Data I/O Corporation (DAIO) research, news, and more from GeoInvesting

Company description

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:11:41 GMT

Data I/O Corp is a provider of advanced programming and intellectual property management solutions that are used in the manufacturing of flash memory, microcontrollers, and flash-memory-based intelligent devices. Its programming systems are used by manufacturers of electronic products to load their software, data, and image files into their products during production. The company also provides hardware support, system installation and repair, and device programming. Its product portfolio includes PSV Handlers, RoadRunner and RoadRunner3 Series Handlers, LumenX Programmer, FlashPAK III programmer, and Sprint/Unifamily, programmers.

Research

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 20:23:27 GMT

Data I/O (NASDAQ:DAIO) ($4.17; $35.0M market cap) designs, manufactures, and sells programming and security deployment systems and services for electronic device manufacturers. On October 29, 2020, the company reported its Q3 2020 results:

Sales of $5.9 million vs $3.8 million in the prior year and ahead of analyst estimates of $4.9 million
Loss per share of $0.09 vs loss per share of $0.10 in the prior year and below analyst estimates of a loss of $0.07

We are placing DAIO back on our radar due to management comments suggesting the worst is behind them as far as industry headwinds:

“Our turnaround in financial performance in the third quarter of 2020 is bolstered by what appears to be a bottoming out of our primary addressable market for automotive electronics in the second quarter.

We are seeing strength and return to normalcy in China and parts of Asia. EMEA, Americas, and much of Asia still have travel restrictions which are forcing remote meetings with customers and partners. Despite the difficulty of not meeting in person, we were able to win a significant multi-system order in the third quarter for UFS and other programming requirements at a large, multinational tier 1 automotive electronics supplier. Data I/O’s award-winning support, installed base in automotive electronics, and performance for value were key factors in the decision.”

On November 7, 2016 when the stock was trading at $4.10 we issued our reasons for tracking and stated that while the company’s financial results will continue to exhibit quarterly volatility, something that poses a risk for short-term investors, there are many bullish catalysts that we felt would intrigue longer term investors.

On May 5, 2017 we added the stock to our multi-bagger portfolio when the stock was trading at $4.77. We felt the company was targeting two hot markets (IoT & smart cars) that could give the stock multi-bagger potential. The stock had a big run shortly after we initiated coverage, reaching a high of $16.49 in late November 2017. However, as we expected, the quarters continued to be volatile and shares retraced back to where they started.

We need to take a closer look at potential growth drivers. Analyst estimates currently call for minimal growth in 2021 vs. 2020.

Research

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 14:47:48 GMT

Data I/O (NASDAQ:DAIO) ($3.76; $30.8M market cap ) recently reported its Q2 2019 results on August 1, 2019. Since the report, shares have trended lower, hitting new 52 week lows of $3.61. The company is a provider of programming and associated intellectual property management solutions; or more simply put, DAIO helps its technology customers test and automate their assembly line manufacturing process. The company is putting a heavy focus into serving customers operating in the IoT and autonomous vehicle market segments.

The quarterly numbers were weak:

Sales of $5.8 million vs $7.2 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.02 vs $0.06 in the prior year

The comments from the release call attention to an industry down cycle as the reason for the poor results:

“The global market for programming capital equipment in the second quarter remained in the down cycle that began last year. Automotive sales declines, semiconductor cyclicality and global supply chain uncertainty are headwinds to the deployment of capital right now, and we are adjusting our planned 2019 spending and targets accordingly."

The purpose of talking about DAIO today is to give you an example of the kind of management teams we look for who represent what we feel to be investment-worthy stocks, some of which we own, or might want to own in the future

One of the management traits we like is when they keep the pedal to the metal during tough times and industry downturn cycles by continuing to invest in the business so that they can steal market share from weaker companies and emerge stronger during up cycles.

Management's comments from the conference call regarding preparing for such cycle downturns that has recaptured our interest in the DAIO story:

This is the worst CapEx environment I have seen since 2012, 2013...

