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ACM Research's Q3 earnings rose 34.1% to 55 cents per share, while revenues jumped 36.6% to $367.7 million.
ACMR's ECP-related revenues surged 82.9% to $109.5M, while its backlog climbed 88% to $2.5B.
ACM Research raises its 2026 revenue guidance to $1.24B-$1.28B, implying 38-42% year-over-year growth.
ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2026 non-GAAP earnings of 55 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents by 7.84%. Earnings increased 34.1% from 41 cents in the year-ago quarter.
ACM Research reported revenues of $367.7 million, up 36.6% year over year from $269.2 million. Growth was driven by strength in electroplating (ECP), advanced packaging and cleaning equipment. Total shipments increased 30.6% to $343.5 million, reflecting robust customer demand and improving production execution.
ACMR's Cleaning Business Returns to Growth
Revenues from single-wafer cleaning, Tahoe and semi-critical cleaning equipment increased 16.1% year over year to $210.7 million, accounting for 57.3% of total sales. The business benefited from market share gains, technology improvements and broader customer adoption of cleaning solutions.
ACM Research is witnessing increased traction for its single-wafer sulfuric peroxide mixture (SPM) systems. Management expects to ship more than 20 single-wafer SPM tools across multiple customers in 2026. The company also introduced an enhanced hot SPM system featuring sulfuric acid recycling technology, which achieves a 70% recycling rate and could reduce annual acid consumption by approximately 400 tons per tool.
The company is also expanding applications for its Ultra C Tahoe platform and supercritical carbon dioxide cleaning technology, targeting additional opportunities across memory and logic manufacturing.
ACM Research, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Revenues from ECP, furnace and other technologies surged 82.9% year over year to $109.5 million, representing 29.8% of total revenues. Growth was primarily driven by strong demand for front-end wafer-level and back-end advanced packaging electroplating applications.
Advanced packaging revenues, excluding ECP but including services and spares, increased 71.2% to $47.5 million, accounting for 12.9% of total sales. The company continued expanding its packaging portfolio, supported by growing customer deployments in Singapore and North America.
ACMR recently shipped its first 310 × 310 mm Ultra ECP ap-p panel-level horizontal electroplating production tool to an Asian customer. The development marks progress in commercializing technology designed to support increasingly complex 2.5D and 3D semiconductor packaging requirements.
ACMR's Operating Profitability Improves
ACM Research's non-GAAP gross margin was 41.6%, down from 42.1% a year ago. Product mix, foreign exchange and inventory provisions affected profitability. Gross margin remained slightly below management's long-term target range of 42-48%.
Non-GAAP operating expenses increased 12.7% year over year to $86.7 million. However, expenses as a percentage of revenues declined to 23.6% from 28.6%, reflecting improved operating leverage.
Non-GAAP operating income jumped 81.5% to $66.2 million from $36.5 million. Operating margin expanded to 18% from 13.6%, supported by strong revenue growth and better expense absorption. Management expects gross margin to improve modestly in the fourth quarter.
ACM Research's Backlog Signals Strong Demand
ACM Research's backlog reached $2.5 billion as of Sept. 29, 2026, increasing 88% year over year. Orders through the first nine months of 2026 surged 147%, reflecting demand across product categories, particularly newer technologies.
Management highlighted growing opportunities in SPM cleaning, furnace equipment, Track systems, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and panel-level horizontal plating. Furnace revenues are expected to contribute more meaningfully in 2027 as customer evaluations transition into production.
The company is also ramping up its second Lingang manufacturing building. Together, the two buildings can support up to $3 billion in annual output, providing additional capacity to address its expanding order pipeline.
ACMR's Cash Position and Global Expansion
ACM Research ended September 2026 with $1.28 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term time deposits compared with $1.36 billion at June-end. Net cash stood at approximately $900 million.
Inventories totaled $851.2 million. Cash used in operating activities was $70.4 million, while capital expenditures were $25.2 million during the quarter. Management continues to project approximately $175 million in capital expenditures for 2026.
ACMR is strengthening its international presence through its Oregon facility and expanded operations in Korea and Singapore. Management expects more than 20 tools to be installed outside mainland China across approximately 10 customers in five countries by 2026-end.
ACM Research Raises 2026 Revenue Guidance
ACM Research raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $1.24-$1.28 billion from the previous range of $1.125-$1.175 billion. The revised outlook implies year-over-year revenue growth of 38-42%.
The improved forecast reflects strong customer demand, a substantial backlog and expectations for robust fourth-quarter shipments. Management expects shipment growth to outpace revenue growth in 2026, supported by expanding production capacity and continued adoption of newer products.
ACMR’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
ACM Research currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Advanced Energy Industries shares have declined 11.5% year to date (YTD). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Advanced Energy Industries’ 2026 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 79.4%. Estimates have been revised upward in the past seven days.
Shares of AMETEK have returned 8.6% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMETEK’s 2026 earnings suggests a year-over-year rise of 14.8%. Estimates have been revised upward in the past seven days.
