By Jon Bathgate, CFA
Last autumn's swoon in - and this year's ensuing recovery of - semiconductor (semis) stocks provides us with compelling reminders of both the cyclical nature of this industry and the secular tailwinds that we believe will provide earnings growth for investors in the years to come. While the late 2018 weakness in semis coincided with softening broad economic data, we view the dip as an industry-specific cyclical hiccup rather than being a signal of an even greater economic slowdown - a plausible consideration given the prevalence of chips as key inputs