盘后大跌超10%！AI连接芯片黑马Astera Labs业绩未及市场“高标准”

Core Viewpoint - Astera Labs reported better-than-expected earnings per share and revenue for Q4, but its stock price fell by 10% due to revenue not meeting some analysts' high expectations [1]. Financial Performance - Q4 revenue increased by 92% year-over-year to $271 million, although some analysts had projected revenue to exceed $280 million [3]. - Earnings per share for Q4 were $0.58, surpassing market expectations of $0.51; net profit reached $45 million, up 82% from $24.7 million in the same period last year [3]. - The company anticipates Q1 2026 revenue to be between $286 million and $297 million, exceeding Wall Street's expectation of $259 million; adjusted earnings per share are expected to be between $0.53 and $0.54, compared to the market expectation of $0.52 [3]. Business Growth Drivers - The CEO attributed the better-than-expected performance to growth in Scorpio structured switch chips and Taurus Ethernet cables, which together account for 30% of total revenue [3]. - The CEO noted that the bottleneck is shifting from computing to connectivity, which is the company's main battlefield, providing opportunities for sustained growth beyond the overall market growth rate in AI [3]. Management Changes - The company announced the departure of CFO Mike Tate, with Desmond Lynch, current CFO of Rambus, set to take over on March 2; Tate will remain as a strategic advisor [3]. Strategic Developments - Astera Labs issued a new warrant to Amazon, allowing the purchase of approximately $466 million worth of company stock; as of December 31, Amazon held $43 million in Astera Labs shares [4]. - The company announced the establishment of a research and development center in Israel [5]. - The CEO emphasized that the biggest constraint currently is resource availability, making the establishment of a design center in Israel a crucial step to access the local talent pool [6]. Company Background - Astera Labs was founded in 2017 by former executives from Texas Instruments and went public in 2024; it has signed chip agreements with clients including Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and Amazon [6].