ASE Technology shares have surged 89.8% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASE Technology’s 2026 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 129.8%. Estimates have been revised northward in the past seven days.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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ACMR Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on ECP Growth, Revenues Rise Y/Y
Key Takeaways
ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2026 non-GAAP earnings of 55 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents by 7.84%. Earnings increased 34.1% from 41 cents in the year-ago quarter.
ACM Research reported revenues of $367.7 million, up 36.6% year over year from $269.2 million. Growth was driven by strength in electroplating (ECP), advanced packaging and cleaning equipment. Total shipments increased 30.6% to $343.5 million, reflecting robust customer demand and improving production execution.
ACMR's Cleaning Business Returns to Growth
Revenues from single-wafer cleaning, Tahoe and semi-critical cleaning equipment increased 16.1% year over year to $210.7 million, accounting for 57.3% of total sales. The business benefited from market share gains, technology improvements and broader customer adoption of cleaning solutions.
ACM Research is witnessing increased traction for its single-wafer sulfuric peroxide mixture (SPM) systems. Management expects to ship more than 20 single-wafer SPM tools across multiple customers in 2026. The company also introduced an enhanced hot SPM system featuring sulfuric acid recycling technology, which achieves a 70% recycling rate and could reduce annual acid consumption by approximately 400 tons per tool.
The company is also expanding applications for its Ultra C Tahoe platform and supercritical carbon dioxide cleaning technology, targeting additional opportunities across memory and logic manufacturing.
ACM Research, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
ACM Research, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ACM Research, Inc. Quote
ACM Research's ECP and Packaging Sales Surge
Revenues from ECP, furnace and other technologies surged 82.9% year over year to $109.5 million, representing 29.8% of total revenues. Growth was primarily driven by strong demand for front-end wafer-level and back-end advanced packaging electroplating applications.
Advanced packaging revenues, excluding ECP but including services and spares, increased 71.2% to $47.5 million, accounting for 12.9% of total sales. The company continued expanding its packaging portfolio, supported by growing customer deployments in Singapore and North America.
ACMR recently shipped its first 310 × 310 mm Ultra ECP ap-p panel-level horizontal electroplating production tool to an Asian customer. The development marks progress in commercializing technology designed to support increasingly complex 2.5D and 3D semiconductor packaging requirements.
ACMR's Operating Profitability Improves
ACM Research's non-GAAP gross margin was 41.6%, down from 42.1% a year ago. Product mix, foreign exchange and inventory provisions affected profitability. Gross margin remained slightly below management's long-term target range of 42-48%.
Non-GAAP operating expenses increased 12.7% year over year to $86.7 million. However, expenses as a percentage of revenues declined to 23.6% from 28.6%, reflecting improved operating leverage.
Non-GAAP operating income jumped 81.5% to $66.2 million from $36.5 million. Operating margin expanded to 18% from 13.6%, supported by strong revenue growth and better expense absorption. Management expects gross margin to improve modestly in the fourth quarter.
ACM Research's Backlog Signals Strong Demand
ACM Research's backlog reached $2.5 billion as of Sept. 29, 2026, increasing 88% year over year. Orders through the first nine months of 2026 surged 147%, reflecting demand across product categories, particularly newer technologies.
Management highlighted growing opportunities in SPM cleaning, furnace equipment, Track systems, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and panel-level horizontal plating. Furnace revenues are expected to contribute more meaningfully in 2027 as customer evaluations transition into production.
The company is also ramping up its second Lingang manufacturing building. Together, the two buildings can support up to $3 billion in annual output, providing additional capacity to address its expanding order pipeline.
ACMR's Cash Position and Global Expansion
ACM Research ended September 2026 with $1.28 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term time deposits compared with $1.36 billion at June-end. Net cash stood at approximately $900 million.
Inventories totaled $851.2 million. Cash used in operating activities was $70.4 million, while capital expenditures were $25.2 million during the quarter. Management continues to project approximately $175 million in capital expenditures for 2026.
ACMR is strengthening its international presence through its Oregon facility and expanded operations in Korea and Singapore. Management expects more than 20 tools to be installed outside mainland China across approximately 10 customers in five countries by 2026-end.
ACM Research Raises 2026 Revenue Guidance
ACM Research raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $1.24-$1.28 billion from the previous range of $1.125-$1.175 billion. The revised outlook implies year-over-year revenue growth of 38-42%.
The improved forecast reflects strong customer demand, a substantial backlog and expectations for robust fourth-quarter shipments. Management expects shipment growth to outpace revenue growth in 2026, supported by expanding production capacity and continued adoption of newer products.
ACMR’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
ACM Research currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector include Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS - Free Report) , AMETEK (AME - Free Report) and ASE Technology (ASX - Free Report) . Advanced Energy Industries, AMETEK and ASE Technology sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Advanced Energy Industries shares have declined 11.5% year to date (YTD). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Advanced Energy Industries’ 2026 earnings indicates a year-over-year increase of 79.4%. Estimates have been revised upward in the past seven days.
Shares of AMETEK have returned 8.6% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMETEK’s 2026 earnings suggests a year-over-year rise of 14.8%. Estimates have been revised upward in the past seven days.
ASE Technology shares have surged 89.8% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASE Technology’s 2026 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 129.8%. Estimates have been revised northward in the past seven days.