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Netlist's Q3 Sales Surge 149%: Can the Momentum Continue?
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Key Takeaways
Netlist's Q3 2026 sales up 149% to $105.1 million, driven by AI memory demand and Samsung licensing revenues.
Netlist expects quarterly licensing revenues of $73 million from Samsung and Micron starting in Q4 2026.
Netlist expects Q4 product sales to rise substantially, backed by demand and initial Samsung product sales.
Netlist, Inc. (NLST - Free Report) delivered robust third-quarter 2026 results, with net sales increasing 149% year over year to $105.1 million. The quarterly performance was supported by strong demand for AI and data center memory products and the commencement of licensing revenues under its Samsung agreement.
Netlist's third-quarter product sales increased 43% year over year to $60.2 million, reflecting healthy demand from AI and data center customers. The company also recognized $44.9 million in licensing revenues under its Samsung agreement, significantly strengthening the overall revenue base.
Expanding licensing portfolio and favorable market conditions are likely to sustain Netlist’s growth momentum going forward.
Looking ahead, the company expects fourth-quarter 2026 product sales to increase substantially from the third quarter, supported by rising demand for its products and initial Samsung product sales under the product supply agreement.
Meanwhile, its recently concluded Micron agreement provides another growth catalyst. Beginning in the fourth quarter, Netlist expects combined quarterly licensing revenues of approximately $73 million from Samsung and Micron, translating into an annualized run rate of $292 million.
Netlist remains focused on portfolio expansion to boost its presence in the AI memory market. The company recently announced next-generation LIGHTNING Ultra-Low Latency DDR5 RDIMMs for Agentic AI workstations and servers. The DDR5-6000 and DDR5-6400 products are designed to boost responsiveness in memory-sensitive AI and enterprise workloads.
The new products target agentic AI workstations and servers, multi-agent systems, retrieval-augmented generation, large language models and vector databases. Applications also extend to high-frequency trading, scientific computing and electronic design automation, cloud infrastructure and data analytics.
While recurring licensing revenues provide a relatively predictable foundation, continued expansion in the product business will determine whether Netlist can maintain its impressive growth trajectory.
Revenue Performance for Peers
Netlist operates in a highly competitive memory market alongside established players, including SK hynix (SKHY - Free Report) and Rambus (RMBS - Free Report) .
Rambus’ third-quarter 2026 revenues of $218.3 million jumped 22% year over year, buoyed by demand for advanced memory solutions for next-generation AI and data center infrastructure. Product revenues increased 22% to $114.3 million.
For the fourth quarter, Rambus expects revenues between $227 million and $233 million, with product revenues projected at $127-$133 million, implying 34% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. Increasing AI infrastructure investments and expanding adoption of DDR5 solutions are expected to sustain growth. Management anticipates strengthening demand heading into 2027.
South Korea-based SK hynix has a strong presence across DRAM, NAND and high-bandwidth memory (“HBM”) markets. Third-quarter 2026 revenues were KRW 104.6 trillion, soaring 328% year over year and 32% sequentially. Growth was driven by rising DRAM and NAND prices, and robust demand trends.
Management highlighted that the mass production and shipments of HBM4 began in the third quarter, while shipments of server DDR5 increased more than 40% sequentially. For the fourth quarter, management expects DRAM shipment volume to increase a mid-20% sequentially, while NAND bit shipments are projected to rise by a mid-single-digit percentage.
NLST Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of the company have inched down 3.5% in the past month compared with the Zacks Computer- Storage Devices industry's decline of 33.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NLST is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 2.63X compared with the industry’s 1.62X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NLST’s earnings for 2026 has been revised upward over the past 60 days.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Netlist's Q3 Sales Surge 149%: Can the Momentum Continue?
Key Takeaways
Netlist, Inc. (NLST - Free Report) delivered robust third-quarter 2026 results, with net sales increasing 149% year over year to $105.1 million. The quarterly performance was supported by strong demand for AI and data center memory products and the commencement of licensing revenues under its Samsung agreement.
Netlist's third-quarter product sales increased 43% year over year to $60.2 million, reflecting healthy demand from AI and data center customers. The company also recognized $44.9 million in licensing revenues under its Samsung agreement, significantly strengthening the overall revenue base.
Expanding licensing portfolio and favorable market conditions are likely to sustain Netlist’s growth momentum going forward.
Looking ahead, the company expects fourth-quarter 2026 product sales to increase substantially from the third quarter, supported by rising demand for its products and initial Samsung product sales under the product supply agreement.
Netlist, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Netlist, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Netlist, Inc. Quote
Meanwhile, its recently concluded Micron agreement provides another growth catalyst. Beginning in the fourth quarter, Netlist expects combined quarterly licensing revenues of approximately $73 million from Samsung and Micron, translating into an annualized run rate of $292 million.
Netlist remains focused on portfolio expansion to boost its presence in the AI memory market. The company recently announced next-generation LIGHTNING Ultra-Low Latency DDR5 RDIMMs for Agentic AI workstations and servers. The DDR5-6000 and DDR5-6400 products are designed to boost responsiveness in memory-sensitive AI and enterprise workloads.
The new products target agentic AI workstations and servers, multi-agent systems, retrieval-augmented generation, large language models and vector databases. Applications also extend to high-frequency trading, scientific computing and electronic design automation, cloud infrastructure and data analytics.
While recurring licensing revenues provide a relatively predictable foundation, continued expansion in the product business will determine whether Netlist can maintain its impressive growth trajectory.
Revenue Performance for Peers
Netlist operates in a highly competitive memory market alongside established players, including SK hynix (SKHY - Free Report) and Rambus (RMBS - Free Report) .
Rambus’ third-quarter 2026 revenues of $218.3 million jumped 22% year over year, buoyed by demand for advanced memory solutions for next-generation AI and data center infrastructure. Product revenues increased 22% to $114.3 million.
For the fourth quarter, Rambus expects revenues between $227 million and $233 million, with product revenues projected at $127-$133 million, implying 34% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. Increasing AI infrastructure investments and expanding adoption of DDR5 solutions are expected to sustain growth. Management anticipates strengthening demand heading into 2027.
South Korea-based SK hynix has a strong presence across DRAM, NAND and high-bandwidth memory (“HBM”) markets. Third-quarter 2026 revenues were KRW 104.6 trillion, soaring 328% year over year and 32% sequentially. Growth was driven by rising DRAM and NAND prices, and robust demand trends.
Management highlighted that the mass production and shipments of HBM4 began in the third quarter, while shipments of server DDR5 increased more than 40% sequentially. For the fourth quarter, management expects DRAM shipment volume to increase a mid-20% sequentially, while NAND bit shipments are projected to rise by a mid-single-digit percentage.
NLST Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of the company have inched down 3.5% in the past month compared with the Zacks Computer- Storage Devices industry's decline of 33.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NLST is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 2.63X compared with the industry’s 1.62X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NLST’s earnings for 2026 has been revised upward over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NLST currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.