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Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Synaptics (SYNA):

• Synaptics is like an 'Intel Inside' for how you touch and interact with many devices, from laptops to smart home gadgets.
• They're a behind-the-scenes engineer for the 'smarts' in IoT devices like smart home gadgets, similar to how ARM designs core processors for many smartphones.
• Synaptics supplies crucial interactive components for electronics, like laptop touchpads and smart speaker voice controls, similar to how Corning provides Gorilla Glass for phone screens.

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• Touch and Haptic Solutions: Provides touch controllers, touchpads, and haptic feedback solutions for laptops, mobile devices, and various embedded applications.
• Fingerprint Biometric Sensors: Offers secure fingerprint authentication sensors for PCs, smartphones, and a range of IoT devices.
• Display Driver ICs: Develops integrated circuits that manage and optimize displays in mobile phones, automotive systems, and other specialized screens.
• Wireless Connectivity Solutions: Supplies low-power Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS modules and chipsets primarily for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
• Edge AI Solutions: Delivers integrated chipsets that enable on-device artificial intelligence for audio, video, and voice processing in smart home, automotive, and AR/VR applications.

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Synaptics (SYNA) primarily sells its products to other companies, specifically to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) that integrate Synaptics' human interface solutions into their end products. Therefore, Synaptics operates on a Business-to-Business (B2B) model.

While Synaptics often reports in its SEC filings that no single customer accounts for 10% or more of its net revenue in recent fiscal years, indicating a diversified customer base, its major customers are leading manufacturers across several key market segments that incorporate Synaptics' components into their finished products:

• Personal Computer (PC) Manufacturers: These companies integrate Synaptics' touchpads, display drivers, and fingerprint sensors into laptops, desktops, and other PC peripherals.

  • Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL)
  • HP Inc. (HPQ)
  • Lenovo Group Limited (0992.HK - listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange)

• Mobile Device Manufacturers: Companies that use Synaptics' touch and display driver integrated circuits (ICs) for smartphones and tablets.

  • Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (005930.KS - listed on the Korea Exchange)
  • Google (Alphabet Inc. - GOOGL) for its Pixel devices

• Internet of Things (IoT) and Embedded System Manufacturers: This broad category includes numerous companies producing devices for smart home, automotive, industrial, and enterprise applications that incorporate Synaptics' IoT processors, audio solutions, and other embedded technologies.

  • Specific major public customers in this highly fragmented segment are not consistently disclosed by Synaptics.

Synaptics' components are foundational to many popular consumer and enterprise electronics, making these manufacturers its key direct customers.

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• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM)
• United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC)
• ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (ASX)
• Unimicron Technology Corp. (3037.TW)

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Rahul Patel President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director

Rahul Patel joined Synaptics in June 2025 as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director. Prior to Synaptics, he spent a decade at Qualcomm, most recently as Senior Vice President and Group General Manager of the Connectivity, Broadband, & Networking Group, where he oversaw a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of wireless networking and connectivity businesses. Earlier in his career, Mr. Patel spent 13 years in various senior leadership roles at Broadcom, including serving as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Connectivity Group, where he played a pivotal role in expanding Broadcom's Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, and GPS leadership across all market segments.

Ken Rizvi Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Ken Rizvi joined Synaptics as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July 2024, served as interim CEO from February to May 2025, and then returned to his role as CFO. Prior to joining Synaptics, Mr. Rizvi served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SMART Global Holdings (SGH) from February 2021 to June 2024. He also served as Chief Financial Officer for UTAC Holdings Ltd., a global semiconductor assembly and test services provider, and for Isola Group, and held senior finance positions at Micron Technology and ON Semiconductor. Earlier in his career, he worked as an Associate with Technology Crossover Ventures.

Lisa Bodensteiner Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

Lisa Bodensteiner joined Synaptics in November 2023 as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Before joining Synaptics, she was Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Plantronics, Inc. (“Poly”). Her experience also includes serving as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer at SunPower Corporation, and holding key executive roles at First Solar, Inc., OptiSolar Inc., and Calpine Corporation.

Javier del Prado Senior Vice President, Global Operations

Javier del Prado joined Synaptics in September 2025 as Senior Vice President of Global Operations. Before Synaptics, he spent 12 years at Qualcomm, most recently as Vice President and General Manager of the Mobile Connectivity Division. Mr. del Prado also held multiple leadership roles at ST-Ericsson, NXP, and Philips. He was a co-founder of Zeevo, a developer of system-on-chip solutions for Bluetooth and other wireless communication applications, which was subsequently acquired by Broadcom.

Satish Ganesan Senior Vice President & General Manager of Intelligent Sensing Division and Chief Strategy Officer

Satish Ganesan joined Synaptics in November 2019 and serves as Senior Vice President & General Manager of the Intelligent Sensing Division and Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to Synaptics, Mr. Ganesan was Chief Product Officer of Keyssa, a wireless startup focused on short-range connectivity. He also held several executive positions at Broadcom, where he led IoT and mobile strategy, and various senior product marketing positions at Tilera and Broadcom.

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The key risks to Synaptics' (SYNA) business include geopolitical and operational disruptions, the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry coupled with weakness in legacy markets, and significant outstanding debt.

