Chip Stock Investor Podcast

Ouster ($OUST) just reported $49M in Q1 2026 revenue — up 49% year-over-year — and crossed the 40% gross margin threshold as it shifts toward a fabless model. But the bigger story is product: the new REV8 LiDAR family and L4 Max chip now integrate native color sensing directly into the sensor, developed in partnership with Fujifilm.

In this episode, Nick breaks down what that means for physical AI — autonomous vehicles, robotics, and industrial automation — where today's systems rely on costly, complex sensor fusion setups combining LiDAR with CMOS image sensors. Color LiDAR could simplify that stack significantly.

We also cover Q2 2026 guidance, the path toward breakeven, and why OUST remains a small bet in the Semi Insider portfolio — not a full position. This is still a prove-it story: the company operates at a loss and continues issuing shares to fund operations.
Topics covered:
REV8 family and L4 Max chip breakdown
How color LiDAR changes the physical AI sensor stack
Why OUST is sized as a small bet and what would change that
Q2 2026 guidance and the road to profitability
For deeper research and portfolio updates, visit us at chipstockinvestor.com.
Chip Stock Investor covers semiconductor stocks and the chips powering AI, autonomy, and the physical world. Subscribe for weekly analysis and research updates.
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.

While the market chased AI names, communications software stocks like Twilio (TWLO) and Bandwidth (BAND) quietly re-accelerated. Here's what the financials actually show — and whether these forgotten names deserve a spot in your portfolio.

CSI breaks down two API-layer software companies left for dead after the pandemic era that are now showing signs of fundamental re-acceleration. We analyze quarterly revenue trends, operating profit trajectory, and free cash flow for both — including the key distinction between Twilio's headline revenue and organic revenue (stripping out carrier pass-through fees).

We also cover Bandwidth's emerging relationship with Salesforce as a voice-powered AI agent infrastructure provider, and what that means for future revenue growth.

Plus, we address the macro question investors are asking: if enterprises pull back on AI token spending, does that actually send them back to SaaS vendors? We break down both sides of that thesis.

This is a fundamentals-first look at an under-covered corner of the software market — no hype, just the numbers.
🔒 This episode features an excerpt from one of our CSI Live sessions — exclusive to Semi Insider members. Join to access our full library of live analysis, deep dives, and member Q&As:https://chipstockinvestor.com

📺 Watch the related YouTube video — we called this back in April:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHcvCip1-tQ

Content is for general informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute specific investment advice. All investing involves risk. Nick and Kasey do not own shares of Twilio or Bandwidth.

Are the Fab 5 wafer fab equipment companies — ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, and KLA Corp — still worth buying at today's valuations? CSI breaks down 20 years of revenue data across the five companies that control roughly 70% of annual global fab equipment spending, and explain why 2026 and 2027 are shaping up to be record revenue years — with a potential speed bump in 2028 worth watching.

The conversation also covers the wave of creative M&A reshaping the equipment landscape: the Axcelis and Veeco merger nearing final approval,
Onto Innovation's strategic equity stake in X-ray imaging firm Rigaku, and Applied Materials' targeted acquisition of an advanced packaging segment from ASMPT.

But the most overlooked part of this episode is the introduction of the Lab 7 — a group of life science and laboratory capital equipment companies, including Thermo Fisher, Agilent, Bruker, and Revvity, that share surprising structural overlap with semiconductor supply chain investing.
CSI explains why these companies could serve as a diversification play for semiconductor-heavy portfolios, and why the two industries may begin to converge.

If you're wondering how to stay invested in the semiconductor supply chain without overconcentrating in a handful of names, this episode gives you a research-backed framework for thinking about it.

Topics covered:
- Fab 5 revenue breakdown and 20-year performance
- Is wafer fab equipment overpriced in 2026?
- Axcelis + Veeco merger update
- Onto Innovation & Rigaku X-ray partnership
- Applied Materials acquires ASMPT packaging segment
- Introducing the Lab 7: life science meets semiconductor
- Portfolio diversification beyond the semiconductor supply chain
- Semiconductor market cycle outlook through 2028 and beyond

For in-depth stock research and the Semiconductor Insider membership, visit chipstockinvestor.com. Use fiscal.ai/csi for 15% off any paid plan.

Amphenol (APH) just reported Q1 2026 earnings and the stock sold off — but the revenue numbers tell a different story. In this episode, Kasey and Nick break down every segment of Amphenol's business and ask whether this "boring" semiconductor supply chain stock is one of the better values in AI infrastructure right now.

