Most investors understand it is critical to evaluate performance in perspective. From a sports perspective, the performance of Smith in a headline declaring "Smith Scores Six" is much more pertinent when one understands whether Smith was playing baseball or football or basketball.
NVE Corporation (NASDAQ:NVEC), the expert manufacturer of spintronic products such as high-performance sensors and couplers used to acquire, store, and transmit data, reported fiscal 2020 fourth quarter and full-year results on May 6th. An evaluation of its performance is much more relevant when compared to the performance of its industry.
Furthermore, in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, it is better to consider its developments and capabilities from the perspective of a potential recovery.
Revenue In Perspective
NVE's fourth quarter revenue increased 10% from $5.59 million in fiscal 2019 to $6.15 million in fiscal 2020. However, for the year, total revenue decreased 4% from $26.47 million in fiscal 2019 to $25.41 million for fiscal 2020.
The company generates revenue, primarily, through product sales. It also generates a small portion through research and development contracts with its clients. Product sales declined 3.5% from $25.3 million in fiscal 2019 to $24.4 million in fiscal 2020.
The semiconductor industry experienced impressive growth in calendar years 2017 and 2018.
May 2018 marked the industry's highest-ever monthly sales.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, today announced the global semiconductor industry posted sales of $468.8 billion in 2018, the industry's highest-ever annual total and an increase of 13.7 percent compared to the 2017 total.
Initially, industry analysts expected at least a bit of the momentum to carry into 2019. However, just a few months later, by the end of April 2019, analysts were projecting a year-over-year drop of nearly 7.5%.
A 7.4 percent decline will
