Freescale Semiconductor, Austin, TX

Announcing fiscal second quarter 2015 earnings results, Freescale reported RF segment revenue of $177 million, 3.8 percent below Q1 and 48 percent above last year's second quarter. The segment's revenue comes primarily from LDMOS power transistors used in cellular base stations. The company attributed the sequential decline to "slowing wireless capital expenditure spending in major markets, including China." The LTE build-out in China has fueled strong growth in the RF segment through 2014 and 2015, despite the slight decline in Q2.

The RF power market possesses a healthy share of competitive suppliers, all eager to grab market share from one another. In order to lead the market, one must constantly innovate to offer the best-in-class products, optimized for the cellular infrastructure market space. In the past, customers were content to...