Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE: WOLF)

Wolfspeed, Inc. is an innovator of wide band gap semiconductors, focused on silicon carbide materials and devices for power applications. The company designs manufactures and sells silicon carbide bare wafers, epitaxial wafers, and gallium nitride epitaxial layers on silicon carbide wafers. It also produces silicon carbide Schottky diodes, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, and power modules. These products serve customers in electric vehicles, fast charging, renewable energy storage, motor drives, power supplies, solar, and transportation applications as well as military communications, radar, satellite, and telecommunication uses. Wolfspeed operates manufacturing sites in North Carolina, New York, and Arkansas and uses contract manufacturers for certain assembly and packaging steps. The company maintains research and development centers in North Carolina, Arkansas, and New York to advance material quality and device performance.

Wolfspeed generates revenue primarily through the sale of its silicon carbide materials and power devices to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end users. The company also earns income from licensing agreements and from customer funded research and development programs that offset related expenses. Revenue is driven by demand from the automotive, industrial, energy, and telecommunications sectors where its products enable higher efficiency and faster switching in electronic systems. Sales are made through a direct sales force and through a network of third party representatives and distributors across North America, Asia, and Europe.

The company operates through the following segments:

• Power Devices: This segment produces silicon carbide Schottky diodes, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, and power modules that are sold to customers, and distributors for use in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, server power supplies, solar inverters, uninterruptible power supplies, industrial power supplies, and other power conversion applications. The segment also supports aerospace and defense power systems where high temperature operation and low loss are required.

• Silicon Carbide and GaN Materials: This segment manufactures silicon carbide bare wafers, epitaxial wafers, and gallium nitride epitaxial layers on silicon carbide wafers, which are sold to customers who fabricate RF power and other semiconductor devices including corporate, government, and university research and development users. The segment also supplies substrates for power device manufacturers and for advanced optoelectronic applications such as lighting and laser diodes.

Wolfspeed holds a leading position in the global silicon carbide wafer and epitaxy market competing with companies such as Coherent Inc, SiCrystal GmbH, IQE plc, and Resonac Holdings Corporation in the United States, Europe, and Japan and with SICC Co Ltd, TanKeBlue Semiconductor Co Ltd, and EpiWorld International Co Ltd in China. In the power device arena its silicon carbide Schottky diodes, MOSFETs, and power modules face competition from Infineon Technologies AG, ON Semiconductor Corporation, Rohm Co Ltd, ST Microelectronics N V, Bosch, San an Optoelectronics Co Ltd, Silan Microelectronics Co Ltd, and SiChain Semiconductor as well as numerous smaller rivals. The company’s competitive advantages include its proprietary crystal growth technology, its large scale 200 mm production capability, and its extensive patent portfolio covering material and device innovations. These strengths enable Wolfspeed to meet the stringent performance and reliability requirements of automotive and industrial customers while maintaining cost effective supply.

Wolfspeed serves a diverse customer base that includes automotive manufacturers, electric vehicle makers, renewable energy firms, telecommunication companies, industrial equipment suppliers, and government and university research organizations. Among its customers are two major accounts that each contributed more than ten percent of total revenue in recent fiscal years although their names are not disclosed in the filing. The company also sells to distributors and value added resellers who further integrate its components into end products such as onboard chargers, solar inverters, and industrial motor drives.