Arm Holdings, the chip design company controlled by SoftBank, experienced a significant boost in its stock price, jumping more than 16% during intraday trading on Thursday. This surge followed the successful initial public offering (IPO) of the company, which sold shares at $51 each. At the opening, Arm was valued at nearly $60 billion, making it a highly valuable player in the chip design industry.
Arm’s IPO proved to be a success, with the company selling approximately 95.5 million shares under the ticker symbol “ARM.” SoftBank, the majority shareholder, held control over about 90% of the outstanding shares. The stock initially traded at $56.10, reflecting a substantial premium for the British chip company.
At a valuation of $60 billion, Arm’s price-to-earnings multiple would be over 110, based on its most recent fiscal year profit. This valuation puts Arm in the same range as Nvidia, a leading chip designer, which trades at 108 times earnings. However, Nvidia also boasts a formidable 170% growth forecast for the current quarter, something that Arm lacks. Arm Chief Financial Officer Jason Child, in an interview with CNBC, discussed the company’s focus on royalty growth and the development of products that offer enhanced capabilities at a reasonable cost.
A significant portion of Arm’s royalties comes from products released several decades ago. Surprisingly, approximately half of the company’s royalty revenue, amounting to $1.68 billion in 2022, is derived from products released between 1990 and 2012. Child likened these older products to the timeless royalties generated by the Beatles catalog, highlighting their enduring contribution to Arm’s revenue stream.
During an investor presentation, Arm projected that the total market for its chip designs would be worth around $250 billion by 2025. This estimation includes anticipated growth in chip designs for data centers and automotive applications, such as in cars. Arm’s revenue for the fiscal year that ended in March experienced a minor decline of less than 1% compared to the previous year, with total revenue reaching $2.68 billion.
Arm’s architecture serves as the foundation for nearly every smartphone chip, defining how a central processor operates at its most elemental level, such as performing arithmetic operations or accessing computer memory. The company’s pivotal role in the chip industry is evidenced by the participation of strategic investors in its IPO. Notable investors in Arm include major tech giants such as Apple, Google, Nvidia, Samsung, AMD, Intel, Cadence, Synopsis, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
In an interview with CNBC, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son emphasized the significance of Arm’s technology in artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Son sought to align the company with the current boom in AI and machine learning, attributing Arm’s technology as a crucial component in this field. Son also expressed the intention to retain SoftBank’s remaining stake in Arm for as long as possible, further emphasizing his belief in the long-term potential of the company.
Arm’s IPO marks a momentous occasion for the technology IPO market, which has experienced a lull for nearly two years. As the largest technology offering of 2023, Arm’s debut could potentially invigorate the market, paving the way for other technology companies to follow suit and access public funding for their growth and development.
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