Comparison of the three and nine months ended September 28, 2024 and September 30, 2023
Revenue
In the three months ended September 28, 2024, revenue decreased by $44 million, or 8%, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2023. This decrease in revenue was primarily due to a decrease of $51 million or 11% in EyeQTM SoC revenue mostly attributable to a 9% reduction in volume resulting from a reduction in units shipped to China OEM's, as well as modest declines in overall global vehicle production. Average System Price, calculated as the sum of revenue related to EyeQTM SoC and SuperVisionTM systems divided by the number of systems delivered, decreased by 1%, due to a modestly unfavorable mix of EyeQTM feature bundles as compared to the third quarter of 2023.
In the nine months ended September 28, 2024, revenue decreased by $278 million, or 19%, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $325 million, or 25%, in EyeQTM SoC revenue attributable mainly to a 24% decrease in volume resulting from the usage of meaningful excess inventory previously accumulated at our Tier 1 customers to satisfy demand in the first half of 2024. This was partially offset by an increase of $39 million in SuperVisionTM related revenue. Average System Price, calculated as the sum of revenue related to EyeQTM and SuperVisionTM systems divided by the number of systems delivered, increased by 4%, due to the higher percentage of SuperVisionTM related revenue as compared to the first nine months ended September 30, 2023.
Cost of Revenue
In the three months ended September 28, 2024, our cost of revenue decreased by $9 million, or 3% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2023. This is due to a decrease of $9 million in manufacturing costs, mainly resulting from a decrease in sales of EyeQTM SoC, as well as a cost reduction in manufacturing of SuperVisionTM systems.
In the nine months ended September 28, 2024, our cost of revenue decreased by $75 million, or 10%, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2023. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $42 million in manufacturing costs mainly resulting from the decrease in sales of EyeQTM SoC and a cost reduction in SuperVisionTM systems, as well as a decrease of $29 million in amortization of intangible assets.
Gross Profit and Margin
In the three months ended September 28 2024, our gross profit decreased by $35 million, or 13% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2023. This decrease was primarily due to the reduction in sales of EyeQTM systems, partially offset by an increase in gross profit of SuperVisionTM systems, given the reduction in manufacturing costs.
In the nine months ended September 28 2024, our gross profit decreased by $203 million, or 29%, compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2023. This decrease was primarily due to reduction in sales of EyeQTM systems, partially offset by an increase in sales of SuperVisionTM systems, as well as a decrease in amortization of intangible assets.
In the three months ended September 28 2024, our gross margin has decreased to 49% compared to 51% in the three months ended September 30, 2023. This decrease was primarily due to the impact of the flat cost attributable to amortization of intangible assets as a percentage of revenue, as well as higher EyeQ-related costs per unit given a different mix of EyeQ generations sold. This was partially offset by an increased profitability of our SuperVisionTM systems given the reduction in manufacturing costs.
In the nine months ended September 28, 2024, our gross margin has decreased to 43% compared to 49% in the nine months ended September 30, 2023. This was mainly due to the increase in the percentage of revenue attributable to SuperVisionTM, as well as a higher impact of amortization of intangible assets as a percentage of revenue. In addition, there was an increase in the average cost of our EyeQTM SoC compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2023 since we entered 2023 with an opening balance of EyeQTM SoC inventory that we previously acquired at lower-than-current prices.
Research and Development Expenses, net
Research and development expenses, net, in the three months ended September 28, 2024, increased by $85 million, or 39%, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2023. This increase was primarily due to an increase in payroll and related expenses, resulting from an increase in average research and development headcount of 369 employees, including an increase in share-based compensation, which was partially offset by military duty reserve refunds from the state of Israel. In addition, there was an increase related to investments attributable to new product development and also an increase in depreciation costs associated with the new campus and additional sites.