Missing in Action: Signify’s Most Audacious Financial Story

There wasn’t much great news in Signify’s Q3 2025 press release — or in the investor call that followed. Sales slipped 8.4 percent, margins softened, and new CEO As Tempelman described the market as “very challenging.” Yet hidden between the lines of that otherwise predictable report lies the company’s most lucrative secret: the EnabLED patent program.

And like the recent jewelry heist at the Louvre, it’s a story about those who try to get away with something — and the near certainty that they won’t.

The Louvre Lesson

When thieves broke into the Louvre earlier this month and escaped with several priceless pieces, they may have believed they’d pulled off a modern-day Ocean’s Eleven. Unfortunately for them, modern forensics rarely miss — cameras, DNA traces, and cell-tower pings always tell the story.

The same applies in lighting. Companies that use Signify’s patented LED technologies without permission might think they’ve found a clever way around the system. Yet, like the Louvre thieves, they eventually get caught — and nearly all of them settle.

The Quiet Profit Engine

EnabLED serves as Signify’s internal treasure vault — a trove of patents so deep and well-guarded that even major manufacturers pay tribute to avoid confrontation. It ranks among the company’s most profitable divisions, generating steady revenue through licensing fees and settlements.

Still, despite its importance, EnabLED never appears as a distinct line in Signify’s financial results. Instead, the revenue likely flows through multiple segments — Professional, OEM, and Consumer — making it impossible for investors to see its true weight.

Where It Should Be (and Isn’t)

If there were a logical place to record EnabLED income, it would be under “Other.” However, that category covers venture projects, R&D costs, and audit activities. In Q3 2025, it accounted for only €9 million in sales — far too small to include the licensing juggernaut EnabLED represents.

As a result, the treasure stays buried.  Each segment would carry a proportional share of the licensing income, quietly boosting margins without ever drawing attention to itself.

Why the Silence?

Signify’s choice to stay quiet may be strategic.

• To smooth volatility: Licensing income fluctuates — one quarter might include a large settlement, while the next brings none.

• To protect strategy: Revealing patent revenue could invite new challenges.

• To preserve optics:  Keeping licensing income embedded within business units avoids creating a new reporting segment — and prevents analysts from viewing Signify as a patent house rather than a lighting company.

Even so, in a quarter dominated by weak results, Signify’s decision not to highlight one of its most profitable engines seems oddly reserved.

Trials and Tribulations

Signify’s enforcement efforts remain strong. The trial of Signify Holding B.V. vs. Lighting Ever (LE/LEPro) is scheduled for 12 January 2026 — a rare case since most companies settle long before reaching court. Meanwhile, NVC, parent of ETI, acknowledged in its June 2025 annual report that it remains exposed to Signify’s vast patent portfolio.

Everyone gets caught eventually.

The Takeaway

Like the Louvre robbers, those who try to outsmart Signify’s IP team soon discover that the system is stacked against them — cameras in every corridor, legal teams in every jurisdiction, and a record of near-perfect recoveries.

So while Signify’s quarterly results may look uninspired, deep in the accounting vaults sits a quiet source of strength — a stream of licensing gold the company rarely acknowledges, though everyone in the industry recognizes it.

In a quarter that needed good news, EnabLED could have been that story. Its patent engine continues to hum beneath the surface, generating high-margin revenue that never sees the spotlight. Signify’s most audacious success remains missing in action — hidden in plain sight within its own financials.

Perhaps the real masterpiece isn’t hanging in the Louvre after all. It’s tucked neatly inside Signify’s balance sheet.

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