MaxLinear revenue jumps 72% year over year to $218.1 million as AI data-center optics scale

MaxLinear reported third-quarter net revenue of $218.1 million, up 29% from the second quarter and 72% from a year earlier, in results furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2026. Non-GAAP diluted earnings were $0.62 a share against $0.14 a year earlier, and reported GAAP diluted earnings were $0.30 against a loss of $0.52.

Optical data-center sales set the pace

MaxLinear's own explanation for the year-over-year jump is concentrated in one product area. The release says its infrastructure business grew 210% from a year earlier, which the company tied to "accelerated adoption of optical AI data center products". Chief Executive Kishore Seendripu described the mechanism as a volume ramp rather than a pricing gain: "Strong momentum in our optical AI data center business reflects the volume ramp of our Keystone PAM4 DSP platform," he said, pointing to the Rushmore and Annapurna families of optical and electrical components for AI data-center architectures.

The release supplies no dollar revenue for infrastructure or for any other end market, so the 210% rate cannot be sized against a base from this document. That is the largest gap in the disclosure, and it means the growth rate should be read as directional rather than as a measurable segment result.

Margins widen faster than revenue

Operating leverage is visible in the reported figures. Gross margin rose to 58.7% from 56.9% a year earlier, a gain of 180 basis points, while GAAP operating expenses fell to $97.84 million from $113.19 million. The result was $30.23 million of GAAP operating income against a $41.29 million operating loss a year earlier, and a GAAP operating margin of 13.9% against a loss-making margin in the prior-year quarter.

The adjusted view is stronger: non-GAAP gross margin of 60.0%, non-GAAP operating margin of 29.5%, and non-GAAP net income of $60.77 million. The $34.06 million gap between GAAP and non-GAAP operating income is mostly stock-based compensation, at $19.7 million within operating expenses, and performance-based equity of $9.09 million, with smaller amounts for purchased-intangible amortization and acquisition costs. Restructuring charges shrank to $254,000 from $11.26 million.

Nine-month results remain loss-making on a GAAP basis: a net loss of $14.48 million on revenue of $524.09 million, against a loss of $121.78 million a year earlier.

A larger revolver and a lower liquidity floor

The same Form 8-K reports a credit amendment signed October 16, 2026 that adds $70 million of revolving commitments to the Wells Fargo-led facility, taking total commitments to $200 million, and lowers the liquidity covenant threshold to $60 million from $80 million. Those terms matter more than usual for a company that has only just returned to GAAP profitability: a lower floor gives it more room to draw working capital without tripping a covenant.

The balance sheet shows the facility in use. Long-term debt was $164.06 million at September 30, 2026, against $123.93 million at June 30, and the cash flow statement records $40 million of revolver borrowings in the quarter. Cash and cash equivalents fell to $81.09 million from $111.86 million a year earlier while receivables and prepaid balances climbed, and operating activities used $13.59 million of cash in the quarter.

The fourth quarter and the documents that follow

Guidance points higher. MaxLinear guided fourth-quarter revenue to $240 million to $260 million, a $250 million midpoint that would be 14.6% above the quarter just reported; it also guided GAAP gross margin of 58.0% to 61.0%, non-GAAP gross margin of 59.0% to 62.0%, and non-GAAP operating expenses of $65 million to $70 million. No earnings-per-share range is given, and the release carries no consensus comparison, so nothing here establishes whether results beat or missed expectations.

Two documents carry the next dated checkpoints. The release says details of the amended credit agreement appear in the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, and the company scheduled its earnings call for October 22 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific, with a webcast archived until November 5, 2026.