Infineon mainly supplies microcontrollers for automotive applications (56% of sales). It also offers power solutions and sensors (21%), as well as products for industry and energy (13%), and for connectivity and security (10%).
The automotive sector has gone through some difficult times over the past two years. The year 2022 was particularly trying, marked by a shortage of chips. In 2024, the repeated difficulties of flagships Volkswagen and Stellantis bore witness to the sector's difficulties. It was against this backdrop that Infineon was due to publish its first-quarter results this morning.
The group, based on the outskirts of Munich, reported better-than-expected figures and raised its forecasts.
Sales amounted to 3.42 billion euros (vs. 3.22 billion euros expected). The automotive segment is the one to watch. The division's revenues amounted to 1.9 billion euros (1.8 billion euros expected). Margins were also better than expected. However, these figures reflect a significantly lower level of activity than in the first quarter of last year (-8% for the automotive segment, for example).
For the full year, Infineon has revised its expectations upwards in view of the weaker euro against the dollar and this good start to the year. In its analysis, Jefferies notes: "Infineon is the only company in the automotive/industrial sector to raise its guidance (...) Infineon remains our top pick in hardware tech, with potential for outperformance as automotive/industrial demand recovers and the company continues to gain market share".
The stock is up just over 10% this morning.