Xilinx Inc.XLNX

Morningstar Rating

Stock Research and Analysis

by Brian Colello, CPA

Xilinx is the larger player in a near-duopoly in the programmable logic device (PLD) chip space, holding about 50% market share versus 35% for the firm's main rival, Altera {0}. We expect Xilinx to achieve solid long-term revenue growth, as fast-growing Read more

Bulls Say

PLDs have taken and are poised to continue to take market share away from ASICs, as per-unit costs of PLDs are dropping and their popularity is gaining because of their flexibility versus ASICs.

Xilinx has a larger research-and-development budget than its closest PLD competitor, Altera, and the company enjoys about 50% share of the total PLD market.

Xilinx is one of the few technology companies that have been able to issue healthy and steadily increasing dividends to its shareholders.

Software packages offered with PLDs often prevent customers from switching between firms, as customers become trained in a particular firm's package and tend not to switch. Read more

Bears Say

Some observers believe that Altera's product bridging the gap between PLDs and ASICs (so-called structured ASICs) is superior to Xilinx's offering.

Although both firms generate excellent operating margins, Altera appears to be a more efficient operator than Xilinx, as Altera's margins have been a couple of percentage points higher than Xilinx's in recent years.

United Microelectronics UMC, the foundry primarily used by Xilinx, is considered to be an inferior manufacturer to Altera's main foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing TSM.

Altera has continued to gain market share in the PLD industry during the last several years. Read more

Strategy

Xilinx's strategy is to increase the overall PLD market and take business from ASIC manufacturers. The firm's plan to do so is to continue to innovate and improve chip designs in order to lower the per-unit Read more

Management

Moshe Gavrielov took over the job of president and CEO of Xilinx in January 2008, when Willem Roelandts stepped down after a 12-year tenure. Before coming to Xilinx, Gavrielov served as executive vice president of the verification division at Cadence Read more

Profile

Founded in 1984, Xilinx is the top designer of programmable logic devices by market share. Its chips are critical in the performance of various devices in the communications, Read more

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Zip Code

Create Password

Verify Password

(6-15 characters; case sensitive)

What is your occupation or job title?

Select...

Your registration indicates agreement to the terms of use.

Dodge & Cox: Valuations Attractive in Technology
Watch more