Himax Q1'26 Earnings Preview - The Call is Critical

Where we are heading into the print:

Himax finds itself caught in a downturn affecting consumer electronics and automotive markets.

Roughly half of the company’s revenue comes from its automotive division, and leadership has issued a low outlook due to the expiration of EV incentives in China. Only 5 sellside analysts are providing coverage so it’s clear the information going into the print is limited.

The earnings for this quarter will likely not be good and to the disatisfaction of the market. However, the critical point of momentum is what is said on the call about CPO and glasses.

Here are the very relevant points to be focused on for the call:

I will be focused on updates whether CPO has officially entered mass production, or if it’s still “trial production.” The phrase is whether management affirms or increases the “over $100 million annualized in early-stage mass production” number Jordan Wu floated on the Q2 2025 call. Also going to listen for whether they pull forward Gen 1 ramp timing or push it:

Wu has said exact MP timing is “customer-dependent.” Any hint of customers or platform tie-ins would be massive.

This is the bigger long-term prize scale-up the GPU-side, late 2027/early 2028.

Any reference to bandwidth specs (6.4T, 12.8T).

Wu has previously framed Gen 2 as a “nine-figure annual revenue opportunity even in early stages of MP”

Context of timing, dollar size, customer count changes the 2028 model.

Wu said on the last call that “a leading brand’s smart glasses are poised to enter mass production later this year.”

Any update on that timeline, unit volume guidance, or which Himax components are shipping

WiseEye sensors (~$10–15 ASP) is the near-term, butany mention of microdisplays or WLO nanoimprint waveguides going into the same program.

Then for capacity expansion commentary/hiring that would corroborate the DigiTimes report on Taiwan AR optics suppliers raising capex.

Non-driver going from <20% of 2025 sales to ~50% by 2028. Listen for the segment breakdown in the quarter and any forward color on mix.

Management characterizes non-driver as higher margin and less cyclical: so any margin uplift in the segment, or commentary on gross margin trajectory tied to non-driver mix, validates the research.

Both CPO and AR glasses run through the same nanoimprint lithography manufacturing line that Himax has been operating since the iPhone X Face ID era.

Capex guidance, capacity utilization commentary, or any mention of expanding nanoimprint tooling. If they’re guiding capex up meaningfully, that’s a tell on customer commitments behind the scenes.

Any reference to Himax IGI (their precision optics subsidiary), which is where the metalens / metaoptics work lives (where Gen2 CPO likely is).

Thanks for reading!

None of this is financial advice. This is a high-conviction, speculative position. Do your own diligence. I may sell or modify positions at any time without publicizing those holdings.