KN · CIK 0001587523
What Knowles Corporation told the SEC could break it.
Knowles' disclosures cluster on a trade-sensitive footprint and concentrated supply. The majority of its largest manufacturing facilities are in China and Southeast Asia, so US-China tariffs, sanctions and China's domestic-substitution push threaten both its cost base and its market access. For critical components it leans on highly specialized suppliers — and in some cases sole sources, explicitly its ASIC and MEMS foundry partners, some of which also supply its competitors — where requalifying an alternate foundry is slow. And its products draw on volatile precious and base metals like palladium, gold, brass, stainless steel and copper, so commodity-price spikes or supply disruption raise its input costs.
3 self-disclosed vulnerabilities, pulled from its own filings, each in the company’s words, with the source. This is the risk register almost nobody reads.
In its own words
What could break it.
Commodity & input dependence
- Precious/base-metal input cost exposure — palladium, gold, brass, stainless steel and copper used in capacitors and precision devicesmedium
Knowles uses a wide variety of raw materials — primarily metals and semi-processed/finished components — and is exposed to commodity-price fluctuations in precious and base metals including palladium, gold, brass, stainless steel and copper, which are used in its film/electrolytic/mica capacitors (Cornell Dubilier) and precision devices. Palladium in particular is a volatile, supply-constrained metal (significant Russian supply), so price spikes or supply disruption raise input costs for its Precision Devices segment. A specific metals-commodity input dependence.
“commodity pricing for various precious metals, such as palladium, gold, brass, stainless steel, and copper”
SEC filing →As of 2026
Regulatory & policy
- Majority of largest manufacturing facilities in China and Southeast Asia — exposed to U.S.–China tariffs, sanctions and China's domestic-substitution (decoupling) policymedium
Knowles discloses that the majority of its largest manufacturing facilities are located in China and Southeast Asia, so U.S./China/other trade-policy changes — tariffs, sanctions, export/import controls — present particular risks to its results. U.S.–China tariff escalation (and retaliatory tariffs from China and Mexico), plus China's stated policy of reducing dependence on foreign suppliers (decoupling/localization), threaten both Knowles' cost base and its access to the China market. With its manufacturing footprint concentrated in the most trade-policy-sensitive region, this is a thesis-central geopolitical/trade-policy exposure (combining geographic manufacturing concentration with active tariff/sanctions risk).
“Given that the majority of our largest manufacturing facilities are located in China and Southeast Asia, trade policy changes in the United States, China, or other countries, such as tariffs and sanctions would present particular risks for us”
Sole-source dependency
- ASIC and MEMS foundry partners are a sole source of supply for critical components — some are also strategic suppliers to competitors/customersmedium
Knowles relies on highly specialized suppliers and foundries for critical materials, components and subassemblies, and in some cases these are its sole source of supply — explicitly its ASIC and MEMS foundry partners. Some of these foundries are also strategic suppliers to one of Knowles' competitors or customers, adding allocation/priority risk. If a key or sole foundry became unable or unwilling to deliver, Knowles may not be able to identify or qualify an alternative supplier in time (semiconductor foundry requalification is slow), which could materially affect results. A genuine sole-source foundry dependence for its micro-acoustic/MEMS products.
“In some cases, our suppliers or foundries are our sole source of supply, such as with our ASIC and MEMS foundry partners.”
SEC filing →As of 2026
The hidden graph
Who it depends on, and who depends on it.
Relationships surfaced from filings, including ones disclosed by the other side, which is how the non-obvious ones come to light.
Its customers
WS Audiology A/S
“WS Audiology, a hearing aid manufacturer, accounted for approximately 11%, 14%, and 16% of our revenues attributable to continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.”
Cited →TTI, Inc.
“For the year ended December 31, 2025, TTI, Inc. accounted for approximately 10% of our revenues attributable to continuing operations.”
Cited →
In the MyPRIA app, this is checked against the companies you actually own.
← World Watch