Story Stocks^®

Skyworks Solutions (SWKS +4%) is a member of our YIELD leaders rankings, which focuses on companies that are good about returning cash to shareholders via share buybacks and dividends. Skyworks caught our eye because the stock has pulled back pretty aggressively in recent months, but management has been buying back stock at a good clip.

• The stock gapped lower in early February following its Q1 (Dec) report. The results were decent, but the bigger problem was Skyworks announcing that it was losing business with Apple (AAPL), its largest customer. The company explained that the last couple years have been challenging as the competitive landscape has intensified.
• Regarding the new iPhone launch expected this fall, Skyworks was able to secure multiple sockets, including several highly integrated RF modules. However, its content position is expected to be down 20-25%. This decline will start impacting revenue in Q4 (Sep) and throughout FY26. Analysts believe Broadcom (AVGO) is capturing this share with Apple.
• Looking ahead, Skyworks has already started developing a new suite of products for the next generation iPhone and it's continuing to pursue growth with its other mobile customers, although on a selective basis. Skyworks is focusing on those segments of the market that demand high performance RF. The company also noted that it continues to diversify, which should partially offset the revenue decline at Apple in FY26 and position the company for growth in FY27.
• The company also named a new CEO, Philip Brace, who took the helm in February 2025. Brace has extensive experience in the semiconductor, server, IoT and storage industries and has held various roles across software, hardware, engineering, marketing and sales. He served as executive chairman of Inseego since February 2024 and, before that, he was CEO of Sierra Wireless, where he led the company through significant operational improvements.

Clearly, the reduction in content in the iPhone was a big blow to Skyworks. It sounds like they are trying to reclaim some of that share, but that could be difficult to accomplish. Hopefully, it can recoup some of these losses with its other mobile customers. Also, Skyworks has exposure to other areas, including automotive, edge IoT, and Wi-Fi 7 adoption across consumer and enterprise devices. Hopefully, the new CEO can right the ship. In terms of share buybacks, the company has taken advantage of the pullback in its shares. In Q2 (Mar), it returned a record $600 mln to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.