...As I mentioned earlier, I believe we're in a capital equipment recession. This is the seventh or eighth recession during my professional lifetime in a secular 10 times expansion upward for the overall semiconductor market. While these recessions are never pleasant, good companies take advantage of recessions to improve themselves and improve their competitive position to prepare for the next recovery and up cycle. Some may think that simple spending reductions are all that's required. While we have adjusted spending to reflect our updated view of the business, that's just the beginning.

We have a structured plan for recessions as we did 7 years ago. First, you maintain R&D focus on new products as these are the products that customers will buy when the cycle turns. Second, you focus on operational excellence even more perhaps than during normal times. You improve your products, finances, processes, and people, and you hone your systems for better performance in an up cycle. Third, you focus on selling everywhere with a special focus on new customer acquisition to broaden the base when the economy turns. And fourth, you continue to build your team with the best people and make it stronger.

We believe the industry will cycle back as it always does. And when it does, we'll be very well positioned. We expect long-term growth in overall semiconductor content per car as well as strong growth in gigabit content of flash memory per car over the long-term.

We first came across DAIO in November 2016 and issued On November 7, 2016 our Reasons for Tracking column when the stock was trading at $4.10. Shares had a strong run, reaching highs near $13.00, by November 2017. However, as we discussed in our original note, quarterly volatility in the was a serious concern, and will keep an eye on how the company will continue to prepare for the next industry downtrend.

Research

Fri, 27 Jul 2018 15:24:13 GMT

GBR Data I/O (NASDAQ:DAIO) ($6.18; $51.2M market cap ), a provider of programming and associated intellectual property management solutions, announced Q2 2018 results:

Sales of $7.2 million vs $9.1 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.06 vs $0.14 in the prior year

Quotes from management:

“We continue to produce solid financial and operational performance in fiscal 2018 following an unprecedented 2017 when we grew revenues over 45% largely due to our automotive electronics leadership. We delivered our 200th PSV system cumulatively shipped in the second quarter of 2018. This is an exciting achievement, far exceeding anyone else in the industry during the past 4 years. These systems have been sold on 5 continents, in 27 countries, and to over 70 customers. The PSV family has become the industry standard system for device programming."

DAIO continues to struggle after its initial strong run in 2017. Shares more than tripled at their highs, but have since retreated. At the time of DAIO’s addition to our Potential Multi-Bagger Portfolio, we acknowledged that quarterly financials would experience volatility moving forward, especially in light of the company’s short term investments for long term growth. This will likely continue to negatively impact the bottom line until 2019. The stock was added to the multi-bagger portfolio on May 5, 2017 at $4.77.

Research

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 15:01:44 GMT

GBR Data I/O (NASDAQ:DAIO) ($7.28; $60.3M market cap ), a provider of programming and associated intellectual property management solutions, announced Q1 2018 results:

Sales of $7.6 million vs $7.2 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.02 vs $0.12 in the prior year

Quotes from management:

“We begin 2018 with a solid start in the first quarter amid an anticipated period of capacity absorption from our programming center customers and resumption of traditional seasonality. First quarter revenues and gross margins were in-line with our expectations. At the same time, we continued to invest as planned to bolster our Automotive Electronics platform as well as to launch our next generation SentriX Security Provisioning Platform, initially directed at the Internet-of-Things (IoT) market,” said Anthony Ambrose, President and CEO of Data I/O Corporation.

After an initial triple as part of our multi-bagger portfolio, shares of DAIO have retraced hard as the company reported back to back sub-par quarters. At the time of DAIO’s addition to our multi-bagger portfolio, we acknowledged that quarterly financials would experience volatility moving forward, especially in light of the company’s short term investments for long term growth. This will likely continue to negatively impact the bottom line until 2019. Shares were added to the multi-bagger portfolio on May 5, 2017 at $4.77.

Research

Fri, 23 Feb 2018 18:35:53 GMT

GBR Data I/O (NASDAQ:DAIO) ($11.03; ), a provider of programming and associated intellectual property management solutions announced Q4 2017 results:

Sales of $8.1 million vs $6.4 million in the prior year period
Non-GAAP EPS of $0.12 vs $0.09

Quotes from management:

"2017 was the best year in a generation for Data I/O and I congratulate our global team for their hard work and operational excellence," said Anthony Ambrose, President and CEO of Data I/O Corporation. "Our solid execution in the fourth quarter and full year in engineering, customer support, and operations extends our worldwide leadership position in device programming and security provisioning technology.

