Key Highlights

  • Himax's HX6538 WiseEye AI processor has been built into Alibaba's Qwen Glasses N1 series, with no unit volumes or Revenue disclosed.
  • Second-quarter 2026 revenue was $227.4 million, up 14.2% sequentially and 5.9% year on year.
  • Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue growth of 7% to 11% sequentially and Earnings of 8.0 to 10.0 cents per diluted ADS.

The Alibaba glasses design win

Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) said on 14 October 2026 that its HX6538 WiseEye ultralow-power AI processor has been built into Alibaba's Qwen Glasses N1 series. The chip uses an Arm Cortex-M55 core with Ethos-U55 acceleration and is stated to draw 5 milliwatts. It handles always-on visual sensing, detecting people and events and waking the glasses' main system only when needed, which the company says extends battery life.

The announcement disclosed no unit volumes, pricing or revenue, and did not say how much the design would contribute. CEO Jordan Wu said the company was particularly optimistic about the long-term opportunities for WiseEye in smart glasses and wearables. That is management's view, not a financial result.

Second-quarter results

The latest reported results are for the second quarter of 2026, published on 6 August. Revenue was $227.4 million, up 14.2% sequentially and 5.9% year on year. Gross Margin was 33.1%, compared with 30.4% in the first quarter. Operating Income was $24.6 million, a 10.8% margin, and profit attributable to stockholders was $19.9 million, or 11.4 cents per diluted ADS, against 4.6 cents in the first quarter.

Small and medium-sized display drivers generated $162.3 million, or 71.4% of revenue, up 19.6% sequentially. Non-driver products contributed $45.9 million, or 20.2% of revenue, up 17.7%. Large display drivers were $19.2 million, down 21.0%.

Profit attributable to stockholders was about 20 per cent higher than the $16.5 million of the second quarter of 2025, while revenue grew 5.9%, so profit grew faster than sales.

Balance sheet and cash flow

Cash, cash equivalents and other financial Assets were $298.7 million. Operating Cash Flow was $17.5 million, which included about $11.0 million of income tax payments deferred under a Taiwan government policy. Inventories were $151.5 million and Accounts Receivable $220.3 million. The receivables and inventory balances are large relative to quarterly revenue, so changes in either can affect cash generation.

Guidance

For the third quarter, Himax guided to revenue growth of 7% to 11% sequentially, gross margin of around 34% and earnings of 8.0 to 10.0 cents per diluted ADS. It expects non-driver sales to rise by low teens in percentage terms. The earnings guidance includes about $11.8 million of employee Bonus expense, equal to roughly 6.8 cents per ADS before tax.

The guided earnings range is lower than the second quarter's 11.4 cents despite higher guided revenue, largely because of the bonus expense. These are forecasts, not results.

What to watch

Himax has scheduled its third-quarter conference call for Thursday 5 November 2026 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Points to follow include revenue against the guided range, gross margin, the growth of non-driver products, any quantification of smart-glasses revenue, and working capital. Smart-glasses Demand has not been quantified by Himax, so commentary on volumes or customers would be new information.