Given that shipments are expected to outpace revenue in 2026, does this suggest that 2027 will be an above-trend growth year?

While 2027 is still distant, new products like panel-level copper plating are expected to contribute to revenue and shipments in that year. The company's multi-product strategy and new product lines are anticipated to drive significant growth over the next few years, building on the momentum from cleaning, copper plating, furnace, PECVD, and track systems. “Well, I mean, '27 is a little bit far away, right? But I want to see that our -- let me put it this way, 2026, we gained a lot of share, I mean, a PO or the customer interest for our cleaning tool, obviously, copper plating tool, right? Copper plating, you can see grows a lot. And also, we see the interest -- people were interest our furnace and the PECVD and track system.”

What factors are driving the sustained strength and significant growth in the ECP, Frontend Packaging, and other Technologies segment, and which customers/tools are primarily adopting these solutions?

The strength is primarily driven by the plating business, including front-end applications, High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), and advanced packaging for 2.5D applications. This growth also encompasses advanced packaging wet process tools such as coater developers, wet etchers, PR strippers, and cleaning tools. “Yes. I want to say that this plating business has been growing a lot, right? Obviously, front end growing and also you can see HBM is also driving. And obviously, advanced packaging for all the 2.5D and application also growing and driving too.”

ACMR

ACM Research (ACMR) Q1 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Mar 2026 (Q1 FY26)· Information Technology· May 7, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

ACM Research Q1 FY26 — Strong Revenue Growth Driven by ECP and Advanced Packaging

ACM Research delivered a solid Q1 FY26, with strong revenue growth driven by its ECP and Advanced Packaging segments, while the cleaning segment experienced a temporary decline. The company is seeing significant traction with new products like single-wafer SPM and panel-level horizontal plating, supported by its Lingang mini-line for faster qualification. ACM reiterated its full-year revenue outlook, expecting shipments to continue outpacing revenue, and is investing in global expansion and R&D to achieve its long-term growth targets.

Highlights

Revenue increased 34% year-over-year to $231.3 million.
ECP and Advanced Packaging revenue grew 204.9% and 62% respectively.
Shipments were up 54% year-over-year to $240.7 million, outpacing revenue growth.
Gross margin was 46.5%, above the midpoint of the long-term target range of 42%-48%.
Significant ramp expected for single-wafer SPM tools with 15-20 units to be delivered by year-end.

Concerns

Single-wafer cleaning revenue declined 5.5% year-over-year to $122.5 million.
Non-GAAP operating margin decreased to 18.1% from 20.7% in Q1 2025.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Full-year 2026 Revenue	$1.08 billion to $1.175 billion high materiality	FY26 · 2026	High
Annual Shipment Growth	outpace revenue growth medium materiality	FY26 · 2026	High
R&D as % of Sales	16% to 18% medium materiality	FY26 · 2026	High
Sales and Marketing as % of Sales	8% to 9% medium materiality	FY26 · 2026	High
G&A as % of Sales	5% to 6% medium materiality	FY26 · 2026	High
Effective Tax Rate	8% to 10% medium materiality	FY26 · 2026	High
Capital Expenditures	about $175 million high materiality	FY26 · 2026	High
Cleaning Segment Mix	normalize towards the 65% level medium materiality	FY26 · 2026	Medium

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Single-wafer cleaning, Tahoe and semi-critical cleaning Represented 53% of total sales. Included very little contribution from new products in Q1. Shipments for cleaning grew 32% YoY.	$122.5 million	-5.5%	—	—
ECP front-end packaging, furnace and other technologies Represented 36.4% of total sales. Majority was ECP front end, with very little contribution from furnace.	$84.2 million	204.9%	—	—
Advanced packaging (excluding ECP, services and spares) Represented 10.6% of total sales. Includes coders, developers, etchers, scrubbers, and vacuum clean flux tools.	$24.5 million	62%	—	—

ACMR operating KPIs by quarter

ACMR operating KPIs stated on its earnings calls, by fiscal quarter
KPI	Dec 2025 Q4 FY25	This call Mar 2026 Q1 FY26	Jun 2026 Q2 FY26	Change vs prior quarter
Shipments	$228M Total shipments were $228 million for the fourth quarter, down 13.5% and $854 million for the full year of 2025, down 12.2%. Source: earnings call transcript	$240.7M Total shipments were $240.7 million, up 53.6%. Source: earnings call transcript	$281.5M Total shipments were $281.5 million, up 36.4%. Source: earnings call transcript	+17%

Operating figures the company stated on at least two of the calls shown, checked against each call's transcript. Click a figure to read the sentence. A dash means it was not stated that quarter.

Orderbook & backlog

Panel-level horizontal electroplating backlog building a backlog Q1 FY26

Supporting both 515x510mm and 310x310mm format panels. Successful customer evaluation expected to lead to volume production orders.

Cleaning project backlog increased 50% first 6 months

up 50% vs prior year first 6 months

Reflects increased purchase orders received for cleaning products.

Product announcements

Product	Type	Timeline
ACM Planetary Family	launch	SEMICON China
Single-wafer SPM tools	milestone	by year-end
Panel-level horizontal electroplating platform	milestone	Q4 last year (first tool delivery), later this year (additional evaluation)
PECVD silicon carbon nitride system	launch	April
High-throughput 300 WPH KrF track tool	milestone	September last year (first tool delivery), this year (mass production qualification)

Deals & partnerships

ACM Shanghai (minority investors) Minority share sale of ACM Shanghai $110 million

Completed in February, generating gross proceeds that are now on U.S. accounts to support global expansion.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange Proposed H-share secondary listing for ACM Shanghai

ACM Shanghai announced a proposed H-share secondary listing in Hong Kong in April.

