indie Semiconductor released its second-quarter 2026 results on 6 August 2026, and we are writing about them today.
Verification: the report was filed with the SEC on Form 8-K on 6 August 2026 (accepted 16:33 ET), accession number 0001193125-26-338258, under Item 2.02 covering results of operations and financial condition, together with Item 7.01 and Item 9.01. The company's registry number, CIK 0001841925, was confirmed through an EDGAR company search and not copied from a stored list.
Every figure in this article comes from the two exhibits to that filing: the earnings press release (Exhibit 99.1) and the supplemental earnings deck (Exhibit 99.2). Even so, errors, inaccuracies or omissions are possible, and the figures may change after publication. Spotted something that looks wrong? Write to me and I will correct it.
What the Company Does
indie Semiconductor designs chips for cars. Not chips for computers and not chips for phones, but semiconductor components that go inside vehicles and run the systems that help the driver.
The company's core field is called ADAS, short for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. That is the umbrella term for everything the car does for you without being asked: automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control that matches your speed to the vehicle ahead, blind-spot warning. Each of those functions needs a sensor that sees the world and a chip that processes what the sensor sees.
One of the central sensors is 77 gigahertz automotive radar. That is the frequency band the car industry uses for short- and long-range radar, and it is what lets a vehicle measure the distance and speed of objects around it in rain and darkness, where a camera struggles. The chief executive singles this product out in the release, and we will come back to it.
Two more terms are worth pinning down before the numbers:
Product revenue versus contract revenue. indie's revenue splits in two. Product revenue is chips sold to carmakers and their suppliers. Contract revenue is payment for customer-specific development work. The company notes that some of the costs attached to contract revenue are recorded in research and development rather than in cost of sales, and that is a central reason it reports no gross profit line at all.
GAAP versus non-GAAP. GAAP is the accounting standard in the United States, meaning the official, binding presentation. Non-GAAP measures are defined by the company itself and strip out items it considers unrepresentative, such as share-based compensation and amortization of intangibles. Both numbers are legitimate, but only one of them is audited and comparable between companies. When the gap between them is large, the gap itself is the story.
Finally, two entities that will come up again: Wuxi indie Micro (Wuxi indie Microelectronics Technology), a unit in China that is not wholly owned and whose entire equity interest is under an agreed sale, and TeraXion, whose unexercised options are included in the non-GAAP share count.
The Quarter
All figures in millions of dollars unless noted.
| Line | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | 64.009 | 51.634 | +24.0% |
| Product revenue | 60.507 | 49.720 | +21.7% |
| Contract revenue | 3.502 | 1.914 | +83.0%, off a small base |
| Cost of goods sold | 40.923 | 30.693 | +33.3% |
| Research and development | 37.809 | 38.472 | Slightly lower |
| Selling, general and administrative | 20.359 | 18.355 | +10.9% |
| Restructuring costs | 0 | 7.107 | Did not recur |
| Total operating expenses, including COGS | 99.091 | 94.627 | Higher |
| GAAP loss from operations | Loss of 35.082 | Loss of 42.993 | Narrowed by 7.911 |
| Total other income (expense), net | Expense of 4.320 | Income of 1.940 | Swung to expense |
| GAAP net loss | Loss of 38.954 | Loss of 41.618 | Narrowed by 2.664 |
| Net loss attributable to indie | Loss of 37.075 | Loss of 39.038 | Narrowed by 1.963 |
| Net loss per share, basic and diluted | $(0.17) | $(0.20) | See below |
| Weighted average shares | 212,010,301 | 195,370,583 | +8.5% |
| Non-GAAP operating loss | Loss of 8.887 | Loss of 14.532 | Narrowed by 5.645 |
| Non-GAAP net loss | Loss of 11.661 | Loss of 16.161 | Narrowed by 4.500 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | Loss of 6.464 | Loss of 12.477 | Narrowed by 6.013 |
| Share-based compensation | 17.919 | 14.759 | +21.4% |
| Amortization of intangibles | 7.799 | 6.532 | Higher |
Co-founder and CEO Donald McClymont opens the release with this line:
"indie delivered a solid quarter of top line growth, with revenue up 24 percent year-over-year, above the midpoint of our guidance range"
The top line really did grow. The question is what happened to every line beneath it.
The line that did not recur
This is the single most important thing in the report, and it hides in a line whose value this year is zero.
The GAAP operating loss narrowed from a loss of $42.993 million to a loss of $35.082 million, an improvement of $7.911 million. That sounds like classic operating leverage: revenue rose $12.4 million, and the loss fell by almost the same order of magnitude.
But the year-ago quarter carried a restructuring charge of $7.107 million. This year that line is zero. Restructuring costs are the one-time expense of shrinking an operation, for example severance or site closures. They did not recur, which is fine, but their absence is not an improvement in ongoing operations.