Amphenol is one of the world's largest manufacturers of electrical connectors, cables, antennas, and sensors. It operates across 350 facilities worldwide and sits at the intersection of AI data centers, aerospace and defense, automotive, industrial automation, and satellite communications. It doesn't make a flashy end product — but nearly every major AI infrastructure build runs through Amphenol components.

In this episode we cover:
— IT DataCom: now 41% of Amphenol's total revenue and nearly doubling year over year as AI data center demand drives cable and connector spending— Industrial: 20% of revenue, up 16% organically, led by building connectivity and automation sensors— Communications networks: 91% as-reported growth boosted by the CommScope acquisition, but flat organically — broadband infrastructure spending has softened— Defense: up 44% year over year, with high single digit growth expected to continue— Automotive: soft in Asia, down 7% sequentially, modest recovery expected in Q2— Commercial air and mobile devices: small segments, largely holding steady

We also dig into why earnings per share is growing slightly slower than revenue despite strong AI data center demand — and the answer comes down to the CommScope acquisition. CommScope's margins are lower than Amphenol's existing business, integration takes time, and the long-term debt load is now visible on the balance sheet. None of this is unusual for a major acquisition, but it explains the market's reaction.

We close with a reverse DCF scenario using a five-year average growth rate of 22% and a 4% terminal growth rate — and discuss what that implies about fair value for APH stock as of May 2026.

If you're researching semiconductor stocks, AI infrastructure investing, or picks-and-shovels plays in the data center buildout, this is an episode worth your time.

More research and stock tools at chipstockinvestor.com — and join Semi Insider for deeper analysis.

Nvidia just reported Q1 fiscal year 2027. The numbers are extraordinary even by Nvidia's own standards. Free cash flow of $49 billion. A nearly 60% free cash flow margin. Revenue guidance implying over $300 billion for calendar year 2026, with some estimates suggesting $400 billion is possible. Next quarter alone: $91 billion in guided revenue. Vera Rubin is beginning to ship and is expected to generate $20 billion in its first six months.

And then Jensen Huang said something on the earnings call that almost nobody covered.

Nvidia plans to become the world's largest CPU supplier in 2026.

That single claim has profound implications — for Intel, for AMD, for every investor tracking the CPU market, and for the semiconductor supply chain at large. CSI called this out as a remote possibility during their CPU market share update just weeks earlier. Now it is a public commitment from Jensen Huang himself.

CSI works through the full picture in this episode. They cover Nvidia's new revenue reporting framework — the shift from a single data center segment to two sub-markets. Hyperscale covers the five major cloud providers: Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Oracle. ACIE covers AI clouds, industrial, enterprise, and sovereign data centers. This segmentation matters enormously because 80% of global IT spending is still on legacy systems. The enterprise migration to AI infrastructure is just beginning to happen at scale, and for the first time investors have direct visibility into it through Nvidia's own reporting.

They also run the reverse DCF at $223 per share. The result: 20% free cash flow per share growth over five years at a 6% terminal rate gets you to today's price. That is not historically cheap for Nvidia. But it is the lowest bar the company has had to clear in years — and given that EPS grew 214% and FCF per share grew 88% in Q1 alone, clearing that bar looks more feasible than it sounds.

CSI's updated position: Nvidia remains their largest personal holding. The updated baseline assumption is 50% stock price growth for 2026, revised upward from 40%. Not a prediction. A framework for thinking about what the business needs to deliver to justify current prices.

What we cover:
— Nvidia Q1 FY2027: $49B FCF, 60% FCF margin, EPS +214% YoY
— Revenue outlook: $300B+ in 2026, $91B guided next quarter
— Vera Rubin: $20B in sales expected in first six months
— New reporting framework: hyperscale vs. ACIE and why it matters
— The enterprise migration — 80% of global IT still on legacy systems
— Jensen's CPU claim: Nvidia to be world's largest CPU supplier in 2026
— Reverse DCF at $223: 20% FCF/share growth, 6% terminal rate
— Why Nvidia has looked "boring" while small caps ran hundreds of percent
— Updated CSI baseline: 50% stock price target revised upward

Semi Insider members get access to CSI's full DCF and reverse DCF tools, live Q&A sessions, and analysis like this as it happens. Join at chipstockinvestor.com

Disclosure: Nick and Kasey have a position in Nvidia. This content is for general information only and is not individual investment advice. All investing involves risk.

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