ON Q4 Revenue Fell 7%, Some Q1 Challenges Expected; Stock Down

ON Semiconductor shares closed down 14 percent Monday to $19.91 after its Q4 report included a 7 percent year-on-year revenue decline to $1.4 billion. Results were primarily driven by “challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions,” said CEO Keith Jackson. ON had unexpectedly high demand for a low-margin product line in its consumer segment in Q4 and expects the trend to continue through Q1. The chipmaker will discontinue the product line or significantly raise prices after Q1, said Chief Financial Officer Bernard Gutmann. The semiconductor industry's pace of recovery is “moderate” vs. a sharp uptick in demand, said Jackson. Key segments for the future include advanced driver-assistance systems and 5G infrastructure, he said. The company expects to outperform most peers in automotive, industrial and cloud-power semiconductor end-markets.