Daily Upgrade Report for Validea's Joel Greenblatt Strategy - August 19, 2025
Validea's Earnings Yield Investor Model: The model, based on Joel Greenblatt's strategy, identifies companies with high return on capital and earnings yields, recently upgraded InterDigital Inc. (IDCC) from 80% to 90% due to improved fundamentals and valuation.
Company Overview: InterDigital, Inc. specializes in research and development for wireless, video, AI, and related technologies, licensing innovations globally for various communication and entertainment products.
Investment Strategy Insight: A score above 90% indicates strong interest in a stock according to Greenblatt's strategy, which emphasizes fundamental analysis to identify potential investment opportunities.
About Joel Greenblatt and Validea: Greenblatt's "Magic Formula" has historically outperformed the market, while Validea provides investment research based on strategies of renowned investors like Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham.
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- Revenue Beat: InterDigital reported total revenue of $158 million for Q4 2025, exceeding the outlook range of $144 million to $148 million, primarily driven by a new CE device licensing agreement with a significant social media company, showcasing strong market performance.
- Patent Portfolio Expansion: The company achieved a 14% year-over-year growth in its patent portfolio, surpassing 38,000 granted patents and applications, further solidifying its leadership in AI and 6G standards, which is expected to drive future revenue growth and market competitiveness.
- Strengthened Strategic Partnerships: The licensing agreement with Samsung has been extended to 2030, alongside new deals with Vivo, Honor, and LG Electronics, resulting in InterDigital now licensing 8 of the top 10 smartphone manufacturers, covering approximately 85% of the market share, enhancing its market position.
- Optimistic Outlook: Management guided for total revenue in 2026 to be between $675 million and $775 million, with adjusted EBITDA ranging from $381 million to $477 million, indicating growth potential driven by ongoing contract renewals and new agreements, with a target of reaching $1 billion in annual recurring revenue by 2030.
- Earnings Beat: InterDigital reported a Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $2.12, surpassing expectations by $0.34, indicating strong profitability despite a 37.4% year-over-year revenue decline to $158.2 million, which still exceeded forecasts by $7.6 million, showcasing resilience in the market.
- Outlook Guidance: The company projects Q1 2026 revenue between $194 million and $200 million, exceeding the consensus of $167.28 million, reflecting confidence in future revenue growth, although this outlook excludes results from new agreements or enforcement actions.
- Long-Term Growth Potential: For the full year 2026, revenue is expected to range from $675 million to $775 million, above the consensus of $693 million, indicating that the company anticipates stable growth through contributions from existing licenses and new agreements, further solidifying its market position.
- Profitability Improvement: The projected non-GAAP EPS for Q1 2026 is between $2.39 and $2.68, exceeding the consensus of $2.33, demonstrating ongoing improvements in profitability and enhancing investor confidence in the company's future performance.
- Earnings Announcement: InterDigital (IDCC) is set to release its Q4 earnings on February 5th before market open, with a consensus EPS estimate of $1.78, reflecting a significant year-over-year decline of 65.4%, indicating substantial profitability challenges ahead.
- Revenue Decline: The consensus revenue estimate stands at $150.6 million, down 40.4% year-over-year, which suggests a cautious market outlook on InterDigital's growth potential, potentially affecting investor confidence.
- Historical Performance: Over the past two years, InterDigital has beaten EPS estimates 88% of the time and revenue estimates 100% of the time, although recent downward revisions in both EPS and revenue forecasts indicate a shift in market sentiment regarding the company's stability.
- Revision Trends: In the last three months, there have been no upward revisions for EPS estimates, with two downward adjustments, while revenue estimates also saw no upward revisions and three downward adjustments, reflecting a weakening confidence among analysts regarding the company's future performance.
- Stake Reduction Details: Capital Management Corp disclosed in an SEC filing that it sold 11,620 shares of InterDigital during Q4, valued at approximately $4.11 million, indicating a strategic profit-taking move on the stock.
- Position Value Shift: Post-sale, InterDigital's position is valued at $37.12 million, representing 6.08% of Capital Management Corp's reportable U.S. equity assets, reflecting ongoing investment in the company.
- Strong Company Performance: InterDigital reported $164.7 million in revenue for Q3, with net income soaring 97% to $67.5 million, underscoring robust demand in the 5G and video compression markets.
- Long-term Strategy Maintained: Despite the sale, InterDigital remains the largest holding at over 6% of assets, indicating that this move was a response to exceptional gains rather than a shift in confidence regarding the company's fundamentals.

- Revenue Expectations: InterDigital anticipates FY26 revenue between $675 million and $775 million, exceeding the market consensus of $649.58 million, indicating strong confidence in future growth that may attract more investor interest.
- Earnings Outlook: The company expects FY26 diluted EPS to range from $5.77 to $8.51, while Non-GAAP EPS is projected between $8.74 and $11.84, suggesting a sustained enhancement in profitability that could further strengthen its market competitiveness.
- Adjusted EBITDA: InterDigital forecasts FY26 adjusted EBITDA between $381 million and $477 million, reflecting proactive efforts in cost control and operational efficiency, which will help improve overall financial health.
- Stock Price Reaction: Following the pre-release, InterDigital's stock fell 2.75% in premarket trading to $300.25, indicating a cautious sentiment from the market regarding its future outlook, which may impact short-term investor confidence.

- New License Agreement: InterDigital has signed a significant new licensing agreement with LG Electronics, further solidifying its market position in wireless and video technologies, which is expected to contribute notably to revenue growth in 2026.
- 2026 Financial Outlook: The company projects revenue for 2026 to be between $675 million and $775 million, with adjusted EBITDA expected to range from $381 million to $477 million, indicating strong business momentum and profitability.
- Earnings Per Share Projections: InterDigital anticipates diluted EPS for 2026 to be between $5.77 and $8.51, while non-GAAP EPS is projected to range from $8.74 to $11.84, reflecting the company's ongoing potential for earnings growth.
- Future Guidance: The company plans to provide its first quarter 2026 outlook during the earnings report on February 5, demonstrating management's confidence in future business developments and positive market demand expectations.






