Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) said it is prioritizing customer execution, capacity readiness and product-roadmap delivery as semiconductor equipment demand remains strong and customers seek tools sooner than the company can provide them.
During a Goldman Sachs discussion with Senior Equity Analyst Jim Schneider, an unnamed Lam executive said the company is focused on meeting customer commitments, improving on-time delivery, managing lead times and quality, and expanding hiring to support new fabs in multiple regions. The executive added that Lam is working to ensure near-term operational demands do not distract from its longer-term research-and-development and product-delivery plans.
Customer Demand and Capacity Expansion
Customer discussions have intensified around immediate tool needs, requirements over the coming year and expected demand beyond that period, according to the executive. Lam is using those forecasts to plan its manufacturing footprint, hiring, installation teams and supplier requirements.
While acknowledging that the semiconductor industry has historically been cyclical, the executive said Lam’s more immediate concern is missing upside demand rather than preparing for a downturn. The company said it has developed an operating model over four decades to manage potential downturns, but that is not its primary focus at present.
On the large investments being made for artificial intelligence infrastructure, the executive said end customers see an opportunity to build barriers to entry through compute infrastructure. “If you’re not doing it, you’re going to be at a fundamental competitive disadvantage to someone that is,” the executive said of AI adoption.
AI Use Within Lam
Lam is applying AI internally to help field engineers install, troubleshoot and service its equipment. The company is training AI models on more than 30 years of documented troubleshooting history, aiming to shorten the time required to resolve equipment issues and improve engineer productivity.
The executive said roughly two-thirds of Lam’s field engineering community is using the capability. Beyond productivity gains, Lam sees an opportunity to use such tools to support advanced service offerings.
Lam also said it is expanding resources near customers as new U.S. fabs are developed. The company recently announced a large laboratory investment in Oregon as part of a planned $3 billion investment in laboratory and engineering capabilities. While Lam expects to support expanding U.S. capacity, the executive said its market share in the U.S. is broadly consistent with its global share because it supports major customers regardless of where they manufacture.
China, Service Revenue and Technology Trends
Regarding China, Lam said wafer-fab-equipment spending in the region is expected to be slightly higher, though spending outside China is growing more rapidly. As a result, China’s percentage of total industry spending is expected to decline, the executive said.
Export controls prevent Lam from supplying certain Chinese customers and technologies. The executive said Chinese equipment suppliers benefit from serving those restricted customers, but added that Lam’s market share remains high among Chinese customers it is permitted to serve.
Lam’s Customer Support Business Group, or CSPG, posted its third consecutive record revenue quarter, generating nearly $2.5 billion, according to the executive. The business includes spare parts, services, equipment upgrades and the Reliant mature-node product line.
High equipment utilization has supported demand for spare parts and services, while NAND conversion activity has lifted upgrades, Lam said. The executive characterized mature-node-related Reliant demand as “doing okay,” citing analog, industrial and some mature-node investment in China.
Ram Ganesh, Lam’s vice president of investor relations, said the company is positioned in the etch and deposition segments, which he described as among the faster-growing areas of wafer-fab equipment. He cited Lam’s investments in conductor etch, atomic layer deposition and advanced packaging technologies.
The unnamed executive said architectural shifts toward three-dimensional semiconductor structures are expanding Lam’s opportunity in leading-edge foundry and logic, DRAM and advanced packaging. The company previously said gate-all-around transistor architectures and backside power delivery can each add about $1 billion to Lam’s served available market for every 100,000 wafer starts of capacity.
Outlook for Memory and Profitability
Ganesh said Lam expects DRAM wafer-fab-equipment spending to remain the largest contributor next year, followed by leading-edge foundry and logic, with NAND also growing. He said the gap between DRAM spending and leading-edge foundry and logic spending is likely to narrow next year.
For NAND, the executive said the industry’s conversion cycle is expected to involve about $40 billion in spending through the end of next year. Although some new capacity is being added, the company expects raw wafer capacity at the end of this year to be about 20% below peak levels because conversion activity reduces wafer starts, eventually requiring new capacity.
Lam also highlighted recently reported gross margin of 52%, its highest level in 20 years, and reiterated guidance around a 51% to 52% range. The company said it sees an opportunity to move gross margin into the mid-50% range over several years through differentiated new products, its strategy of operating closer to customers, and pricing efforts.
On acquisitions, the executive said major M&A is not part of Lam’s ongoing strategy. The company expects to focus on its organic opportunities, though it may pursue small tuck-in acquisitions from time to time.
About Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX)
Lam Research Corporation is a semiconductor equipment company that develops and manufactures systems used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Its equipment supports key wafer-processing steps, including deposition, etch, wafer cleaning, and related processes used to create and connect the microscopic features found on semiconductor devices.
The company serves semiconductor manufacturers producing a range of products, including memory, logic, and specialty chips. In addition to manufacturing equipment, Lam Research provides installation, maintenance, spare parts, upgrades, technical support, and other services intended to help customers operate and improve their fabrication facilities.
Founded in 1980, Lam Research is headquartered in Fremont, California, and serves customers through a global network of offices, engineering facilities, and support operations.
