Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) Reports Q4 In Line With Expectations But Stock Drops 18.4%

RFID manufacturer Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 1.4% year on year to $92.85 million. On the other hand, next quarter’s revenue guidance of $72.5 million was less impressive, coming in 19.9% below analysts’ estimates. Its GAAP loss of $0.04 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy Impinj? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.

Company Overview

Founded by Caltech professor Carver Mead and one of his students Chris Diorio, Impinj (NASDAQ:PI) is a maker of radio-frequency identification (RFID) hardware and software.

Revenue Growth

Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Thankfully, Impinj’s 21% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was exceptional. Its growth beat the average semiconductor company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a helpful starting point for our analysis. Semiconductors are a cyclical industry, and long-term investors should be prepared for periods of high growth followed by periods of revenue contractions.

Long-term growth is the most important, but short-term results matter for semiconductors because the rapid pace of technological innovation (Moore's Law) could make yesterday's hit product obsolete today. Impinj’s annualized revenue growth of 8.4% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results suggest healthy demand.

This quarter, Impinj grew its revenue by 1.4% year on year, and its $92.85 million of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates. Company management is currently guiding for a 2.4% year-on-year decline in sales next quarter.

Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 22.5% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is healthy and suggests its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance.

The 1999 book Gorilla Game predicted Microsoft and Apple would dominate tech before it happened. Its thesis? Identify the platform winners early. Today, enterprise software companies embedding generative AI are becoming the new gorillas. a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next.

Product Demand & Outstanding Inventory

Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO) is an important metric for chipmakers, as it reflects a business’ capital intensity and the cyclical nature of semiconductor supply and demand. In a tight supply environment, inventories tend to be stable, allowing chipmakers to exert pricing power. Steadily increasing DIO can be a warning sign that demand is weak, and if inventories continue to rise, the company may have to downsize production.

This quarter, Impinj’s DIO came in at 173, which is 8 days above its five-year average. These numbers suggest that despite the recent decrease, the company’s inventory levels are higher than what we’ve seen in the past.

Key Takeaways from Impinj’s Q4 Results

It was good to see Impinj improve its inventory levels, even if just slightly. On the other hand, its EBITDA missed and revenue guidance for next quarter missed. Overall, this was a weaker quarter. The stock traded down 18.4% to $126.09 immediately following the results.

The latest quarter from Impinj’s wasn’t that good. One earnings report doesn’t define a company’s quality, though, so let’s explore whether the stock is a buy at the current price. We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).