Cree, Inc. Announces 2018 Second Quarter Earnings Release Webcast

Cree announces the commercial availability of the XLamp® XD16 LED, the industry’s first Extreme Density LED, which delivers up to 5 ½ times higher lumen density than Cree’s previous generation of high power LEDs.

Cree announces the KBL LED High-Bay Series, the perfect solution for industrial, retail, civic and athletic venues with dramatically reduced glare for a safer, more productive work environment. 

Philips Lighting dismisses an infringement claim filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission against RAB Lighting. Cree and MaxBrite announced in a report filed in the U.S. District Court the settlement of the patent infringement lawsuit Cree instituted in November last year.

Cree on October 17 released a webcast reporting its 1Q18 financial results. The next-day financial report showed a decrease of 3% YoY in the LED chip maker’s revenue. Gregg Lowe, Cree CEO, stated with faith that the company will implement new strategies in the next few months. Cree is speculated to invest heavily in its chip business and to exit the consumer lighting market. Its stock jumped 16% on Wednesday after the new CEO announced the new guidance. 

Cree yesterday announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2018, ended September 24, 2017. Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 was $360 million, which represents a 3% decrease compared to revenue of $371 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 and a slight increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. 

Cree, Inc. Announces 2018 First Quarter Earnings Release Webcast

Cree announces a new family of XLamp® CMA High Current LED Arrays that provide the industry’s best lumen density and efficacy for metal-based chip-on-board (COB) LEDs. Optimized for operation at high drive currents, the CMA LEDs deliver up to 2 ½ times the lumen density of Cree’s Standard Density CXA2 LEDs. The new CMA LEDs are compatible with the existing ecosystem of holders and optics for the CXA2 LED family, enabling lighting manufacturers to boost the lumen output of their products with minimal redesign.

Cree announces the expansion of its award-winning bulb family with the launch of new high lumen directional LED bulbs designed specifically for rooms with high ceilings and for consumers who want more light. The portfolio delivers the brightest flood lights available on the market today with new BR30 100W replacements, as well as R20 75W lamps. The new bulbs uphold Cree’s commitment to offer consumers high quality, no compromise LED bulbs that provide better light experiences for all applications, homes and lifestyles.

Wolfspeed, a Cree Company and a leading global supplier of GaN-on-SiC high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), has introduced a new series of 28V GaN HEMT RF power devices. These new devices are capable of higher frequency operation to 8GHz with increased efficiency and higher gain as well as best-in-class reliability. RF design engineers are now able to build more efficient broadband power amplifiers for commercial and military wireless communications and radar applications.

Cree, Inc. yesterday announced revenue of $359 million for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, ended June 25, 2017. This represents an 8% decrease compared to revenue of $388 million reported for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, and a 5% increase compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2017. GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter was $6 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to GAAP net loss of $11 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 was $4 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 of $19 million, or $0.19 per diluted share.

Light Polymers recently announced a patent license-agreement with Cree, a leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED Lighting and power semiconductor solutions. Cree has granted a royalty-bearing, non-exclusive patent license to certain Cree patents for certain LED luminaires. This agreement will allow Light Polymers to apply their proprietary nanochemistry to affordably manufacture luminaires with special photonic films that advance the development of the LED lighting market by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of LED lighting products.

Cree, Inc. , a leading LED supplier, announced that it has reached a confidential settlement in its patent infringement lawsuit with E. Mishan and Sons (“Emson”). Emson has agreed to an exclusive supply agreement to purchase market leading Cree® high power LEDs for its high performance tactical flashlights.

For a long time, Nichia, Osram Opto., Cree, Toyota Gosei and Lumileds have jointly shaped an enormous and powerful patent shield with cross-license agreements within the world LED industry and the five lighting goliaths have been charging, more or less, whoever tried to sell LED products abroad. However, as those patents are about to expire, Taiwan- and Korea-based Companies rise with their new patents and the expansion of Chinese businesses is posing threats, the industry is slowing transitioning away from the old oligopoly.

Cree expands its leading family of Architectural Lighting Class LEDs with the new CLQ6A RGBW (red, green, blue and white) LED. The first individually addressable one-watt RGBW LED in its class, the CLQ6A LED unlocks new designs that were previously not possible. The four-in-one LED provides a single point source for excellent optical control, efficient color mixing and simplified design, enabling lighting manufacturers to offer beautiful and differentiated architectural lighting.

Cree, Inc. announced it has expanded its award-winning ZR Series LED troffer family by adding the new ZR-RK Retrofit Kit. Designed to deliver maximum improvement with minimum effort, the four-part design can be installed in only four minutes, upgrading outdated fluorescent lighting to premium Cree® LED performance in record time. For those lighting applications in which opening the ceiling plenum or removing old troffers is not an option, the ZR-RK Series provides unmatched ease of installation and an award-winning lighting experience quickly.

