CEO of STMicroelectronics Jean-Marc Chery poses for a photo during the 5th edition of the "Choose France" Business Summit, at the Palace of Versailles, southwest of Paris, France, July 11, 2022. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
(Reuters) -STMicroelectronics' Chief Executive Jean-Marc Chery said he expects 2026 to start at usual levels, noting that a weaker recovery than expected this year will not lead to the accumulation of inventory at its customers.
Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference, Chery projected first-quarter revenue to decline 10% to 11% from the upcoming fourth quarter it forecast at $3.28 billion, while still marking about 20% growth from a year earlier.
"Which is positive news confirming that we are almost free of material inventory correction," he said.
Analysts polled by LSEG expect revenue for the first quarter of 2026 at $2.98 billion, 10% lower than the projected fourth quarter.
STMicroelectronics is slowly recovering from a long downturn in the automotive, industrial and personal electronics chip markets, hurt by a sustained buildup of inventory at its customers.
Its shares rose 1.4% at 1113 GMT following the event.
(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk, Editing by Louise Heavens)
