Q1 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 Gained 23 Points of Share: Netgear CEO

Netgear’s connected home segment generated net revenue of $240.9 million in Q1, up 46.3% year over year but down 18.6% sequentially from Q4, said Chief Financial Officer Bryan Murray on a quarterly call Wednesday. “Heightened demand” for Netgear’s “premium Wi-Fi 6 solutions” drove the growth, he said. Despite “supply headwinds” for Wi-Fi 6 products, Netgear gained 2 points in its top U.S. consumer Wi-Fi market share, to 43%, he said. “We fully expect we will continue to gain share in the second quarter, given the improved supply position in the channel.” The pandemic “has accelerated multiple years of technological progress into one year, and people adjusted surprisingly quickly to more time and activities from home,” said CEO Patrick Lo. “Highly reliable, high-speed internet connectivity that covers the entire home and even patio or yard has become a necessity. This spurred the rapid growth of the premium segment in home Wi-Fi, spearheaded by Wi-Fi 6 mesh with tri-band architecture.” Wi-Fi 6-based systems “fuel the work and do everything from home for families that need to cover large houses and supply reliable internet,” said Lo. “Given the demands all these activities put on home Wi-Fi, we see no slowdown in the demand for our products.” Premium tri-band Wi-Fi 6 had 30% of the U.S. Wi-Fi mesh market, rising from 25% in Q4 and 7% in Q1 2020, he said: “It garners the highest prices" with the "healthiest margins."