Ceva's Licensing Growth Cools After a Three-Year High

The Tip Desk · November 12, 2026 · 2 min read

Third-quarter revenue was $29.1 million, up 2% from a year earlier, as licensing cooled from a three-year high while royalties rose 18% sequentially.

Ceva, Inc. (CEVA), the licensor of silicon and software IP for the Smart Edge, reported third-quarter revenue of $29.1 million, up 2% from a year earlier, after a 13% year-over-year increase in the second quarter.

Licensing and related revenues, which had reached $18.2 million and a three-year high in the prior quarter, were $16.3 million, up 2% year over year. Royalty revenues were $12.7 million, up 3% year over year and 18% sequentially.

Chief Executive Officer Amir Panush said the company continued to grow the business, with 18% sequential royalty growth and Ceva-powered device shipments matching the all-time quarterly record. Licensing, he said, produced the company’s highest-ever AI licensing revenues and expanded relationships with three of its highest-volume connectivity customers.

AI licensing accounted for more than 35% of total licensing and related revenues, versus AI representing more than 20% of those revenues in the first quarter. Customers shipped 623 million Ceva-powered devices in the quarter, matching the all-time quarterly record, including record cellular IoT and Wi-Fi 6 shipments.

Chief Financial Officer Yaniv Arieli said royalty growth was led by the ramp of internally developed modems at a major U.S. customer and continued strength in broad-based IoT and connectivity, partially offset by memory-related softness in compute-intensive consumer devices. Panush said the continued ramp of those modems is creating a multi-year smartphone royalty growth opportunity through 2027 and beyond, and that the company is extending its AI business into infrastructure applications and moving closer to initial NPU royalties.

During the quarter Ceva signed 10 IP licensing agreements, including three with first-time customers. Six were for AI technologies, including one with a new customer targeting AI infrastructure, and Edge AI agreements targeting consumer, automotive and industrial markets. Three of Ceva’s highest-volume customers extended their agreements for multiple years and added more Ceva IP, including one adding Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 to existing Bluetooth and DSP deployments. In sensing, the company expanded its presence in smart TVs with a customer targeting advanced motion-based interaction.

GAAP gross margin was 85%, compared with 88% a year earlier. Non-GAAP gross margin was 86%. GAAP operating loss was $3.5 million, compared with a $2.1 million loss a year earlier. Non-GAAP operating income was $2.5 million. GAAP net loss was $2.3 million, or $0.08 a share. Non-GAAP net income was $3.8 million, or $0.13 a share.

A significant multi-year connectivity agreement the company had expected in the third quarter was signed early in the fourth quarter, Arieli said. With a robust licensing pipeline and a step-up in smartphone royalties, the company expects a strong fourth quarter on both the top and bottom lines.