IPO | Goer Micro, the Global Leader in Acoustic Sensors Spun Off from GoerTek!
Company Profile
Goertek Microelectronics is a smart sensing and interaction solutions provider covering sensors, SiP, and sensing interaction modules, with a particular focus on acoustic sensors. It is the only Chinese company among the top five global smart sensing and interaction solutions providers.
Goertek Microelectronics was originally the MEMS R&D team within Goertek Inc. and was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2017. In 2019, Goertek Inc. transferred all MEMS microelectronics-related businesses to Goertek Microelectronics.
By revenue, the company ranks first in the global acoustic sensor market, with a market share of approximately 43.0%.
By revenue, the company ranks fourth among global sensor providers, with a market share of approximately 4.3%, and is the top-ranked sensor supplier in China. Over the past periods, the cumulative shipment of sensors has exceeded 5 billion units.
During the track record period, the company has served 126 direct customers worldwide, covering the top nine smartphone manufacturers (by 2024 shipments) and leading manufacturers in automotive electronics, smart home, industrial applications, and medical fields.
Business Operations
Products
Include sensors (78.5%, of which acoustic sensors account for 74%), SiP (16.1%), and sensing interaction modules (5.2%).
Data-wise, it has been a rollercoaster ride. The discontinuation of Apple's earphone product by the parent company in Q4 2022 led to a significant decline in Apple-related revenue in 2023. However, Apple-related revenue doubled in 2024 after recovery and surged again in 2025 due to industry recovery and price increases.
Production Facilities
SiP is only produced in Qingdao, while sensors and sensing interaction modules are produced elsewhere.
Suppliers
The company's main suppliers include semiconductor companies, printed circuit board companies, and semiconductor component distributors. For 2022, 2023, 2024, and the three months ending March 31, 2025:
Purchases from the top five suppliers accounted for 71.1%, 69.2%, 70.9%, and 76.1% of total purchases, respectively.
Purchases from the largest supplier (Infineon) accounted for 52.7%, 47.2%, 53.3%, and 59.1% of total purchases during the same periods. The company uses Infineon's MEMS chips and ASIC chips, primarily to meet Apple's requirements.
Customers
The company's solutions primarily serve brand owners, manufacturers, and component suppliers in the consumer electronics and automotive electronics sectors. For 2022, 2023, 2024, and the three months ending March 31, 2025:
Revenue from the top five customers accounted for 75.5%, 74.3%, 79.7%, and 80.5% of total revenue, respectively.
Revenue from the largest customer (Apple) accounted for 56.1%, 49.4%, 62.3%, and 62.0% of total revenue.
Goertek Micro imports chips from Infineon and then sells them to Apple, with both accounting for a very high proportion. Such a concentrated upstream and downstream binding is undoubtedly unfavorable from a stability perspective. However, many in the industry operate in this manner, given that these are Apple's orders.
Apple's Cancellation of AirPods Pro 2 Orders in 2023
A clear decline in revenue from Apple can be seen in 2023. The explanation in the prospectus is as follows:
The phrase "slower product iteration speed due to customer's end-product demand" primarily refers to the suspension of production of a smart acoustic product from Apple by the parent company in Q4 2022 (see Goertek Inc.'s announcement on November 8, 2022).
Later, TF Securities analyst Guo Mingchi confirmed that the canceled order was for Apple's AirPods Pro 2, due to poor yield rates. Goertek Inc. stated in its 2022 annual report that it had fully reflected on the matter, but other orders continued (AirPods 2, AirPods 3, NPI, etc.).
Goertek Micro's Apple orders were also affected, declining as a result. This highlights the risks of high dependence on Apple's supply chain. Fortunately, the company recovered in 2024.
Aggressive Expansion of Self-Developed Chips
Goertek Micro has built the UniSense platform, integrating full-stack technological capabilities in material R&D, chip design, packaging and testing, algorithm software development, and system design, aiming to expand the scale of self-developed chips.
Below is the historical sales volume and proportion of self-developed chips by year:
Goertek Micro's gross margin is under pressure due to the "chip outsourcing" model, making self-development a hope for improvement. The proportion of self-developed chip sales has been rising in recent years, reaching 31.3% in 2024. In Q1 2025, sales grew by 20%, but the proportion remained the same due to a surge in Apple orders.
Financials
Revenue: 31.2, 30, 45.4, (7.26, 11.2). In 2024, driven by the recovery of the consumer electronics industry + a surge in Apple orders (+90%) + a low base in 2023, revenue grew by 51% YoY in 2024, and Q1 2025 still saw a 54% YoY growth, which is impressive. This was mainly due to rising industry demand and product price increases.
