ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) raised its full-year revenue outlook after reporting a 36.6% increase in third-quarter sales, citing a growing order backlog, new product cycles and production execution.
The semiconductor equipment maker now expects 2026 revenue of $1.24 billion to $1.28 billion, up 38% to 42% from 2025. Its prior forecast was $1.125 billion to $1.175 billion. Management also expects shipments to grow faster than revenue for the year.
Third-quarter revenue rose to $367.7 million, while shipments increased 30.6% to $343.5 million. CEO David Wang attributed the growth to market share gains, product cycles and execution by the production and supply chain teams.
ACM Shanghai’s total backlog was $2.5 billion as of Sept. 29, up 88% from a year earlier, Wang said. Orders for the first nine months of 2026 rose 147% year over year, with the backlog weighted more heavily toward newer products.
Cleaning and plating products drive growth
Revenue from single-wafer cleaning, Tahoe and semi-critical cleaning equipment rose 16.1% to $210.7 million, representing 57.3% of sales. Wang said the cleaning business benefited from gains in cleaning steps, technology improvements and broader adoption of ACM’s single-wafer sulfuric peroxide mixture, or SPM, system.
Wang said the company remains on track to ship more than 20 single-wafer SPM tools to multiple customers in 2026. ACM estimates that SPM tools account for about one-third of the cleaning equipment market, and management views the product line as important to its long-term goal of capturing 60% of China’s cleaning equipment market.
Revenue from electrochemical plating, front-end packaging, furnace and other technologies rose 82.9% to $109.5 million. Wang said plating applications drove the increase, while furnaces contributed a relatively small portion. He expects furnaces to make a more meaningful revenue contribution in 2027 as systems complete customer acceptance and move into production.
Advanced packaging revenue rose 71.2% to $47.5 million. ACM also said it shipped a 310-by-310-millimeter panel-level horizontal plating tool to an Asian customer in October, following an earlier shipment of a larger system to a mainland China customer. Wang said the company is engaged with customers across multiple regions and panel sizes.
Margins and cash flow
On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 41.6%, down from 42.1% a year earlier and below the company’s long-term target range of 42% to 48%. CFO Mark McKechnie attributed the shortfall in part to product mix, foreign exchange and an inventory provision. He expects gross margin to improve modestly in the fourth quarter.
Non-GAAP operating income rose to $66.2 million from $36.5 million, and operating margin increased to 18.0% from 13.6%. Non-GAAP net income attributable to ACM Research was $40.5 million, or 55 cents per diluted share, compared with $28.4 million, or 41 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.
The company ended the quarter with $1.28 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and time deposits, and $900 million in net cash. Operations used $70.4 million in cash during the quarter. McKechnie said ACM increased raw materials to support production growth; total net inventory stood at $851.2 million.
Capacity and international expansion
Wang said ACM is ramping its second building at Lingang, where two buildings together can support up to $3 billion in annual output. He expects fourth-quarter shipments to rise from third-quarter levels and said the company is planning for further shipment growth in 2027.
Wang acknowledged supply chain challenges as demand increases, saying ACM is giving suppliers forecasts as far as a year ahead and seeking second and third sources where needed.
Outside mainland China, ACM expects to have more than 20 tools installed at approximately 10 customer sites across five countries by the end of 2026. The company is preparing to open its Oregon operation and expanding resources in Korea and Singapore. McKechnie said management was not ready to forecast the share of revenue international customers would represent, though he expects that business to grow this year and next.
About ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR)
ACM Research, Inc (NASDAQ: ACMR) develops and manufactures equipment used in semiconductor wafer processing. Its systems are designed to support the fabrication of integrated circuits and other electronic components, with a primary focus on cleaning and other process steps performed during semiconductor manufacturing.
The company’s product portfolio includes single-wafer cleaning systems, wet-cleaning equipment, electrochemical plating systems, and other wafer-processing tools. These products are used by semiconductor manufacturers and foundries in applications involving advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices.