1. Geopolitical and Operational Risk: Synaptics faces significant risk from the volatile situation in Israel, where it employs a number of staff. The ongoing conflict, including Hamas terrorist attacks and subsequent warfare, has led to temporary office closures and could cause further operational disruptions. Additionally, mandatory military service for Israeli employees threatens to deplete critical human resources, potentially having a material adverse impact on Synaptics' operational and financial stability.
2. Industry Cycles and Weakness in Legacy Markets: As a fabless semiconductor company, Synaptics is exposed to inherent industry cycles characterized by shifts in demand, inventory corrections, overcapacity, and pricing volatility in its key markets, including consumer, automotive, IoT, and mobile applications. While the company's core IoT business is growing, its legacy mobile, automotive, and enterprise markets remain weak. This has resulted in weaker sales in these mature segments and has significantly impacted operating margins.
3. Debt and Financial Flexibility: Synaptics has significant outstanding indebtedness, including Senior Notes and Convertible Senior Notes. These obligations, along with credit covenants, may limit the company's financial flexibility, expose it to liquidity risk, and could potentially lead to stockholder dilution or adverse market impacts.

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1. Proliferation of Advanced 3D Facial Recognition and Other Contactless Biometrics: While Synaptics has a significant business in fingerprint sensors for mobile, PC, and IoT devices, there is an ongoing and expanding trend towards highly secure 3D facial recognition (e.g., Apple's Face ID) and other sophisticated contactless biometrics (e.g., iris scanning). These technologies offer alternative, often preferred, methods of authentication and could increasingly displace fingerprint sensors as the primary biometric interface across various high-value consumer electronics and access control systems. This shift could directly reduce the market demand for Synaptics' fingerprint sensor products.

2. Ascendance of Pervasive Voice-First and Conversational AI Interfaces: Driven by rapid advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs), voice-first interaction models are becoming increasingly sophisticated and prevalent. From smart home devices and automotive infotainment systems to various IoT applications, users are interacting more frequently and naturally through speech. While Synaptics offers some voice processing solutions, its traditional core business is heavily reliant on visual-tactile interfaces like touchpads, touchscreens, and display drivers. A broad market shift towards voice-first interactions as the primary means of control and information access could diminish the reliance on and demand for these traditional touch and display interface components in several key segments, potentially relegating them to a secondary role in the user experience.

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Synaptics (SYNA) operates in several key markets, with their primary focus increasingly on Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and AI-enabled Edge computing. They also have a presence in PC, mobile, and automotive markets.

The addressable markets for their main products and services are as follows:

• Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions:
  • The worldwide IoT industry was estimated at $384 billion in 2022 and is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030, growing at over 13% (global).
  • The global Edge AI market, a significant area for Synaptics' AI-enabled Edge devices and Astra™ AI-Native embedded compute platform, is projected to grow from $21.19 billion in 2024 to $143.06 billion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate of 21.04% (global).
• PC Products: null
• Mobile Products: null
• Automotive Solutions: null

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Synaptics (SYNA) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key initiatives and market expansions:

1. Growth in Core IoT Segment, particularly Edge AI and Wireless Connectivity: Synaptics' Core IoT product sales have been a primary growth engine, with a significant 74% year-over-year increase in Q1 FY2026, and strong double-digit growth in previous quarters. This growth is propelled by the company's strategic focus on Edge AI through its Astra processor platform, designed for intelligent IoT devices, and its expanding portfolio in wireless connectivity solutions, including new Wi-Fi 7 devices. Synaptics expects its Core IoT revenue run rate to approach $400 million annually, with Astra processor revenues anticipated in the second half of 2026.
2. Expansion in Enterprise Solutions and PC Market Share: The Enterprise & Automotive segment constitutes a substantial portion of Synaptics' revenue, accounting for 51% in Q1 FY2026. While the automotive sector has experienced some softness, the company has indicated gaining market share in PC products and is optimistic about growth opportunities within its broader enterprise solutions.
3. Increased Content in Foldable Phones: Synaptics anticipates that its content per unit in foldable phones will be more than double that of its current smartphone designs. New design wins in this area are expected to begin contributing to revenue in the upcoming fiscal year, as the adoption of foldable phone technology increases.

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Share Repurchases

• Synaptics repurchased $128 million (approximately 1.8 million) shares for the full fiscal year 2025.
• In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the company repurchased approximately one million shares for $74.5 million.
• On August 5, 2025, Synaptics' Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $150 million of common stock, with no expiration date.

Share Issuance

• For the quarter ended December 28, 2024 (Q2 fiscal 2025), Synaptics reported an issuance of common stock for share-based award compensation plans totaling $7.7 million.

Outbound Investments

• Synaptics acquired DisplayLink in 2020 for over $300 million.
• In December 2021, Synaptics completed the acquisition of DSP Group for approximately $549 million in cash, aiming to enhance its AI, voice processing, and wireless technologies for smart connected devices.
• Synaptics made a $198 million all-cash acquisition from Broadcom for its wireless IoT activities, intended to accelerate its Edge AI strategy and expand its wireless connectivity portfolio, including WiFi 7/8 combo devices, UWB IP, and next-generation GPS/GNSS products.

Capital Expenditures

• Synaptics' long-term investments in property, plant, and equipment have averaged around $65 million to $75 million, reflecting ongoing capital expenditures to support business operations.
• The company's fabless model relies on third-party wafer and packaging manufacturers, allowing it to minimize investment in inventories.
• Capital expenditures are reviewed on a consolidated basis for strategic decisions related to headcount and capital allocation.