Huawei Crackdowns and Weak iPhone Sales Can't Keep Skyworks Solutions Down for Long

It's been a wild ride the last few years for Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS) -- really for the broader chip-making industry in general. On one hand, technology -- especially of the variety that hooks up to the internet or some other network -- is more important than ever before. But on the other, being a hardware supplier has always been a cyclical business. This year, Skyworks, which made its name riding the coattails of Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and other smartphone options, has hit a speed bump as demand for consumer mobile devices has tapered off and matured.

Add to the mix a White House ban on selling to China's tech giant Huawei, and Skyworks has been in a real pickle this year. Sales are down sharply from a year ago, and there's still no forecast as to when that will change. Nevertheless, the arrival of 5G mobile network upgrades has come just in time, and the possibilities of those upgrades are keeping shares propped up.