⚠ It Protects Against Losing One, Not Against the CycleModerate threat

Texas Instruments (TXN) — threat to the moat

It protects completely against losing a relationship and not at all against the thing that actually happened.

A hundred thousand customers protect against losing one and not at all against losing the cycle.

What no concentration protects againstLosing a customerFully protectedThe analog cycleNot at all-22%revenue,2022 to 20240customers lostthat matteredAll 100,000 buy the same category of part for the same reason at the same time.
It eliminates the failure mode that threatens four other companies here.

TI's customer diversification is genuine and the best in this collection: over 100,000 customers, about half of revenue from outside the largest fifty, and no concentration disclosure at all.1 What it eliminates is the failure mode that threatens Qualcomm, Nvidia, Marvell and CoreWeave — a single relationship ending.

It does nothing about the risk that actually materialised. Between 2022 and 2024 revenue fell from $20.03 billion to $15.64 billion and operating profit from $10.14 billion to $5.47 billion, with no meaningful customer lost.2 Every one of the 100,000 slowed at once, because they buy the same category of part for the same reason.

TI presents diversity as one of four sustainable competitive advantages, and the presentation tends to elide which risks it covers.3

What longevity contributes is a floor rather than smoothing: designed-in parts keep shipping at reduced volumes rather than disappearing.

The measure is peak-to-trough revenue, which was 22% in the last cycle.

References
  1. ReportedTI's customer diversification is genuine and the best in this collection: over 100,000 customers, about half of revenue from outside the largest fifty, and no concentration disclosure at all.
    Texas Instruments Incorporated, Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025 (SEC, CIK 97476) — Item 1, Business. TI's two reportable segments are Analog and Embedded Processing, with remaining activities in Other; operations began in 1930 and it has design, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. The product portfolio includes more than 80,000 products. TI states four sustainable competitive advantages: a strong foundation of manufacturing and technology, a broad portfolio of analog and embedded processing products, the reach of its market channels, and the diversity and longevity of its products, markets and customer positions, which in combination it describes as difficult to replicate. An unpackaged chip built on a 300mm wafer costs about 40% less than one built on a 200mm wafer; TI continued qualifying and ramping production at its newest 300mm fabs in Richardson and Sherman, Texas, and Lehi, Utah, supporting external foundry transfers and internal transfers from its legacy 150mm facilities, and expects to maintain sufficient internal capacity to meet the majority of its production needs, offering customers geopolitically dependable capacity. TI sells to over 100,000 customers, with about half of revenue derived from customers outside its largest 50; more than 80% of revenue was direct in 2025, including TI.com. End markets as a percentage of 2025 revenue: industrial 33%, automotive 33%, personal electronics 21%, data centre 9%, communications equipment 3%, and calculators about 1%. About 60% of revenue comes from customers headquartered outside the United States; revenue from end customers headquartered in China represented about 20% of revenue in 2025, while revenue from products shipped into China represented about 50%. The analog and embedded processing markets remain highly fragmented, with significant global competition from dozens of large and small companies including emerging companies, particularly in Asia. The company's stated objective is the growth of free cash flow per share over the long term. — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02-06 · source ↗
  2. ReportedBetween 2022 and 2024 revenue fell from $20.03 billion to $15.64 billion and operating profit from $10.14 billion to $5.47 billion, with no meaningful customer lost.
    Texas Instruments Incorporated, Form 10-K FY2025 — consolidated statements of income and segment results. Revenue $17,682M, up $2.04bn or 13.0%; gross profit $10,081M; operating profit $6,023M; other income net $230M; interest and debt expense $543M; income before income taxes $5,710M; provision for income taxes $709M at an effective rate of 12.4% (12.0% in 2024); net income $5,001M against $4,799M in 2024 and $6,510M in 2023. Basic EPS $5.47 and diluted EPS $5.45, against $5.20 and $7.07 in the two prior years, on 913 million diluted shares. By segment, Analog revenue $14,006M (2024 $12,161M, +15%) with operating profit $5,412M (2024 $4,608M, +17%) at 38.6% of revenue (37.9%); Embedded Processing $2,700M; Other the remainder. Revenue peaked at $20,028M in 2022 with operating profit of $10,140M, and troughed at $15,641M in 2024 with operating profit of $5,465M. — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02-06 · source ↗
  3. ReportedTI presents diversity as one of four sustainable competitive advantages, and the presentation tends to elide which risks it covers.
    Texas Instruments Incorporated, Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025 (SEC, CIK 97476) — Item 1, Business. TI's two reportable segments are Analog and Embedded Processing, with remaining activities in Other; operations began in 1930 and it has design, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. The product portfolio includes more than 80,000 products. TI states four sustainable competitive advantages: a strong foundation of manufacturing and technology, a broad portfolio of analog and embedded processing products, the reach of its market channels, and the diversity and longevity of its products, markets and customer positions, which in combination it describes as difficult to replicate. An unpackaged chip built on a 300mm wafer costs about 40% less than one built on a 200mm wafer; TI continued qualifying and ramping production at its newest 300mm fabs in Richardson and Sherman, Texas, and Lehi, Utah, supporting external foundry transfers and internal transfers from its legacy 150mm facilities, and expects to maintain sufficient internal capacity to meet the majority of its production needs, offering customers geopolitically dependable capacity. TI sells to over 100,000 customers, with about half of revenue derived from customers outside its largest 50; more than 80% of revenue was direct in 2025, including TI.com. End markets as a percentage of 2025 revenue: industrial 33%, automotive 33%, personal electronics 21%, data centre 9%, communications equipment 3%, and calculators about 1%. About 60% of revenue comes from customers headquartered outside the United States; revenue from end customers headquartered in China represented about 20% of revenue in 2025, while revenue from products shipped into China represented about 50%. The analog and embedded processing markets remain highly fragmented, with significant global competition from dozens of large and small companies including emerging companies, particularly in Asia. The company's stated objective is the growth of free cash flow per share over the long term. — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02-06 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026