M&G Investment Management Ltd. purchased a significant stake in Silicon Motion Technology Co. during the fourth quarter of 2022. The move came even as Silicon Motion (NASDAQ: SIMO) navigated a period of weaker-than-expected revenue, showing that M&G was betting on long-term growth rather than short-term earnings.

Silicon Motion, often shortened to SMI, is a leading developer of microcontrollers for NAND flash storage. Their chips sit at the heart of solid-state drives (SSDs), embedded multimedia cards (eMMCs), and flash solutions used in mobile devices, digital cameras, and industrial applications. The company’s engineering focus on speed, power efficiency, and durability has made it a trusted supplier in consumer, enterprise, and automotive markets.

The UK-based M&G Investment Management Ltd. saw opportunity despite market turbulence. By acquiring more shares, M&G expressed confidence that Silicon Motion’s roadmap of storage controllers and flash management software would translate into long-term gains. The UK firm, founded in 1931, is known for its disciplined, research-driven approach and is increasingly focused on companies aligned with digital transformation and sustainability themes.

Why M&G Chose Silicon Motion

Several factors made Silicon Motion attractive. First, rising demand for flash memory across data centers, smartphones, and cars created steady tailwinds. SMI’s NAND flash controllers are embedded in SSDs, USB flash drives, and memory cards, with clients ranging from global OEMs to niche storage specialists like Nexcopy.

Second, the company’s commitment to innovation stands out. Heavy investments in R&D and a deep intellectual property portfolio keep SMI at the forefront of controller design, ready to adapt as NAND geometry and system requirements evolve. This focus on continuous product refresh cycles ensures relevance even in volatile memory markets.

Third, Silicon Motion’s financial stability added to its appeal. With consistent cash flow generation, the company has been able to return capital to shareholders while also reinvesting in product development. That combination of resilience and growth potential is exactly what long-horizon investors like M&G look for.

Finally, the acquisition aligned with M&G’s strategy to back disruptive technology leaders. As global data creation accelerates, storage is mission-critical infrastructure. By increasing its position in Silicon Motion, M&G positioned itself to benefit from rising demand for SSDs, edge devices, and secure storage solutions.

In short, the Q4 2022 purchase underlined a vote of confidence: despite market headwinds, M&G believes Silicon Motion has the product depth, balance sheet strength, and vision to remain a dominant force in flash memory controllers for years to come.

Silicon Motion’s decade-long growth drives a 580% return for investors.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: SIMO), founded in 1995, has become a leading developer of microcontroller ICs for NAND flash storage devices. The company also designs and markets high-performance, low-power semiconductor solutions for OEMs. Among its customers is Nexcopy Incorporated, a Southern California technology company specializing in flash memory storage products.

Today, Silicon Motion holds more than 1,500 patents, with over 1,300 still pending final approval. Its annual revenue is around $540 million, underscoring the company’s strong position in the semiconductor and storage controller markets.

From an investor’s perspective, the company’s performance has been even more striking. A $1,000 investment made in August 2011 would be worth approximately $6,832 as of August 23, 2021—representing a gain of 583.19% over the ten-year period. This return accounts for price appreciation but excludes dividends, according to NASDAQ’s analysis.

Source: NASDAQ

Since August 2021: where’s SIMO now?

Back in late August 2021, Silicon Motion (SIMO) was trading in the low-$70s. Fast-forward to today and the tape tells a different story: as of September 22, 2025 the stock closed around $95, brushing an all-time closing high and marking a solid climb despite a very bumpy road in between.

What changed? The company kept shipping controllers—lots of them—and kept widening the moat. In 2024, SMI rolled out its SM2322, a single-chip USB 3.2 Gen2x2 portable SSD controller that hits 20 Gbps and scales to roomy 8 TB QLC builds. That’s catnip for phone-to-console workflows and the “throw it in the bag” creative set. Momentum like that doesn’t show up in a quarter; it shows up in a trend.

Then there’s the long game. At industry events in 2025, SMI teased a PCIe 6.0 client SSD controller (codename Neptune) with projected 25+ GB/s reads and 3.5 M IOPS, signaling where the ball is headed—even if broad client adoption waits until the 2030 window. It’s classic SMI: ship today, signal tomorrow, keep the design-win pipeline full.

Of course, it wasn’t a straight line up. The MaxLinear deal drama peaked and cracked (termination in 2023), sent the shares wobbling, and moved the fight to arbitration and courtrooms. Through it all, the company kept printing controllers, paying a dividend (announced $2.00/ADS for 2024), and talking product roadmaps—slow, steady, stubborn. That posture matters to multiples.

So where do we land versus that August 2021 snapshot? Call it this: SIMO today trades notably higher than those early-’21 levels, near record territory, after digesting a failed merger and a memory cycle. That resilience, paired with portable-SSD wins and next-gen PCIe signals, explains why the stock now lives closer to the mid-$90s than the low-$70s. In other words—Morris’ rule of thumb—execution begets altitude.