Billionaire Activist Dan Loeb Made a Bet on This AI Supplier — Here's What Sets It Apart From the Crowd

Benzinga Earnings09-18 17:48

Billionaire activist investor Dan Loeb‘s Third Point LLC opened a new $94.4 million stake in California-based manufacturer of critical electronic components TTM Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:TTMI) in the second quarter.

A Bet Beyond the Chipmakers

TTM does not design chips. It manufactures printed circuit boards, radio frequency components and mission systems. These are the physical components that connect and house semiconductors inside data centers, aerospace systems and defense electronics.

According to Third Point’s 13F filing, a quarterly report of its investment holdings that must be submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 45 days of the end of each quarter, the firm bought 505,000 shares of TTM during the second quarter ending June 30.

The stake adds a new name to a broader pattern in Third Point’s portfolio.

The fund has also built a four-stock basket this year in bitcoin miners repurposing their data centers for AI computing, including Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT), Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) and Core Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ). TTM gives the portfolio exposure to another part of the AI infrastructure supply chain, through printed circuit boards, RF components and other electronics manufacturing.

Read Also: Billionaire Activist Investor Dan Loeb’s Anti-Buffett Trade — Third Point Buys This Stock as Berkshire Hathaway Slashes Its Major Stake

Record Revenue, AI-Driven Growth

Third Point’s timing lines up with a breakout quarter. TTM posted second-quarter results that beat analyst expectations.

The company reported revenue of $1.004 billion, beating the analyst estimate of $964.95 million by 4.05%. Revenue was up 37.4% year-over-year.

Earnings per share came in at $0.99, surpassing the $0.92 estimate by 7.61%.

The increase was driven in part by strong demand in TTM’s Data Center and Networking end market, which accounted for 40% of second-quarter sales and grew 91% year over year as customers continued building AI data centers.

The increase was driven primarily by continued strong demand in its data center and networking end market, fueled by AI data-center buildouts.

Non-GAAP net income reached a record $106.9 million, compared with $60.8 million a year earlier. TTM also raised its full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting about $4.4 billion in revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share of nearly $5.00.

The company’s order book also shows that demand remains strong. TTM’s total book-to-bill ratio, which compares new orders received with orders shipped, was 1.49 for the quarter. Its aerospace and defense backlog alone reached $1.7 billion.

Trading Metrics

TTM Technologies has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a 52-week high of $223.83 and a 52-week low of $50.12.

The large-cap stock is up 62.54% so far this year and 20.42% over the past six months. However, it has declined 8.70% over the past month.

Price Action: TTMI stock closed the regular session on Thursday at $114.77, up 0.68%, according to Benzinga Pro data.

With a Quality score of 93.28, Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show that TTM Technologies stock is experiencing long-term upward movement, along with medium- and short-term consolidation.

See More: Top Value Stocks

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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