Non-Apple Revenue: Excluding Apple revenue, revenue was 13.7, 15.16, 17.11, with YoY growth increasing from 10.6% to 12.86% in 2024, showing very stable growth.
Gross Margin: 18.5%, 17.2%, 19.0%, (22.1%, 20.6%). There has been slight improvement, but due to the binding effect of the Apple supply chain, the company's gross margin is limited, and it remains below the industry average. In Q1 2025, the gross margin declined (with the proportion of self-developed chips remaining constant), mainly due to changes in product mix, with a higher proportion of low-margin products (specific business gross margins were not disclosed).
Adjusted Net Profit: 3.79, 2.54, 3.65, (0.83, 1.33). Excluding the impact in 2023, the overall trend is stable.
Adjusted Gross Margin: 12.2%, 8.5%, 8%, (11.4%, 11.9%). It has been declining year by year.
Perspectives on the Explosive Growth in Q1 2025
According to the prospectus, revenue from Apple in Q1 2024 was 382 million, growing to 695 million in Q1 2025, an 82% YoY increase, continuing the 90% growth in 2024. However, the proportion slightly declined from 62.3% to 62%, indicating that "non-Apple" revenue growth is also very strong. The strong growth in early 2025 was indeed driven by across-the-board industry demand, primarily due to the market impact of the high-performance sensors launched by the company in June 2024. The average selling price also rose, from 1.4 yuan to 2.0 yuan.
Looking at the data for the top five global acoustic sensor providers (see below, market share section), apart from missing data/references for AAC and Knowles, Goertek Micro's growth in Q1 2025 was significantly ahead.
Goertek Micro has not only seen a surge in Apple orders but also concentrated growth in non-Apple orders, leading the entire industry. However, performance in the rest of 2025 needs to consider the impact of tariffs. The proportion of solutions manufactured and packaged in China sold in the U.S. during the past periods was 0.2%, 0.6%, 1.1%, (1.1%, 1.9%), respectively. Combined with Vietnam's production accounting for 6% in 2024, the main impact is due to cautious customer spending, and a slowdown in growth is expected. With U.S.-China talks imminent, we'll take it one step at a time.
Industry + Market Share Rankings
Global Sensor Solutions Market Size
From 2020 to 2024, global sensor shipments grew from 13.5 billion units to 16.3 billion units, with a CAGR of 4.8%. From 2024 to 2029, the CAGR is projected to be 7.1%.
Global Smart Sensing and Interaction Solutions Provider Rankings
In 2024, the global smart sensing and interaction solutions market reached 206.8 billion yuan. The top ten global smart sensing and interaction solutions providers accounted for 41.6% of the total market share. The company ranks fifth globally, with a market share of approximately 2.2%, and is the only Chinese company in the global top ten.
Company A: Bosch
Company B: Samsung Electro-Mechanics
Company C: STMicroelectronics
Company D: Murata Manufacturing
Company E: Texas Instruments
Company F: Sony
Company G: ams-OSRAM AG
Company H: NXP Semiconductors
Company I: TDK Corporation
Global Acoustic Sensor Provider Rankings
In 2024, the global acoustic sensor market reached 7.9 billion yuan. By revenue, the company ranks first globally in acoustic sensors, with a market share of approximately 43.0%.
Relevant information is as follows:
In terms of gross margin, only Knowles and Murata maintain high gross margins (over 40%) due to their high proportion of self-developed chips, while the other three are similar, with high dependence on Apple's supply chain, maintaining gross margins of 20+%. However, Goertek Micro's gross margin is relatively low among them, but its scale is large—three times the combined size of the other two—and its growth in 2025 is significantly ahead.
(PS: Knowles sold its MEMS microphone business in September 2024, completed by the end of December, making Q1 2025 data unreliable. Other companies are small and for reference only.)
Controlling Shareholder
Goertek Inc. holds approximately 83.40% of the company's issued share capital. Therefore, Goertek Inc. is the controlling shareholder.
Directors, Executives, and Team
The company has two executive directors, with Dr. Song Qinglin serving as Chairman.
Follow Old Cat to avoid pitfalls and invest in truly valuable stocks!
The copyright of this article belongs to the original author/organization.
The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not reflect the stance of the platform. The content is intended for investment reference purposes only and shall not be considered as investment advice. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding the content services provided by the platform.
