Texas Instruments Stock Drops 5% On Soft Guidance

The stock of Texas Instruments (TXN) is down 5% after the semiconductor company reported forward guidance that disappointed analysts and investors.The legacy chipmaker announced fourth-quarter 2024 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30 U.S., which was ahead of the $1.21 U.S. consensus forecast on Wall Street. Revenue in the final quarter of last year came in at $4.01 billion U.S., which was above analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion U.S.Despite beating Wall Street forecasts across the board, Texas Instruments’ results were overshadowed by weak forward guidance. The Dallas, Texas-based company forecast revenue in the current first quarter of 2025 in a range of $3.74 billion U.S. to $4.06 billion U.S. The midpoint of that range is only slightly ahead of a consensus outlook that calls for sales of $3.85 billion U.S.However, the company’s earnings-per-share guidance of $0.94 U.S. to $1.16 U.S. is below the $1.17 U.S. consensus estimate on Wall Street. During the company’s earnings call, management said that demand for semiconductors in the automotive markets of Europe, the U.S., and Japan continues to be weak.Texas Instruments sells microchips that can be found in every sector of the economy, from vehicles to consumer electronics. The company has more than 100,000 customers globally. Prior to today (Jan. 24), the stock of Texas Instruments had risen 21% over the last year to trade at $200.61 U.S. per share.