# Knowles Corp > Clarifo company profile — qualitative business description generated from > the company's filings. Financial statements, charts and ratios are > available on Clarifo (https://www.clarifo.com/en/companies/Knowles Corp). ## Overview Knowles Corp designs and manufactures specialty electronic components that perform critical functions in demanding applications. Its portfolio spans high-performance capacitors, RF filters, advanced microphones, and balanced armature speakers used across medtech, defense, industrial, and electrification/energy markets. ## Products & services • High-performance capacitors for high-voltage, high-temp, high-reliability uses • RF filtering solutions for defense and other demanding applications • Advanced microphones for hearing health and specialty audio • Balanced armature speakers for compact, high-performance audio devices • Custom-engineered electronic components and module support - **Precision Devices capacitors** (30%) — Specialized capacitors designed for high voltage, high temperature, and high reliability applications. - **Precision Devices RF filters** (25%) — RF filtering products used primarily in defense and other frequency-sensitive applications. - **Microphones** (30%) — Advanced microphones for hearing health and specialty audio devices. - **Balanced armature speakers** (15%) — Miniature high-performance speakers used in hearing health and specialty audio products. - High-performance capacitors - RF filtering solutions - Advanced microphones - Balanced armature speakers - Custom-engineered specialty components ## Customers Knowles sells mainly to OEMs, hearing health manufacturers, and industrial/defense customers that need highly customized components with tight performance tolerances. It also sells through distributors and contract manufacturers, which broadens reach but increases customer concentration and channel dependence. Demand is driven by end-market product cycles, especially new device introductions in hearing health and defense-related programs. - **Hearing health manufacturers** (primary) — Buy microphones and balanced armature speakers for hearing aids and related devices where size, power, and acoustic performance matter. - **Defense OEMs** (primary) — Buy RF filters and high-reliability capacitors for mission-critical systems that require custom engineering and durability. - **Industrial and electrification customers** (secondary) — Buy specialty capacitors and RF solutions for industrial equipment and electrification/energy applications. - **Specialty audio OEMs** (secondary) — Buy balanced armature speakers and microphones for premium audio products that need compact, high-fidelity components. - **Distributors and contract manufacturers** (secondary) — Purchase components for downstream OEM programs and are important to channel reach and revenue timing. - Hearing health manufacturers buying microphones and speakers - Defense OEMs needing RF filters and high-reliability capacitors - Industrial and electrification customers using custom components - Contract manufacturers purchasing on behalf of OEMs - Distributors such as TTI that broaden market access ## Geography Knowles operates globally, with sales, support, and engineering in North America, Europe, and Asia, and manufacturing in North America and Asia. Its global distribution center is in Penang, Malaysia, and the company says it has facilities in 11 countries. This footprint supports customer proximity and scale, but also exposes the company to supply-chain, trade, and geopolitical risks across regions. - **North America** (0%) — No country revenue split disclosed in the provided excerpts. - **Europe** (0%) — No country revenue split disclosed in the provided excerpts. - **Asia** (0%) — No country revenue split disclosed in the provided excerpts. - Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, United States - Sales, support, and engineering in North America, Europe, and Asia - Manufacturing in North America and Asia - Global distribution center in Penang, Malaysia - Facilities in 11 countries create supply-chain and geopolitical exposure ## Strategy Knowles is focused on custom-engineered solutions in markets where reliability and performance justify premium pricing. Management is also working to improve margins through product mix, cost reductions, manufacturing optimization, and selective acquisitions or divestitures. The company has been migrating some manufacturing and rightsizing costs after the CMM sale, while continuing to invest in growth areas such as defense and hearing health. - **Grow PD in profitable end markets** (medium-term) — Defense, medtech, industrial, and electrification applications support higher-value, less price-sensitive demand. - **Protect and expand MSA margins** (short-term) — MSA depends on a concentrated customer base and faces pricing pressure on mature products. - **Rationalize manufacturing and overhead** (short-term) — Production transfers and headcount reductions are intended to lower cost and improve operating leverage. - Win custom-engineered designs in high-growth end markets - Expand profitable exposure in defense, medtech, and electrification - Improve margins through product cost reductions and mix - Optimize manufacturing footprint and transfer production - Use acquisitions and divestitures to reshape the portfolio ## Risks Knowles is exposed to customer concentration, especially in MSA where a few OEMs drive a large share of revenue and order timing can swing results. The company also faces global manufacturing and supply-chain risk because many operations, suppliers, and customers are outside the United States. Commodity input volatility, acquisition/divestiture execution, and pricing pressure on mature products can all affect margins and reported earnings. - **Customer concentration in MSA** [high] — Top customers account for a large share of segment revenue, so order delays or losses can materially reduce sales. - **Global supply-chain and geopolitical disruption** [high] — Manufacturing, R&D, vendors, and customers are spread across multiple countries, increasing disruption risk. - **Commodity price inflation** [medium] — The company uses metals such as palladium, gold, brass, stainless steel, and copper in production. - **Execution risk on strategic transactions** [medium] — Acquisitions, divestitures, and manufacturing transfers can create integration costs and fail to deliver expected benefits. - Heavy dependence on a small number of OEM and distributor customers - MSA revenue concentration makes timing and mix changes material - Global operations expose the company to geopolitical and supply-chain shocks - Commodity metals can raise input costs and pressure margins - Acquisitions and divestitures may not deliver expected synergies ## Accounting Investors should watch how Knowles accounts for restructuring, production transfer costs, and acquisition-related integration items because these can materially affect gross profit and operating expenses. The company also records impairment charges on machinery and equipment, which can signal underutilized assets or footprint changes. Because it uses non-GAAP measures heavily, reconciliation items matter for understanding underlying performance versus reported results. - **Restructuring charges** — Affects comparability of margins and operating income - **Production transfer costs** — Can temporarily lower gross margin - **Impairment of machinery and equipment** — Reduces operating income and may indicate excess capacity - **Acquisition and divestiture-related adjustments** — Impacts EBIT and non-GAAP reconciliation - Restructuring charges affect gross profit and operating expenses - Production transfer costs can temporarily depress margins - Impairment charges on machinery and equipment may recur - Acquisition integration costs distort comparability - Non-GAAP adjustments are important to assess core operating performance --- *Last updated: 2026-04-28T20:20:28.890034+00:00*