The results were sequentially down from Q3 2017, thus the stock is under pressure in pre market trading. When we added DAIO to our multi-bagger portfolio we had stated that the stock would have volatility in its quarters as it moves forward. Shares were added to the multi-bagger portfolio on May 5, 2017 at $4.77.

Research

Fri, 27 Oct 2017 04:00:00 GMT

GBR $DAIO ($9.50; currently marked up 10%), a provider of programming and associated intellectual property management solutions, announced Q3 2017 results:

Sales of $9.6 million vs $6.6 million in the prior year
Non GAAP EPS of $0.22 vs $0.09 in the prior year

Comments from management:

"We achieved multi-year highs in key financial performance metrics in the third quarter of 2017," said Anthony Ambrose, President and CEO of Data I/O Corporation. "Simply put, we have been 'running on all cylinders' with excellent performance in operations, service, sales and engineering. Data I/O has delivered continued increases in revenues and profitability while investing in future growth initiatives in the automotive electronics and IoT markets."

While we somewhat uncertain how this quarter would play out, we have continually stated we think the long term outlook for DAIO remains bright. DAIO remains part of our Multibagger Portfolio, shares have more than doubled since being added at $4.77 on May 5, 2017.

Research

Fri, 23 Jun 2017 14:38:56 GMT

DAIO ($8.94) shares continued their momentum, hitting a new 52 week high of $9.27 in yesterday’s trading session. Shares have more than doubled since our “Reasons for Tracking” note on November 7, 2016. Shares are nearing a double from when we added DAIO to our Multibagger Mock Portfolio on May 5, 2017 at $4.77. However, as we near DAIO’s next quarterly earnings report (likely mid-August) we would like to point out the risk of holding shares into the report.

Due to the strong run shares have had, we believe it will need to be a near flawless report to push shares higher; strong numbers for Q2, strong bookings and strong backlog for Q3. Until DAIO gains traction in its IoT and autonomous driving technology initiatives (maybe in 2018), forecasting quarterly sales and earnings could be difficult. But, we feel the overall trend in financials will be upward.

Research

Fri, 05 May 2017 14:26:38 GMT

DAIO ($4.77; marked up 8%) reported Q1 2017 results:

Sales of $7.2 million vs $4.6 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.09 vs a loss of $0.02 in the prior year

Quotes from management:

"We experienced strong, across the board growth for equipment and consumable sales from all geographic regions in the first quarter of 2017. Bolstered by the continued interest in our products from the Automotive and IoT sectors, we posted multiyear highs for Q1 results in sales, bookings and profitability…Following our strong 2016, we are off to an impressive start in 2017.

The industry is increasingly turning to Data I/O's automated programming platform to support the secular growth in the automotive electronics industry worldwide. Our platforms, programming technology, security and global service provide industry leading capability for automotive electronics customers and their programming center partners. Our operations team has responded to this demand by increasing PSV systems manufacturing capacity 40% since the beginning of 2016, enabling Data I/O to fully capture the automotive growth potential. Data I/O China also achieved ISO9001 certification in the first quarter.

While we are very pleased with the Company's financial performance in the first quarter, we are even more excited by the progress made in our next generation Managed and Secure Programming (MSP) technology. We recently demonstrated our new SentriX™ Security Programming Technology. Designed to secure supply chains, and maintain firmware integrity over the product lifecycle, SentriX technology securely programs authentication ICs, Secure Elements, and Secure microcontrollers for the automotive electronics and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. It was unveiled at the Embedded World Conference and Exhibition last month in Nuremberg, Germany where we announced partnerships with Renesas, Infineon, EBV and SecureThingz. We continue to invest in SentriX for growth beyond 2017 to support a 4 billion unit secure element/secure microcontroller market. We also announced our ConneX™ software for traceability and factory automation integration."

On November 7, 2016 when the stock was trading at $4.10 we issued our reasons for tracking and stated that while the company’s financial results could continue to exhibit quarterly volatility that poses a risk for short-term investors, there are many bullish catalyst that we felt would interest longer term investors. DAOI is targeting two hot markets (IoT & smart cars) that could give the stock multibagger potential.