Capital programs

Lingang Facility (First Building) in volume production

The first building of the Lingang facility is currently in volume production.

Lingang Facility (Second Building) planned

Benefit:up to $3 billion in annual output (combined with first building)

The second building is planned to open later this year, contributing to a combined annual output capacity of up to $3 billion.

Lingang Mini-Line fully operational

Start: H2 last year

Benefit:accelerating R&D effort, speeding up joint R&D collaboration, shortening qualification cycle, enhancing capital efficiency

Went into full operation in the second half of last year, providing a fully experimental R&D line in a Class 100 Environment. It allows for customer-specific validation before shipment, reducing on-site qualification time.

Oregon Facility on track

Benefit:in-house demo lab with multiple tools, capability to produce U.S.-made tools

Investment continues, on track for an in-house demo lab and U.S.-made tool production by year-end 2026, strengthening position as a key local partner.

Risks & headwinds

Cleaning segment revenue decline Q1 FY26

down 5.5% YoY to $122.5 million

Mitigation:Problem-solving efforts over 12 months, Lingang production line usage, and strong interest in proprietary single-wafer SPM tools with 15-20 units expected to be delivered by year-end.

Potential supply chain risk Q1 FY26

Raw materials inventory up $28.3 million QoQ to $377.9 million

Mitigation:Made additional strategic purchases of raw materials to support production plans and mitigate potential supply chain risk.

What to watch in Q2 FY26

Single-wafer SPM deliveries

by year-end 2026

Current Little contribution to Q1 revenue

Target 15 to 20 units delivered by year-end

Why it matters

Successful delivery of these units will demonstrate the ramp-up of a key new product and its potential to capture significant market share in the cleaning segment.

I'm pleased to announce today that we expect a significant production ramping of single-wafer SPM production product line with more than 15 to 20 units to be delivered by year-end across our customer base.

Find out whether ACMR delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

What caused the year-over-year decline in the cleaning segment revenue in Q1, and how will it ramp up for the rest of the year?

The Q1 decline was attributed to difficulties with new applications in 2025, which have largely been resolved with problem-solving efforts and the Lingang production line. Cleaning shipments grew 32% year-over-year in Q1, and project backlog increased 50% for the first six months. The proprietary SPM technology, with superior particle performance, is expected to drive significant market share gains, with 15-20 units to be delivered by year-end.

“And the 2025 we start to see our cleaning product has been going through the many applications, right, including those mature nodes and all the advanced nodes. So the 2025, we're still facing some difficulty and also problem, right, for those new applications. And with the 12 months, our problem solving with the customer, especially most important in the our Lingang production has started using. So those kind of problems actually we're mostly solving already.”

asked by Sujeeva De Silva · answered by David Wang

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

New Product Momentum and Planetary Family

ACM is seeing a significant impact from new products in 2026, including Tahoe, single-wafer SPM, and vertical furnace. The company expects increased shipments of evaluation tools for panel-level horizontal plating, low-pressure flux cleaning, high-throughput track, and PECVD tools. At SEMICON China, ACM announced the 'ACM Planetary Family,' organizing its tool portfolio to align with key semiconductor manufacturing steps, showcasing its comprehensive multi-product offering.

Single-Wafer SPM Technology and Ramp

A substantial production ramp is anticipated for ACM's proprietary single-wafer SPM tools, with 15 to 20 units slated for delivery by year-end. This technology demonstrates superior particle performance, achieving fewer than 15 particles at 15-nanometer, and offers a maintenance-free solution, unlike competitors.

ACM believes this innovative hot SPM tool, which addresses 30% of the cleaning market, will capture significant market share due to strong global customer interest.

Advanced Packaging Leadership and Global Shipments

The company is experiencing strong momentum in electroplating, particularly with its panel-level horizontal plating solutions (515x510mm and 310x310mm formats) gaining traction globally. ACM shipped its panel-level vacuum cleaning system to a leading global semiconductor packaging manufacturer outside Mainland China and multiple wafer-level advanced packaging systems to an OSAT customer in Singapore, positioning itself for 2.5D and 3D integration challenges.

Lingang Mini-Line Accelerates R&D and Qualification

The Lingang mini-line, fully operational since the second half of last year, is a critical asset for ACM's R&D and customer collaboration. This Class 100 environment allows for pre-shipment validation of new products, significantly shortening qualification cycles and accelerating time to revenue.

This approach has already proven beneficial for the PECVD silicon carbon nitride system and single-wafer SPM tools, reducing on-site qualification time from over a year to a few quarters.

Global Expansion and Oregon Facility Development

ACM is actively expanding its global footprint, projecting over 20 tools installed outside Mainland China by the end of 2026, serving approximately 10 customers across 5 countries. The Oregon facility remains on track to establish an in-house demo lab and commence U.S.-made tool production by year-end 2026, which is expected to strengthen relationships with global customers and support local production scaling.

ACM Shanghai's Strategic Role and Capital Initiatives

ACM Shanghai continues to be a vital component of the company's strategy, serving as a leading supplier in Asia and a source of capital for global expansion. A minority share sale in February generated $110 million in gross proceeds, intended to support U.S. expansion and broader global growth. Additionally, ACM Shanghai announced a proposed H-share secondary listing in Hong Kong in April.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.