Camtek Ltd Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. I would like to welcome all of you to Camtek's results Zoom webinar. My name is Kenny Green, and I'm part of the Investor Relations team at Camtek. Operator instructions were provided. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded and the recording will be available from the link in the earnings press release and on Camtek's website from tomorrow. You should have all received by now the company's press release. If not, please view it on the company's website. With me today on the call, we have Mr. Rafi Amit, CEO; Mr. Moshe Eisenberg, CFO; and Mr. Ramy Langer, COO. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that the statements made by management on this call will contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Those statements are subject to a range of changes, risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to vary materially. For more information regarding the risk factors that may impact Camtek's results, please review Camtek's earnings release and SEC filings and specifically the forward-looking statements and risk factors identified in the results press release issued earlier today and such other factors discussed in Camtek's most recent annual report on SEC Form 20-F. Camtek does not undertake the obligation to update these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. Today's discussion of our financial results will be presented on a non-GAAP financial basis unless otherwise specified. As a reminder, a detailed reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP financial results can be found in today's earnings release. And now I'd like to hand the call over to Mr. Rafi Amit, Camtek's CEO. Rafi, please go ahead.

Thanks, Kenny. Hello, everyone. I will open with a review of the quarterly financial results. First quarter revenue reached $121.7 million, slightly ahead of our guidance. The gross margin was 51% and operating income totaled $31 million. Approximately 50% of revenue was driven by AI-related products while an additional 20% came from other advanced packaging applications. The remaining revenue was generated across a broad range of applications with a mix similar to the previous quarter. We are excited to report that we have experienced an unprecedented start to the year in terms of incoming orders. This exceptional demand has significantly strengthened our confidence in the outlook of the remainder of 2026 and provides a strong foundation as we look ahead to 2027. To provide additional color, we have already received order and forecast from two HBM manufacturers for our 3D metrology and 2D inspection steps, representing expected revenue exceeding $260 million for 2026 and 2027. On top of this opportunity, we continue to see significant incremental business from these two customers as well as from other HPC players later this year and into 2027, further reinforcing our growth outlook. We see a compelling opportunity in the OSAT domain which is currently undergoing a significant wave of investment in advanced packaging, particularly for AI-related capacity expansion. As the leading provider in this domain for both 2D inspection and 3D metrology, we expect to be a major beneficiary of this trend. Based on our backlog and pipeline, our revenue guidance for the second quarter is between $129 million to $131 million. In accordance with our new incoming business I mentioned earlier, we can already say that we expect a surge in revenue in the second half of 2026 with over 25% higher revenues compared with the first half with a potential to see additional upside based on timing of orders and deliveries between Q4 2026 and early 2027. Our goal has been and we have been highly successful in achieving it to maintain our leadership in market share in 3D metrology while continuing to gain additional share in the 2D inspection market. Our recent order wins clearly demonstrate the success of this objective and we are extremely proud of this achievement. Last year, we introduced two new systems, Eagle G5 and Hawk, built on state-of-the-art technologies. These products are designed to support the industry's evolving roadmap in both inspection and metrology. As the industry faces increasing complexity, tighter performance requirements, including sub-6-micron bump height metrology and inspection capability down to 100-nanometer along with growing demand for higher throughput, Camtek has continued to invest heavily in platform innovation, advanced AI-based algorithms and software capabilities. Market adoption of these two products has been especially strong. Together, they account for 30% of our revenue last year and we expect revenue from this platform to double in 2026. Leveraging our dedicated AI expertise and strategic collaboration with Visual Layer, we have developed cutting-edge capabilities in detection, metrology and classification. These two new capabilities are already delivering breakthrough performance, including significantly higher throughput, improved detection sensitivity, reduced false alarms and enhanced measurement accuracy, further strengthening our competitive edge. We have demonstrated these capabilities to strategic customers and received very enthusiastic feedback. The innovation we have developed is expected to enable us to expand our 2D market share and win additional process steps across the manufacturing flow, including the front end. This is expected to significantly increase our total addressable market to over $2 billion in 2027. Over the coming months, we plan to complete integrating all these new AI features into our systems. A few weeks ago, we announced the acquisition of Visual Layer. I am now happy to report that we managed to close this transaction a couple of weeks ago and have already started to fully integrate their technology and capabilities into Camtek products. I would like to provide additional color on the rationale behind this acquisition. Over the past year, we collaborated with Visual Layer on an AI-focused project and integrated its technology into our products. The success of this partnership led us to acquire the company, enabling the full integration of its technology, AI research capabilities and engineering team into Camtek's groundbreaking AI initiatives. Through Visual Layer, we plan to further expand our offering by developing a dedicated AI-based software product line. To sum my script, we entered 2026 with record order intake, significantly strengthening our confidence in the strong outlook for both 2026 and 2027. Demand remained robust across AI, HBM and advanced packaging, while our continued investment in AI-based inspection and metrology is further reinforcing our technology leadership, expanding our market opportunity and positioning us for sustained growth. And now Moshe will review the financial results. Moshe?