Research

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 14:35:56 GMT

DAIO ($4.87) is engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of programming systems that are used by designers and manufacturers of electronic products. DAIO’s new Sentrix security programming technology will be demonstrated at the Embedded World Conference this week. We believe this product could have significant positive impacts on the company in the years to come. As we delve into this a bit further, please review our November 7, 2016 RFT (Reasons for Tracking) for more color on the DAIO story.

Research

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 18:04:32 GMT

DAIO ($4.64) - On November 7, 2016 when the stock was trading at $4.10 we issued our reasons for tracking and stated that while the company’s financial results would continue to exhibit quarterly volatility that poses a risk for short-term investors, there are many bullish catalyst that we felt would interest longer term investors. DAOI is targeting two hot markets (IoT & smart cars) that could give the stock multibagger potential.

Yesterday after the market close, DAIO reported Q4 2016results:

Sales of $6.4 million vs $4.9 million in the prior year
Non GAAP EPS of $0.09 vs $0.05 in the prior year
Backlog of $3.2 million vs. $700 thousand in the prior year

Quotes from management:

"With the momentum in our top and bottom lines, a strong cash position of $11.6 million, no debt, and investments in new technologies that we believe enable our long-term growth, Data I/O is well positioned to capitalize on market opportunities in 2017 and the years ahead."

The conference call hinted that 2017 will focus more on topline growth than profitability:

“Looking forward to 2017, Data I/O will continue to be focused on growing revenue and seizing new market opportunities in our core business. We will be enhancing and extending our platforms in programming technologies, marketing and selling our products globally, managing our total cost structure, enhancing shareholder value and being ready to explore strategic acquisitions and other partnerships to accelerate our growth.”

“We view 2017 as a market development year for us to establish key design wins and relationships with meaningful revenue in later years.”

Research

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 16:34:35 GMT

DAIO ($4.61) - Shares hit a new high in yesterday's trading session of $4.74. On November 7, 2016 when the stock was trading at $4.10 we issued our reasons for tracking and stated that while the company’s financial results will continue to exhibit quarterly volatility that poses a risk for short-term investors, there are many bullish catalyst that we felt would interest longer term investors. DAOI is targeting two hot markets (IoT & smart cars) that could give the stock multibagger potential. However, management will typically only have visibility one quarter out, which could make for a bumpy ride.

While it is still very early in the DAIO story, we will look to share more companies where we feel may appeal to long-term investors looking for multibaggers that don’t pay too much attention to short-term market and business volatility.

Research

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:09:58 GMT

DAIO ($4.11) sells systems to semiconductor companies that allows customers to download software into integrated circuits.

“The company’s programming system products are used to program integrated circuits (ICs) with the specific data necessary for the ICs. We sell to the same firms that buy the semiconductors. When their business grows, they buy more semiconductors which, in turn, require additional programming equipment to maintain production speeds or program new device technologies, driving demand for our products or alternative programming methods.”

Software downloads can be initiated either manually or through on premise “robots.” DAIO’s most exciting mode of growth has been its sale of robotic systems to its customers.

DAIO recently reported strong financial results showing strong operating leverage where EPS rose 28% to $0.09 on an 7% increase in sales to $6.6 million. After further due diligence we think DAIO’s near to long-term opportunities are tremendous. That being the case, investors should be aware that even during the company’s growth phases, financial results will continue to exhibit quarterly volatility. This poses a risk to short-term investors and traders.

Long term investors should be interested in the following Reasons for Tracking the company:

4 years ago, the new CEO decided to focus on core technology and put less emphasis on legacy markets that no longer had favorable growth profiles.
When the CEO arrived in 2012, sales were $17.0 million and are now on track to approach $24 million in 2016. While not explosive growth, we think it’s impressive that overall sales have grown as the company’s planned reduction in legacy revenue continue to be put in motion.
DAIO is stealing market share and claims to be the number 1 player in its industry. At this point in the game management is focussed on gaining market share.
The long term growth drivers are intact. Servicing the the new technological demands of the automobile industry is expected to drive growth for the next five years (cars are turning into computers). The areas that the company targets in the auto industry are expected to double in market size over next 5 years.
Eventually the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to add a new layer of growth. The company is working on technology to improve security breaches related to IoT. Security issues are preventing IoT from gaining more momentum.
Overall Opportunity: Management estimates that 500 million to 1 billion pieces of data (bits) through its software applications are downloaded into equipment of its customers. But it believes the opportunity is somewhere between 25 to 45 billion pieces of data.

