Navitas Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: NVTS) has surged approximately 84.9% in the month since its last earnings report, significantly outpacing the S&P 500 over the same period.
The rally follows a first-quarter 2026 earnings report that delivered a narrower-than-expected loss, with the company posting a loss of just 4 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20%.
That compares favorably to a loss of 6 cents in the year-ago quarter and a loss of 5 cents in the immediately preceding quarter, reflecting a gradual improvement in the company’s financial trajectory.
Quarterly revenues came in at $8.6 million, which beat the consensus estimate by 7.5%, though the figure represented a 38.7% decline compared to the same period a year earlier.
Management noted that high-power markets now represent a large majority of sales and surged approximately 35% year over year, supporting margin expansion and a more favorable product mix.
The company posted 18% sequential revenue growth, driven by a rebound in demand across AI data centers and grid and energy infrastructure, as Navitas continues to reduce its reliance on mobile and low-end consumer segments.
A standout metric from the quarter was the performance of what management termed “AI infrastructure,” combining data center and grid efforts, which grew 50% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026.
Navitas highlighted specific technology milestones, including an 800V-to-6V DC-DC board designed for higher-density AI data center architectures and a 250-kW solid-state transformer demonstration leveraging its silicon carbide devices.
Non-GAAP gross margin reached 39%, expanding 30 basis points sequentially and 90 basis points year over year, while non-GAAP operating expenses held essentially flat at $15 million, demonstrating meaningful cost discipline.
Selling, general and administrative expenses fell 31.3% year over year to $5.7 million, freeing up capacity to increase research and development spending by 6.8% year over year to $9.4 million in support of the company’s high-power product roadmap.
The non-GAAP operating loss narrowed to $11.7 million, improving from a loss of $12.1 million in the prior quarter and a loss of $11.8 million in the year-ago quarter, pointing to incremental but consistent progress.
Navitas ended the first quarter of 2026 with $221 million in cash and cash equivalents and no outstanding debt, down from $236.9 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.
Inventory rose modestly to $14.9 million from $13.3 million at year-end 2025, which management characterized as a measured investment to support anticipated growth in high-power markets.
For the second quarter of 2026, Navitas is guiding for revenues of $10 million, plus or minus $0.5 million, with non-GAAP gross margin projected at 39.25%, plus or minus 75 basis points.
Non-GAAP operating expenses for the second quarter are expected to remain in the range of $14.5 million to $15.5 million, with management signaling potential selective investments to accelerate growth while maintaining spending discipline.
Despite the sharp share price appreciation, Navitas carries a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell), an aggregate VGM Score of F, and a Momentum Score of D, suggesting analysts remain cautious about near-term return potential.
Within the same semiconductor industry, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) gained 29.8% over the past month, reporting revenues of $10.6 billion for its most recent quarter, though that figure represented a year-over-year decline of 2.2%.
Qualcomm reported earnings per share of $2.65 for the quarter ended March 2026, compared to $2.85 a year earlier, and is expected to post earnings of $2.27 per share for the current quarter, implying an 18.1% year-over-year decline.
Qualcomm also holds a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) alongside a VGM Score of D, reflecting broadly cautious analyst sentiment across the semiconductor sector despite recent price gains.
