ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) reviewed fourth quarter and fiscal 2025 results and reiterated its 2026 revenue outlook on its latest earnings call, highlighting progress in new product platforms and expanding engagement with customers outside mainland China.
Financial results: revenue growth, softer margins, and shipments timing
CEO Dr. David Wang said the company ended fiscal 2025 with “a solid year of execution,” citing revenue growth of 9% in the fourth quarter and 15% for the full year. CFO Mark McKechnie reported fourth quarter revenue of $244.0 million, up 9.4% year over year, and full-year revenue of $901.3 million, up 15.2%.
Shipments declined versus the prior year. McKechnie said fourth quarter shipments were $228 million, down 13.5%, and full-year shipments were $854 million, down 12.2%. Management attributed the decline to a difficult comparison against 2024 (when shipments rose 63% year over year) and some new-product shipments pushed into 2026. Wang added that ACM expects 2026 shipment growth to be higher than 2026 revenue growth.
Gross margin came under pressure in the quarter. Wang said gross margin was 41% in Q4 and 44.5% for the full year, noting Q4 was slightly below the company’s long-term target range of 42% to 48%. McKechnie added that Q4 gross margin was down 8.8 percentage points year over year due to product mix and margin pressure in “a few semi-critical products” (about 5 points of headwind) and higher inventory provisions (about 4 points negative impact). For modeling, McKechnie said ACM expects gross margin to be at the lower end of the long-term range in the first half of 2026, with an anticipated lift in the second half partly from higher-margin newer products.
Customer mix and concentration
McKechnie said the company is now disclosing revenue mix by customer type once a year rather than naming specific customers. In 2025, revenue mix (including products, services, and spare parts) was 59% from foundry, logic, and other; 27% from memory; and 14% from packaging and wafer processing.
Customer concentration remained similar year over year. McKechnie said ACM had four customers accounting for more than 10% of sales in 2025, with the largest at 16.9%, followed by 13.5%, 11.6%, and 10.2%, totaling 52.2% of sales. He said 2024 also had four 10% customers totaling 52.2%.
Product roadmap: cleaning, plating, furnace, track, and PECVD
Wang said AI and data center investment is reshaping semiconductor demand toward advanced logic, memory, and advanced packaging, and he positioned ACM’s portfolio as aligned with “high-value process steps.” He emphasized momentum in cleaning and electroplating, while describing 2026 as a stronger cycle for newer platforms.
In cleaning, Wang said 2025 revenue from single wafer cleaning, Tahoe, and semi-critical cleaning tools was $626 million, up 8%, representing 69% of total revenue. He said ACM estimates its cleaning portfolio now addresses 95% of applications and process steps, with the remaining coverage targeted for 100% in 2026. Wang also pointed to several newer cleaning products expected to contribute more meaningfully in 2026, including single-wafer SPM cleaning and N2 bubbling wet etch.
Wang highlighted technical progress in SPM cleaning, including what he described as a new nozzle design enabling a “3 nanoparticle size count of under 20,” which he characterized as best-in-class performance. He said the nozzle design does not require routine DI-water chamber cleaning, which he said improves uptime, and noted a “strong repeat order” for SPM tools for delivery to a modular fab in 2026.
Wang also discussed supercritical CO2 dry tools, saying ACM’s approach reduces CO2 consumption by roughly 40% compared with competitors, lowering operating costs. He said the company completed in-house demonstrations for logic and memory customers at the end of 2025 and has received demo purchase orders from two customers for evaluation tools to be delivered in mid-2026, with additional tools expected to go to multiple customers later this year.
In electroplating, Wang said ACM estimates its market share for ECP in China is now more than 40% and reiterated a long-term goal of 60% or more. He described panel-level packaging as an area of increasing interest and said ACM delivered its first “Ultra ECP ap-p” horizontal panel-level electroplating tool in Q4. Wang argued horizontal plating provides better film uniformity and less cross-contamination than vertical approaches and said ACM expects growing interest as customers seek higher throughput and lower cost for advanced packaging and AI-related demand.
On the furnace business, Wang said revenue was “relatively small” in 2025 but should be more meaningful in 2026. He cited technical breakthroughs in 2025 for LPCVD and ALD/PALD and pointed to demand across applications including high-temperature anneal (including a 1,350-degree version).
For advanced packaging (excluding ECP but including service and spares), Wang said revenue rose 45% in 2025 to $76 million, representing 8% of total revenue. He said ACM offers a portfolio of wet process tools alongside plating products and described progress in track and PECVD. He noted that a high-throughput 300 WPH KrF track tool was delivered for evaluation in September 2025, with mass production qualification expected in 2026. He also said ACM delivered its first Ultra Lith BK system in Q4, marking entry into the display panel market.
Global expansion and manufacturing footprint
Wang said the Lingang Production and R&D Center is now ACM’s primary production center, with two facilities together supporting up to $3 billion in annual output capacity. He also said the company’s “mini line” supports fab-like customer evaluation and is intended to accelerate internal validation and shorten R&D and qualification cycles.
In the U.S., Wang said ACM is accelerating investment in Oregon, with operations expected to begin in the second half of 2026. He said the site will allow customers to test wafers locally and serve as an initial U.S. production base.
Capital position, ACM Shanghai transactions, and 2026 outlook
McKechnie said cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and time deposits totaled $1.13 billion at year-end 2025, up from $441 million at year-end 2024. Net cash was $845.5 million versus $259.1 million a year earlier. He said the $585.4 million increase in net cash included $623 million in net proceeds raised by ACM Shanghai in a private offering during 2025.
Wang added that in February 2026 ACM completed the sale of about 4.8 million ACM Shanghai shares at RMB 160 per share, generating approximately $111 million in gross proceeds. He said proceeds would support R&D, manufacturing expansion (including work on a second building at Lingang), investment in the mini line, and building global sales channels. He also cited efforts to establish U.S. assembly as a way to reduce tariff-related risk. Asked about potential future share sales, Wang said the company would consider funding needs, timing, and the ACM Shanghai stock price, while noting it has multiple financing options in both the U.S. and Shanghai.
On guidance, Wang reiterated ACM’s previously issued 2026 revenue outlook of $1.08 billion to $1.175 billion, implying 25% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. McKechnie added that for 2026, the company expects the first half to represent about 42% to 43% of revenue and the second half about 57% to 58%, with Q1 expected to be about 18% to 20% of the full-year mix.
Operating expenses rose as ACM increased investment. McKechnie reported Q4 operating expenses of $70.6 million, up 21%, and full-year operating expenses of $258.4 million, up 34%. For 2026, he said ACM plans R&D at 16% to 18% of revenue, sales and marketing at 7% to 8%, and G&A around 6%. Management acknowledged operating margin compression and said the company is investing to pursue a longer-term growth opportunity, with an aim to create operating leverage over time as revenue scales faster than operating expenses.
About ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR)
ACM Research, Inc (NASDAQ:ACMR) designs, develops and markets wet processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. The company focuses on advanced wafer cleaning technologies that address critical contamination-control requirements for logic, memory and advanced packaging applications. Since its founding in 2003, ACM Research has engineered modular platform tools that can be configured for a range of spin, scrub and batch cleaning processes.
Its product portfolio encompasses single-wafer spin cleaning systems featuring high-purity megasonic capabilities, dynamic chemical scrubbing modules for post-CMP residue removal and batch-process cleaning equipment designed for high-throughput production environments.