Excluding restructuring from both periods, the operating loss improved by roughly $0.8 million - on $12.4 million of additional revenue. That is the whole story of the operating line this quarter.
The reason is visible in the very first cost line: cost of goods sold rose 33.3% against revenue growth of 24.0%. As a share of total revenue, COGS moved from 59.4% to 63.9%. In plain terms, each extra dollar of revenue carried more direct cost with it than it did a year ago.
There is no gross profit line in this report. None at all. indie reports neither gross profit nor gross margin, on a GAAP basis or on its own non-GAAP basis. Its stated reason: some of the costs attached to contract revenue are expensed into research and development rather than into cost of sales, so in its view a gross margin line would not be representative. The practical consequence for a reader is that there is no margin line anywhere in the filing to check the 33.3% jump in cost of goods sold against. Anyone who wants to track indie's operating profitability has to do it through the ratio of cost of goods sold to revenue, which is the only handle the filing provides.
Where the guidance comes from: about $30 million from a business being sold
The report's second headline is the third-quarter outlook: revenue of $67 million to $73 million, and at the midpoint the company anticipates 30 percent year-over-year growth.
The breakdown matters as much as the number. The company itself writes that of the midpoint, approximately $40 million comes from the core business and approximately $30 million from Wuxi indie Micro.
In the same filing, in its risk language, indie discloses the pending sale of its entire equity interest in Wuxi indie Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
So roughly 43% of next quarter's revenue guidance midpoint comes from a unit the company has already agreed to sell. The headline "30 percent year-over-year growth" therefore includes revenue that is not meant to stay in the company. Core-business guidance, per the company itself, is approximately $40 million.
I cannot quantify the impact, and I will deliberately not try: neither the 8-K nor its exhibits states a purchase price, a closing date or any pro-forma effect. The same is true of the second pending structural change indie mentioned, the acquisition of the CMOS Imaging Sensor Business from ams-OSRAM AG. It too has no price, no date and no numerical impact anywhere in the filing.
Below the operating line: a roughly $6.3 million swing
The $7.911 million operating improvement did not reach the bottom line intact, and that is not an accident.
Total other income (expense), net swung from income of $1.940 million to expense of $4.320 million, a roughly $6.3 million move against the company. Three reasons:
- Interest income fell from $2.226 million to $1.217 million.
- Interest expense rose from $4.527 million to $4.688 million.
- A $2.623 million gain on debt extinguishment recorded a year ago did not repeat.
The result: net loss swung from a loss of $41.618 million to a smaller loss of $38.954 million, meaning it narrowed by only $2.664 million despite a $7.911 million operating improvement.
The dilution that flatters loss per share
Loss per share improved from $(0.20) to $(0.17), three cents. Where did they come from?
Most of the loss-per-share improvement comes from the denominator, not the numerator. Weighted average shares rose 8.5% year over year, from 195,370,583 to 212,010,301, while net loss attributable to indie narrowed only 5.0%, from $39.038 million to $37.075 million. Held at last year's share count, this quarter's loss per share works out to about $(0.19) instead of the reported $(0.17). In other words, most of that three-cent improvement is arithmetic from share issuance rather than a smaller loss. The dilution continues into the outlook too: guided non-GAAP loss per share of $(0.04) for next quarter is struck on a base of 230 million shares, above the 227,556,720 non-GAAP share count used this quarter.
The GAAP to non-GAAP bridge is bigger than the result it produces
The non-GAAP operating loss is a loss of $8.887 million, against a GAAP operating loss of $35.082 million. The bridge between them is $26.195 million of add-backs:
| Bridge item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Acquisition and non-recurring professional expense | 0.477 |
| Amortization of intangible assets | 7.799 |
| Share-based compensation | 17.919 |
| Restructuring costs | 0 |
| Total add-backs | 26.195 |
The non-GAAP figure is about a quarter of the GAAP one. The largest item in the bridge, share-based compensation, was $17.919 million, equal to 28.0% of quarterly revenue, and it grew 21.4% year over year, faster than several operating expense lines and close to the pace of revenue growth itself.
One more detail worth noticing: non-GAAP net loss attributable to indie is a loss of $12.472 million, worse than the consolidated non-GAAP net loss of $11.661 million. The reason is that $0.811 million of non-GAAP net income is attributable to the Wuxi noncontrolling interest. The release presents no prior-year non-GAAP per-share figure, so the $(0.05) has no like-for-like comparison in the primary source.
