Shares of Impinj are on the rise after the Seattle connected chip maker behind the RAIN RFID system crushed Wall Street expectations to close out a strong bounce-back year.
Revenue: The company reported $40.8 million in revenue for the quarter — up 18 percent over a year ago — besting analyst expectations by about $2.7 million. For the year, Impinj posted $152.8 million in revenue, a 24 percent increase over its 2018 total.
Profits: Analysts expected Impinj to break even for the quarter, but it posted a small non-GAAP profit of $0.03 per share. Impinj finished the year with a slight non-GAAP profit of $900,000, compared to a $2 million loss the prior year.
Looking ahead: In the first quarter of the new fiscal year, Impinj expects to post revenue between $37 million and $41 million, above analyst expectations of roughly $36 million.
Stock: Shares in the company are up 13 percent in after-hours trading. Impinj stock is up approximately 7 percent so far this year.
Impinj has recovered from a tumultuous 2018 that included declining revenue and an audit investigation. The company had never crossed $40 million in quarterly revenue in its 20-year history, until recently. It has hit that threshold in each of the last two quarters.
“I am very pleased with Impinj’s 2019 execution and results,” Impinj co-founder and CEO Chris Diorio said in a statement. “We delivered three consecutive record revenue quarters and strengthened our balance sheet. We also introduced game-changing new products that solidified our platform and advanced our strategy. We enter 2020 with strong momentum and a solid foundation for our business.”
On a call with analysts, Diorio noted that apparel, specifically footwear, has been a huge driver of growth for Impinj. And the company expects demand for connected chips to track apparel items to continue to increase.
“We believe the retail apparel market was only roughly 15 percent penetrated in 2019, so there is plenty of room for growth,” Diorio said.
Impinj increased research and development spending 14 percent year-over-year to $38.8 million in 2019. Diorio said the company will continue to increase R&D spending in 2020, with greater investment in both engineering and operations.
The company went through an executive shuffle over the last few weeks. Last month, the company brought in former RealNetworks CFO Cary Baker to be its new chief financial officer. Eric Brodersen, Impinj’s president and COO, will depart later this month after five years with the company.
