ACM Research posts 36% Q2 revenue growth, raises full-year outlook

ACM Research (NASDAQ: ACMR) reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $292.9 million, a 36% year-on-year increase, and raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $1.125 billion to $1.175 billion, up from a prior floor of $1.08 billion. The Fremont, California-based semiconductor equipment maker cited strong demand for its electroplating and advanced packaging tools as the primary growth drivers.

Revenue from ECP (front-end and packaging), furnace and related technologies surged 168% year on year to $128.5 million in the quarter, while the advanced packaging category excluding ECP grew 153% to $31.4 million. By contrast, single-wafer cleaning and Tahoe products declined from $155 million to $133 million, reflecting a deliberate portfolio shift as newer product lines scale.

The numbers

GAAP gross margin was 46.0%, down from 48.5% in the same quarter a year earlier, which the company attributed to product mix and currency effects. Operating income came in at $49.7 million on a GAAP basis, against $31.7 million a year prior. GAAP net income attributable to ACM Research was $89.0 million, elevated in part by a $69.6 million unrealised gain on short-term investments held by its Shanghai subsidiary; on a non-GAAP basis, which strips out stock-based compensation and the investment mark-to-market, net income was $44.5 million, up from $37.3 million.

The company ended the quarter with $1.0 billion in net cash and total cash, restricted cash and short-term time deposits of $1.36 billion. Total shipments reached $281.5 million, also up 36% year on year.

A manufacturing milestone accompanied the financial results: ACM shipped its 2,000th electroplating chamber during the quarter, having shipped its 1,500th in 2025 and its 500th in 2022, suggesting an accelerating deployment curve across logic, memory and 3D packaging customers.

President and chief executive David Wang said: "We see 2026 as a 'Big Year' for new products as we proceed with customer evaluations and product ramps across multiple platforms, including SPM Cleaning, Track, PECVD and horizontal panel-level plating for advanced packaging."

The raised guidance incorporates management's assessment of trade-policy headwinds, customer spending scenarios, supply-chain constraints and the timing of tool acceptance by new customers. ACM also received its first production order for a 510 x 515 mm Ultra ECP ap-p panel-plating tool from an existing mainland China customer, with delivery scheduled for the first half of 2027, alongside an evaluation order from a new Asian panel manufacturer due in Q4 2026.

Market context and competitive landscape

ACM competes in a semiconductor equipment market dominated by Applied Materials, Lam Research and Tokyo Electron at the top end, but has carved a niche in cleaning and electroplating for advanced packaging, a category growing rapidly on the back of high-bandwidth memory and chiplet-based designs. Demand for advanced packaging capacity is structurally linked to AI accelerator production, where HBM stacking and 2.5D interposer integration have become essential to meeting bandwidth requirements.

The company's growing exposure to mainland China customers is a continued source of investor scrutiny. US Bureau of Industry and Security export controls have progressively tightened restrictions on advanced semiconductor equipment sold into China, and ACM's guidance language explicitly flags trade policy as a variable. The company's Oregon facility expansion is positioned, at least in part, as a hedge against further restrictions on its China operations, though it gave no timeline for Oregon reaching material revenue contribution.

Gross margin compression, down 250 basis points year on year on a GAAP basis, is worth monitoring as the product mix continues to shift toward newer categories. ACM's long-term model targets a gross margin range of 42% to 48%; at 46% the company is currently operating above the midpoint, but further mix shift toward lower-margin advanced packaging tools could narrow that buffer. The company's long-term revenue target of $4 billion implies roughly three-and-a-half times the current annualised run rate, a trajectory that will require sustained share gains outside its existing customer base.