The half-year tells the opposite story
| First half | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 119.466 | 105.711 | +13.0% |
| GAAP net loss | Loss of 86.076 | Loss of 78.789 | Widened by 7.287 |
| Non-GAAP operating loss | Loss of 20.093 | Loss of 29.593 | Narrowed by 9.500 |
Two conclusions. First, half-year revenue growth is only 13.0%, against 24.0% in Q2 - meaning the first quarter was weak, and the quarterly headline does not surface that. Second, the half-year GAAP net loss widened, from $78.789 million to $86.076 million, the opposite direction from the quarter. The explanation sits below the operating line again: total other expense of $12.892 million in the half, versus other income of $3.758 million a year earlier, including a $3.656 million loss on debt extinguishment this year against a $2.623 million gain last year.
The balance sheet: equity moving into liabilities
The balance-sheet comparison is against year-end 2025, not against the year-ago quarter. That is how the company presents it, and that is how it should be read.
| Balance sheet, $ millions | 30 Jun 2026 | 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 138.975 | 145.456 |
| Inventory | 67.626 | 48.618 |
| Accounts receivable, net | 67.816 | 57.485 |
| Long-term debt, net of current portion | 403.741 | 339.834 |
| Current debt obligations | 12.324 | 13.567 |
| Total stockholders' equity | 322.162 | 384.013 |
| Equity attributable to indie | 294.672 | 358.031 |
| Noncontrolling interest | 27.490 | 25.982 |
| Accumulated deficit | 717.377 | 637.110 |
| Total assets | 841.531 | 840.786 |
| Total liabilities | 519.369 | 456.773 |
In six months: long-term debt rose $63.907 million, cash fell $6.481 million, and total stockholders' equity fell $61.851 million. Total assets barely moved, $841.531 million against $840.786 million. In other words, the entire move on the balance sheet is a shift from equity into liabilities. (Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash was $149.0 million, $138.975 million plus $10.027 million restricted, which is the figure cited in the deck.)
On top of that, working capital built faster than sales: inventory rose 39.1% and receivables 18.0% since the end of 2025, against first-half revenue growth of 13.0%.
The Outlook
Third-quarter 2026 guidance was given on a non-GAAP basis only. The company explicitly declines to reconcile the outlook to GAAP, citing unreasonable effort. That means there is no way to tie the guided figures to any accounting outcome.
- Revenue: $67 million to $73 million, a $70 million midpoint. At the midpoint the company anticipates 30 percent year-over-year growth.
- Composition of the midpoint: approximately $40 million from the core business and approximately $30 million from Wuxi indie Micro.
- Non-GAAP operating expenses: approximately $37 million, down approximately $1 million sequentially.
- Non-GAAP net interest expense: approximately $3.2 million.
- Non-GAAP net loss per share: $(0.04), including no tax expenses, on a base of 230 million shares outstanding.
No full-year 2026 guidance was given, in either the press release or the deck.
From the release, the CEO on the growth engine he points to:
"Momentum continues for our 77GHz radar solution with OEMs spanning North America, Europe and China"
(An OEM is the original equipment manufacturer, meaning the carmaker itself.) And in closing:
"indie is well positioned to capture these rapidly emerging opportunities and drive disciplined, profitable growth."
הזווית שלי
דעה אישית של אילן אברמוב - לא ייעוץ ולא המלצה
What caught me in this report is not the 24% growth, it is how little of it reached the operating line. Strip the restructuring line out of both periods and you are left with about $0.8 million of operating improvement on $12.4 million of additional revenue. That is not operating leverage. That is a cost base growing at close to the rate of revenue, and cost of goods sold rising 33.3% says so out loud.
What bothers me most is that I cannot fully check it. The company reports no gross profit, on any basis. Its methodological explanation is reasonable, but the practical result is that the single most important line for a chip company is simply absent from the filing. The ratio of cost of goods sold to revenue, up from 59.4% to 63.9%, is all we have.
Guidance is where I am most careful. Thirty percent growth at the midpoint sounds excellent, until the next line tells you that about $30 million of the $70 million comes from Wuxi, and the risk language in the same filing says the sale of the entire equity interest in Wuxi has already been agreed. Core-business guidance, per the company, is approximately $40 million. Both numbers are true, and they are not the same thing.
Next quarter I will look first at three things. One, the ratio of cost of goods sold to revenue: if it keeps climbing, the growth story weakens. Two, the balance sheet: long-term debt rose $63.9 million in six months while cash fell and equity dropped $61.9 million, with total assets essentially flat. Three, inventory, which jumped 39.1% against half-year revenue growth of 13.0%.
Above all, what indie pays and receives on the two transactions that are still unquantified. The Wuxi sale on one side and the ams-OSRAM imaging-sensor acquisition on the other will shape the indie of 2027 more than anything that happened this quarter, and neither has a price, a closing date or a pro-forma impact in this filing. Until they do, any model here is a guess. I am not a licensed investment adviser and this is not a recommendation - it is a reading of what the filing says.
