricted cash of $107.5 million. We made an additional $24 million term loan repayment in Q2 and proactively refinanced our existing revolving and term loan credit facility ahead of schedule on favorable terms and conditions. Overall, we continue to maintain a healthy balance sheet with sufficient cash to fund the development of our expanding product portfolio and growth plan. We ended Q2 with $125 million of debt at face value, and our $100 million working capital revolver remains undrawn and fully available.

Since just before our IPO almost five years ago to today, we have reduced debt from approximately $550 million to the current $125 million face value. This has resulted in lower interest expense and greater capacity to enter into a strategic transaction if needed. We will continue to focus on growth as the main use of cash, and we'll also maintain a buffer to be used as a resource while we navigate through the new tariffs. We also expect to continue to reduce debt over time. We have focused on preserving gross profit for existing products while we've pursued our mitigation efforts. We believe that we've mitigated or will mitigate the new country-specific tariffs through these efforts. New products are being targeted at recovering to existing gross margin levels when they're released. Overall, the scope and structure of the expected semiconductor tariffs is not known yet.

We have plans for the most likely scenarios, and under those, our mitigation would take several quarters. Once we know what these will be, we expect to update guidance in our normal quarterly cadence. In terms of the full year 2025, Corsair Gaming is reaffirming the net revenue outlook issued on February 12, 2025, for net revenues to be in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion for the full year 2025. We intend to provide an updated adjusted operating income and adjusted EBITDA outlook later this year if macro factors, including developments in global trade policy, such as the implementation of additional potential country-specific and sectoral tariffs, afford us greater visibility on our operating results.

We are mitigating additional tariff impacts, but there is a lag between the imposition of them and the results of our actions, so there will be a short-term impact as new tariffs are set. With that, we're happy to open the call for questions. Operator, will you please open the call for Q&A?

Speaker 1

Thank you very much. At this time, we will be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star and then one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary for you to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we pause for questions. The first question comes from Aaron Lee from Macquarie. Please proceed with your questions, Aaron.

Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. I guess maybe to start on Fanatec, it sounds like you're seeing really good progress there, and you noted the strong sell-through. I guess, can you just talk about what the next steps are that you're looking towards to continue that momentum?

Speaker 0

Hi, Aaron. How are you doing? Thanks for joining us today.

Good, thank you.

With regards to Fanatec, we have the first stage, which was integration in terms of moving their entire platform onto our infrastructure, and that was done from an e-commerce perspective as well as the supply chain. We extract quite a bit of saving coming from that front. The second phase was to extend the distribution to limited channel partners with regards to products that we cannot reach consumers today in certain regions. Now, the third step is to step up on roadmap and releasing new products, and you will start to see some of the new products coming out toward Q4 of this year. We're very excited about that. Then continue to build up availability. Also, there are some mitigations from a tariff perspective that we can still do. That's going to be next from the standpoint of expansion.

Got it. Thank you. Maybe just a clarification on tariffs. I just want to confirm, does all your commentary in the press release include the tariffs that went into effect today? With regard to the big beautiful bill, do you expect any benefits or impact from that? Thank you.

Speaker 2

are no tariffs today, if you mean the new ones that were talked about. For the country-specific tariffs that were announced a few days ago and went into effect today, yes. There is always news about tariffs or at least sound bites about tariffs every day. The country-specific ones, yes, we've included that in our discussions. The one big beautiful bill, there are some small tax benefits that will come to us. Other than that, nothing in particular that'll make a difference.

Speaker 0

Yeah, what's not in it is the semiconductor tariffs that we don't know how that would play out.

Okay. Gotcha. Thank you.

Thank you.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, just another reminder, if you'd like to ask a question, please press star and then one. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star and then one. We will pause to see if we have any further questions. Thank you, everyone. There are no further questions. I'd now like to hand the call back to Corsair Gaming's CEO, Thi La. Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for joining us on the call today and for your continued support. If you have any follow-up questions, please contact our investor relations department. We look forward to updating you next quarter, and thank you and have a good evening. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.