Thanks, Rafi. In my financial summary ahead, I will provide the results on a non-GAAP basis. The reconciliation between the GAAP results and the non-GAAP results appears in the table at the end of the press release issued earlier today. First quarter revenues came in at $121.7 million, slightly above the first quarter of 2025. Gross profit for the quarter was $62 million. The gross margin for the quarter was 51%, similar to the previous quarter. I expect the gross margin to improve in the second half of the year, in line with our strong revenue forecast and the contribution of the Hawk and the Gen 5, which are expected to double in revenues versus last year. Operating expenses in the quarter were $30.9 million compared to $24.4 million in the first quarter of last year and $28.7 million in the previous quarter. Operating profit in the quarter was $31.1 million compared to the $37.3 million reported in the first quarter of last year and $36.7 million in the fourth quarter. Operating expenses have been increasing mainly in the R&D and sales and marketing areas to support the expected strong growth in business volume. In addition, operating expenses went up due to the weaker U.S. dollar against the shekel. As a result, operating margin was 25.5% compared to 31.5% and 28.6%, respectively. We expect operating margin to return to around the 30% level in the second half of the year. Financial income for the quarter was $8.1 million compared to $5.4 million reported last year and $8.2 million in the previous quarter. Net income for the first quarter of 2026 was $35.3 million or $0.70 per diluted share. This is compared to a net income of $38.7 million or $0.79 per share in the first quarter of last year. Total diluted number of shares as of the end of the Q1 was 51.4 million. Turning to some high-level balance sheet and cash flow metrics. Cash and cash equivalents, including short- and long-term deposits and marketable securities as of March 31, 2026, were $850 million at a similar level as of year-end. With respect to inventory, in the last few months, we have been working to optimize the level of inventory to the point that it is now at $116.7 million. As we are heading into a strong growth period, we expect to see an increase from this level in the coming quarters. Due to timing of collections, accounts receivables went up to $131.7 million compared with $90.8 million in the previous quarter, which resulted in a lower cash generation this quarter. As Rafi said before, we expect revenues of $129 million to $131 million in the second quarter. And with that, Rafi, Ramy and I will be open to take your questions. Kenny?

Operator instructions were provided. Our first question will be from Charles Shi of Needham.

Maybe the first one, I want to ask you about the Visual Layer acquisition. And when it comes to AI algorithm, there's obviously a decision between either make by yourself or buy it from somebody else. So the question is this, why did the Camtek team decide to buy Visual Layer and why make this very specific acquisition now? I'm more asking about the timing of this. And I think you provided some color in the prepared remarks. I did hear that, but what unique capability does Visual Layer provide that previously Camtek in-house capability did not have? I want to ask you about this first.

So thank you for the question, Charles. Visual Layer has been working with us, as Rafi noted in the prepared notes, for over a year. We know them actually longer. They developed a very unique technology for annotation, acquisition and classification. We started to work with them and realized the technology is excellent and we began to implement it in our products. In parallel, it's not only about buying AI. We have a very large team here at Camtek that is working on the development of all the algorithms. This is the know-how that we've been developing for the past few years. So really what you are seeing here is a combination of Visual Layer technology plus the capabilities that we have in-house. Together, I think this is a very good combination. We have their people, their researchers; they are building up our current team. So it's a win-win. It's technology, it's more researchers, more capabilities and the total ownership of their technology. This is the reason for the acquisition. Moving forward, it will give us a lot of capabilities so we can implement our AI technology very fast, which we believe has a lot of advantages compared with our competitors.

I think you mentioned about maybe offering AI-based software to customers. I want to get some thoughts on what that means. Do you plan to offer software as a stand-alone product? Or does it have to be attached to the Camtek inspection metrology hardware? Either way, when do you think software can start to generate some revenue stream that becomes reportable?

