Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) Q3 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Is the mid-teens growth for Q4 FY26 across all segments (semi, memory, auto/industrial) or concentrated?

General semiconductor and memory are leading the growth, while automotive and industrial are picking up but still lagging.

“general semi and memory are leading the way. I think automotive and industrial has improved... but still, it's generally general semi and memory that's driving the ramp.”

asked by Krish Sankar · answered by Lester Wong

Given strong data center demand, will the usual Q1 (December quarter) seasonality be mitigated in FY27?

While Q1 usually has seasonality, high utilization rates (China >95%, other end markets ~90%), inbound POs extending into Q2 FY27, and customer factory builds suggest strength will continue into H1 FY27, especially for Advanced Solutions.

“based on what we see right now, both the utilization rates are extremely high. In China, it's over 95%. End markets, both memory and general semi is around 90%. We are also seeing a lot of inbound POs even go extending into Q2.”

asked by Krish Sankar · answered by Lester Wong

Given the FY26 target of over $100M, what is the expected growth for TCB in FY27?

TCB revenue is expected to grow significantly in FY27, targeting $150 million to $200 million.

“I think for FY '27, I think for TCB, we are looking at somewhere in the region of $150 million to $200 million.”

asked by Krish Sankar · answered by Lester Wong

Elaborate on the types of wire bonding packaging used in data centers, specifically why ball bonding seems to be driving demand more than wedge bonding for power devices.

A majority of chips in data centers (general infrastructure, networking, communication, power, storage) are traditionally wire bonded. For power management in data centers, ball bonding is more prevalent than wedge bonding, which is still more focused on automotive. 40% of NAND market now goes to data centers.

“wire bonding in data center, basically is, in fact, more than a majority of chips in the data center is actually traditionally packaged using wire bonding. I mean these are for applications like general infrastructure, networking, communication, power and storage.”

asked by Charles Shi · answered by Lester Wong

Can K&S return to the $1.5 billion annual revenue levels seen in 2021-2022?

It's difficult to project the full FY27, but H1 FY27 is expected to be very strong. Reaching 2021-2022 levels (which were extreme due to the pandemic) is a very high bar, and the company will provide more color on H2 FY27 in the November call.

“those were extreme levels. That was like a global pandemic, right? And growth was around the world as people work from home and play from home. So that's a very high bar.”

asked by Charles Shi · answered by Lester Wong

What is the current total capacity for wire and wedge bonder business, and how much has it increased? Can it support a $450M quarterly run rate?

Capacity for the traditional wire bonding business has increased 4x from two quarters ago due to a flexible manufacturing model. While a $450M run rate is not currently seen or guided, the company has supported $400M quarters before and can ramp further if needed to meet customer demand.

“we actually have significantly increased the capacity for the traditional business, the wire bonding business, right? I mean, from about 2 quarters ago, we have now increased capacity 4x”

asked by David Duley · answered by Lester Wong

Discuss opportunities and investments in hybrid bonding and panel-level packaging.

Seeing significant interest in panel-level packaging from IDMs, foundries, and OSATs, with active engagement and significant investment. For hybrid bonding, a tool with unique features is planned for delivery to a customer in H1 FY27.

“We are investing significantly in our panel project... We are planning to deliver a hybrid bonding tool to a customer in the first half of fiscal '27.”

asked by David Duley · answered by Lester Wong