Deep Research

Rogers Corp (ROG)

3 min read

Snapshot

  • Ticker: ROG (NYSE)
  • Bucket: AI Connectivity & Optics
  • Q1 2026 position: 186,085 shares, $19,972,503 — 0.40% of 13F (#47, outside the top 20)
  • HQ: Chandler, Arizona
  • What it does: Specialty engineered materials — high-frequency circuit laminates, ceramic power substrates and elastomers for power electronics, EVs, ADAS, aerospace/defense and data center hardware.

Business Overview

Rogers operates two main segments: Advanced Electronics Solutions (AES) — high-frequency/high-power circuit materials and curamik ceramic substrates used in power modules, wireless infrastructure, ADAS radar and increasingly data-center power delivery — and Elastomeric Material Solutions (EMS) for industrial, EV battery and consumer applications.

2025 was a recovery year off a weak 2024: net sales of 190.5M, Q2 216.0M, Q4 $201.5M, the latter +4.8% y/y on industrial, ADAS and renewable-energy demand). Q1 2026 guidance called for ~5% y/y sales growth with a 160bp gross-margin and 530bp adjusted-EBITDA-margin improvement versus Q1 2025 — a margin-repair story as much as a growth one.

Why Atreides Owns It

A picks-and-shovels materials play on the “watts” half of watts and wafers. AI data centers are forcing a step-change in power density — higher-voltage power delivery, more power semiconductors (SiC/GaN modules), busbars and high-frequency boards — and Rogers’ curamik substrates and power-electronics laminates are content in exactly that chain, alongside its established EV/HEV and radar businesses. Atreides entered in Q2 2025 near what looks like a cyclical trough in both sales and margin, and has held the position essentially flat in share terms since. It is a small, unglamorous expression of the power-infrastructure theme rather than a headline AI name — no notable public Baker commentary on it exists that we can find.

Position History

QuarterTypeShares/NotionalValue% of 13F
Q4 2024—not held——
Q1 2025—not held——
Q2 2025Common188,203$12,888,1410.36%
Q3 2025Common168,925$13,591,7060.26%
Q4 2025Common171,920$15,742,7140.19%
Q1 2026Common186,085$19,972,5030.40%

Share count has barely moved (169-188K) across four quarters — a quiet hold through the bottoming process, with value appreciation doing the rest.

Risks

  • End-market cyclicality: EV/HEV, industrial and wireless infrastructure demand has been choppy; the 2025 recovery is from a low base.
  • AI exposure is indirect: data-center power content is real but not separately disclosed; Rogers is not a pure AI play and could lag the theme.
  • Competition: Asian laminate and substrate makers compete aggressively on price in high-frequency materials.
  • Small-cap liquidity and M&A history: the terminated DuPont acquisition (2022) still hangs over the multiple; strategic direction depends on execution, not a buyout.

Sources

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