MaxLinear Q3 revenue rises 72% as AI data-center infrastructure business expands

MaxLinear reported third-quarter 2026 net revenue of $218.1 million, up 29% from the previous quarter and 72% from a year earlier. The California-based semiconductor company said its infrastructure business grew 210% year over year, reflecting what it described as faster adoption of optical products for AI data centers. The results cover the quarter ended September 30 and were released on October 22.

The company’s GAAP gross margin was 58.7%, compared with 57.8% in the second quarter and 56.9% a year earlier. GAAP operating margin was 13.9%, improving from a negative 2.5% in the previous quarter and negative 32.7% in the year-earlier period. Diluted GAAP earnings were 30 cents per share, compared with two cents in the second quarter and a loss of 52 cents a year earlier. These are reported GAAP figures; MaxLinear also publishes separate non-GAAP results that exclude specified expenses.

MaxLinear attributed the infrastructure growth to volume gains in its Keystone PAM4 digital signal processor platform and activity around its Rushmore and Annapurna product families, which it says support 1.6-terabit-capable optical and electrical products. The release did not disclose an absolute dollar amount for AI data-center infrastructure revenue, so the 210% rate should not be read as a measure of the business’s size or contribution to total revenue.

For the fourth quarter, management forecast revenue of $240 million to $260 million and GAAP gross margin of 58% to 61%. These are forward-looking estimates, not completed results. MaxLinear also said it had amended its credit agreement to increase available revolving-credit commitments by $70 million to $200 million.

The filing gives a more specific account of the revenue change than the headline growth rate. MaxLinear’s third-quarter net revenue rose by $91.6 million year over year to $218.1 million. In its 10-Q, the company attributed the increase mainly to higher shipment volumes in infrastructure products, including optical data-center products, high-performance analog and wireless backhaul; it also cited growth in industrial and multi-market and connectivity shipments. Broadband revenue declined by $4.9 million as cable-data and broadband system-on-chip shipments fell during a customer transition to a new standard.

Management’s risk disclosures put the quarter in a forward-looking context. The company says future performance depends partly on continued demand for AI infrastructure and on a relatively small number of hyperscale customers. The 10-Q also describes semiconductor-market volatility and the risk that customer orders, product transitions or inventory decisions can change shipment timing. Those qualifications do not negate the reported quarter, but they limit what one quarter’s growth can establish about persistence or the company’s longer-term revenue mix.