Release Date: February 27, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR) secured its first design win for solid state circuit breakers with a major Asian manufacturer, accelerating its market entry.
• The company has expanded its pipeline with large global companies, including Stellantis, which could lead to significant revenue opportunities.
• Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR) is ahead of schedule in its Joint Development Program, with prototypes expected to be completed and tested earlier than planned.
• The company has secured orders for its SIMcool IQ intelligent power modules, opening a $1.4 billion addressable market in energy and power applications.
• Positive feedback from Stellantis and other automotive partners indicates strong potential for future collaborations and revenue growth.

Negative Points

• Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR) reported a cash burn of $2.6 million in Q4 2024, up from $2.1 million in Q4 2023, indicating increased expenses.
• The company expects a full-year 2025 cash burn of over $10 million, primarily due to hiring, which could strain financial resources.
• Revenue for Q4 2024 was modest, with initial orders from large companies expected to be small, delaying significant revenue generation.
• Operating expenses increased to $2.8 million in Q4 2024 from $2.5 million in Q4 2023, with further increases expected due to hiring and development costs.
• The automotive qualification testing process is lengthy, and while results are positive so far, potential failures could impact timelines and costs.

Q & A Highlights

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with IPWR.

Q: You mentioned several hundred thousand in revenue in the first year of sales with one SSCB customer. Does this imply that the second half should see that number in revenue, or is it a 12-month period from sales beginning in late 2025? A: It's the latter. The revenue expectation is for the first 12 months from the product launch.

Q: Beyond this initial design win, how many additional SSCB customers are in active evaluation phases, and what is the typical sales cycle length for this market segment? A: Over six dozen large companies are evaluating our technology for solid state circuit breaker applications. The design cycles vary, but the first design win took about half a year from initial discussions to prototype. Industrial design cycles are typically closer to one year, which is faster than automotive cycles.

Q: Could design wins for the EV contractors with Stellantis be in 2025 as well? A: Automotive programs take longer, but we expect to see funding from the program in 2025.

Q: Can you provide additional color on the program review in Detroit with Stellantis and the new EV contactors program? A: Working with Stellantis involves coordination across their US, French, and Italian teams. The program review was productive, and Stellantis quickly recognized our technology as a solution for their contractor issues, which had not been met by their previous silicon carbide-based solutions.

Q: How complementary is your technology with the design win customer's products, and what other technology did the customer consider? A: The customer had a silicon carbide solution that didn't meet their performance metrics. Our technology provided a better alternative, which is happening in several cases for both circuit breakers and contractors.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.