“Traditionally, our programming market opportunity focused on the number of semiconductor devices to be programmed, but because of the rapid increase in the density of devices, the focus has shifted in many cases from the number of devices to the number of bits per device to be programmed. “

Caveats

There is no getting around the fact that the company will experience lumpy quarterly financial results. ALthough we can predict with some degree the sequential quarterly sales by looking at bookings, backlog and deferred revenue, it’s difficult to predict numbers more than one quarter out.
The majority of revenue comes from international markets, so exchange rate risk is a major concern, meaning that a strong dollar makes the company’s products more expensive in markets to which it sells.

Reasons For Tracking

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 05:00:00 GMT

DAIO ($4.11) sells systems to semiconductor companies that allows customers to download software into integrated circuits.

“The company’s programming system products are used to program integrated circuits (ICs) with the specific data necessary for the ICs. We sell to the same firms that buy the semiconductors. When their business grows, they buy more semiconductors which, in turn, require additional programming equipment to maintain production speeds or program new device technologies, driving demand for our products or alternative programming methods.”

Software downloads can be initiated either manually or through on premise “robots.” DAIO’s most exciting mode of growth has been its sale of robotic systems to its customers.

Long term investors should be interested in the following Reasons for Tracking the company:

4 years ago, the new CEO decided to focus on core technology and put less emphasis on legacy markets that no longer had favorable growth profiles.
When the CEO arrived in 2012, sales were $17.0 million and are now on track to approach $24 million in 2016. While not explosive growth, we think it’s impressive that overall sales have grown as the company’s planned reduction in legacy revenue continue to be put in motion.
DAIO is stealing market share and claims to be the number 1 player in its industry. At this point in the game management is focused on gaining market share.
The long term growth drivers are intact. Servicing the new technological demands of the automobile industry is expected to drive growth for the next five years (cars are turning into computers). The areas that the company targets in the auto industry are expected to double in market size over next 5 years.
Eventually, the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to add a new layer of growth. The company is working on technology to improve security breaches related to IoT. Security issues are preventing IoT from gaining more momentum.
Overall Opportunity: Management estimates that 500 million to 1 billion pieces of data (bits) through its software applications are downloaded into equipment of its customers. But it believes the opportunity is somewhere between 25 to 45 billion pieces of data.

“Traditionally, our programming market opportunity focused on the number of semiconductor devices to be programmed, but because of the rapid increase in the density of devices, the focus has shifted in many cases from the number of devices to the number of bits per device to be programmed. “

Caveats

There is no getting around the fact that the company will experience lumpy quarterly financial results. ALthough we can predict with some degree the sequential quarterly sales by looking at bookings, backlog and deferred revenue, it’s difficult to predict numbers more than one quarter out.
The majority of revenue comes from international markets, so exchange rate risk is a major concern, meaning that a strong dollar makes the company’s products more expensive in markets to which it sells.

Research

Tue, 01 Nov 2016 15:19:50 GMT

DAIO ($4.14) is engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of programming systems that are used by designers and manufacturers of electronic products. In our October 28, 2016 email, we highlighted DAIO’s strong Q3 2016 results. We stated:

“...we are very interested in DAIO due to [its] strong quarter and its involvement in the ‘Internet of Things’ as well as autonomous car industry.”

We had a chance to speak with management yesterday, and much of our bullish thesis was confirmed. We’ll have a follow up call with the CEO and plan to look at the Company’s bookings to sales relationship to build a forecast for Q4 2016 sales projections. We also noticed that the company has a history of reporting sporadic quarterly financial results, but that certain growth divers might make this less of a concern moving forward.