Texas Instruments (TXN.US) misses Q1 earnings guidance, raising questions about Wall Street's confidence.

Zhitong Finance APP noted that after digesting Texas Instruments' (TXN.US) latest quarter results and guidance, Wall Street is increasingly confident that the analog market is about to bottom, but it hasn't yet. Investment bank KeyBanc Capital Markets gave the company a "buy" rating and a target price of $250. Analyst John Vinh said he was encouraged by the "strong" fourth-quarter performance, but the first-quarter outlook was mixed as revenue beat expectations while earnings fell short of consensus. Vinh said: "We are encouraged by these results given the strong China performance and signs of bottoming." J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Moore said concerns about gross margin in the next quarter may not disappear until 2026, which may dampen some investor enthusiasm. "While we see enthusiasm building as the surge in capital spending ends, we remain disappointed - the 2025Q1 consensus revenue of $15.8bn and 55% gross margin still remains uncertain at the low end of the capital markets expectations (revenue of $20bn and ~60% gross margin)," Moore wrote. "While we remain optimistic on the analog cycle and understand the company's long-term strategy, we remain "sell" on the company as the capital spending dynamics limit the recovery of gross margin and FCF is somewhat exaggerated." After reporting earnings, Moore cut his target price on Texas Instruments to $165 from $167. Christopher Danely, an analyst at Citigroup, also expressed similar views, but he said gross margin could "bounce" as utilization rates rise and depreciation declines. Danely wrote in a report: "Texas Instruments is our top pick in the analog space with the highest risk/reward, and we recommend investors to buy the stock on pullbacks." He rates the stock "buy."