Cree, Inc. announced that Chairman, President and CEO Chuck Swoboda will step down from his executive positions and as a member of the Board of Directors following a transition period.  Mr. Swoboda intends to stay on until a successor is appointed, and thereafter will remain available as a consultant to the Company to ensure a seamless transition of leadership responsibilities.

The global custom and state-of-the-art lighting market is seeing a uptick in activity in the market as a result of latest advancements in lighting technology and applications. The market is witnessing rapid advancements as well as uses for lighting technologies, while the LED lighting technologies dominated the market in terms of revenue contribution in 2016. Lighting solutions and advancements in the market of note this week include: AV1 Group, Inc., Cree Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V, Amazon.com, Inc., General Electric.

Wolfspeed, a Cree Company and a leader in silicon carbide (SiC) power products, extends its leadership in SiC power device technology with the release of the industry’s first power module that passes the harsh environment qualification test for simultaneous high-humidity, high-temperature and high-voltage conditions.

CREE, a leader in LED components and LED lighting products, is the sponsor of the first European Horticulture Lighting Conference to be held on 23 May 2017 at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Cree, Inc. extends its industry-leading OSQ Series of area and flood LED luminaires, delivering better performance, expanding applications and offering dramatic savings with the new Cree OSQ High Output (HO) portfolio. The new luminaire more than doubles the top lumen output of the original OSQ Series with up to 65,000 lumens and can replace multiple metal halide (MH) 1000W fixtures. The result is more than 80 percent energy savings using one OSQ-HO luminaire. 

Cree announces C-Lite LED Lighting by Cree (C-Lite), a portfolio of LED lighting products that offers electrical distributors and contractors a broad range of stock and flow items with the energy efficiency and performance they expect.  The new portfolio complements market-leading Cree and Essentia by Cree branded lighting products, making available high performance Cree-backed products across market segments.

U.S. LED lighting manufacturer Cree announced a layoff of around 70 jobs across its local operations and at its headquarters in Durham, only days after it announced disappointing earnings report.

U.S. LED maker Cree Inc. on Tuesday reported a fiscal third-quarter loss that missed expectations. Shares of Cree further plunged 11% on Wednesday. Cree also announced that it is forming a joint venture with San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., China’s largest maker of LED epitaxial wafers and chips, to produce and deliver to market high-performing, mid-power lighting class LED packaged products. The news caused quite a stir in the LED industry.

Apart from reporting its third-quarter financial results, Cree, Inc. on Tuesday also announced that it is forming a joint venture with San’an Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. to produce and deliver to market high-performing, mid-power lighting class LED packaged products in an exclusive arrangement to serve the expanding markets of North and South America, Europe and Japan, and serve China and the rest of the world on a non-exclusive basis.

Cree, Inc. on Tuesday announced financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2017, ended March 26, 2017, which missed Wall Street expectations. Shares of Cree declined over 7% in after-hours trade.

Cree, Inc. announces a major LED breakthrough with the revolutionary NX technology platform that will power the next generation of Cree’s lighting-class LEDs. The NX technology platform enables the new Extreme Density (XD) LED family that delivers up to four times higher lumen density than Cree’s previous generation of high power LEDs. This new technology platform makes possible innovative new designs, eliminating current constraints for a wide spectrum of lighting applications such as color-mixing, directional lighting and industrial lighting.

Cree, Inc. announces the next generation of its groundbreaking Cree RSW LED Street Light portfolio with the introduction of 2700K, 5000K and 70 Color Rendering Index (CRI) configurations, giving cities and municipalities the ability to meet the full range of lighting preferences for their communities without sacrificing energy savings. The enhanced series includes RSW™ Small and Medium models that offer warm, inviting light for residential streets and clean, white illumination for roadways. Both deliver improved performance for superior efficacy with uniform and dark-sky friendly LED lighting.

Cree, Inc. introduces the SmartCast Intelligence Platform™, the first intuitive lighting system to leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) to deliver smart building solutions through a combination of hardware, software and services. 

Cree, Inc. announces the new XLamp® XP-G3 Royal Blue LED, the industry’s highest performing Royal Blue LED. The new XP-G3 LED doubles the maximum light output of similar size competing LEDs and delivers breakthrough wall-plug efficiency of up to 81 percent. This superior performing Royal Blue LED expands Cree’s leading high power portfolio, enabling lighting manufacturers to deliver differentiated LED solutions for applications such as horticulture, architectural and entertainment lighting.