Okay. So first of all, let me be very clear. We are going to introduce, in the very next few months, our AI capabilities in inspection and metrology to our customers. As Rafi mentioned earlier, the capabilities of this technology are breakthrough, both in terms of throughput, in terms of accuracy, in terms of our ability to detect very small defects and achieve high levels of measurement on our metrology side. These capabilities will be implemented in the very near future. Our key customers have already been approached and we have shown them the capabilities, and we received enthusiastic feedback from them. When we'll see this in products and revenues, it's too early to be precise, but I do believe that we will see the contribution of revenues from these capabilities in the second half of this year.

I'm sorry, I would like to add a few sentences about it. As we mentioned in the script, there are two stages. Number one, there is a lot of potential to add a software package to customers that already use Camtek's installed base. There are thousands of systems in the installed base; many of them we can give a software package, including the AI capability, and it improves their performance. So this is something where we can sell only a software package to this customer. This provides an additional revenue stream. On top of that, beyond the Camtek software, the Visual Layer team has experience in the industry, providing some software solutions for the semiconductor industry. This will be the second phase, after first completing the package for all the customers that use Camtek systems.

Maybe a last question from me. Any updated thoughts on the China revenue growth this year? Previously, I believe you talked about it being very strong in revenue dollars, but probably not going to repeat last year's very, very strong double-digit year-on-year growth this year. And the growth for the overall business this year seems to be more driven by the non-China market. Can you provide any updated thoughts there?

So Charles, in general, I agree with your comments. China continues to be in a positive trend and our business from there is healthy. But as you mentioned, the overall major contribution will come out of non-China markets this year and that is the situation. So I think your comment is correct.

Our next question is going to be from Brian Chin of Stifel.

Maybe first, on lead times with the amount of growth that you're seeing in the business and order pickup, where are they roughly for Eagle and for Hawk, respectively? And relative to that 25% half-on-half growth, which I think would equate to something like 10% to 15% quarterly sequentials, do you have a lot of flexibility to drive incremental growth in the current year? Or does some of that demand maybe have to shift into next year?

So thank you for the question. All in all, Brian, we have the capabilities. As we mentioned in the prepared notes, we have enough inventory and we are ramping the inventory in such a way that we will be able to respond to any number that comes. We talked about the forecast about the very important order of $260 million for 2026 and 2027. From a supply chain capabilities perspective, we have no issues. We feel very comfortable with our capabilities. From a lead times point of view, the Eagle lead times are usually around three months; we've been producing it for quite a few years, and the system is built in such a way that we will be able to respond even if we get additional requirements from our customers. On the Hawk, our lead times are anywhere between three to six months. Again, we have enough flexibility to respond to any additional orders if they come.

And of the $2 billion SAM that you discussed for 2027, for reference, what do you think your SAM was or will be this year? And can you maybe outline a few of the major new areas, applications or adjacencies you plan to address in '27?

So first of all, we said above $2 billion, and we think that the additional market available to us will be an additional $0.5 billion. So if we're today anywhere between about $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion, we will add about an additional $0.5 billion. I think the main applications that we are seeing are primarily in inspection. Today, our inspection business is about two-thirds of our overall business. It's a market that we can still expand into and we have targeted a number of applications starting from the back end to the front end: compound semiconductors, CMOS image sensors, RF. There are quite a few applications where we can inspect with our current business. We've been doing it for a while, and we are very confident that in the next year, with the capabilities that we'll be introducing with our AI technology, we have an opportunity to leapfrog our capabilities in inspection, and that's the area where I believe we can grow our business.

Our next question will be from Michael Mani of Bank of America.

I was hoping you could talk more about the incremental 25% half-on-half growth you're seeing in the second half relative to 90 days ago or so. Where is that strength really coming from versus the HBM side, chiplet side or even on a product basis between Eagle or Hawk? How has that kind of visibility and order strength changed?

So thank you, Michael. Let me explain how I see the market. In our experience, the advanced packaging segment tends to lag behind the front end by one to two quarters. You see this in both the beginning and end of cycles. I think what we are seeing today is the market starting to ramp. Of course, AI is the engine and fuel that's driving the entire industry and our business as well. If we were hesitant a quarter ago and a couple quarters ago about how 2026 would look, we are now seeing order flow that is unprecedented for this time. We definitely see the surge in the business in the second half and into 2027. We also see our other businesses and applications growing in parallel. It's a lot of different pockets: OSAT business and across all regions. So overall, the market is starting to ramp. We are seeing it very clearly across regions, not just in one specific region. We expect to start seeing this growth already in the second quarter and expect it to continue into 2027.

Very clear. For my follow-up, I wanted to ask about the chiplet business. Your U.S. chiplet IDM customer seems to be on a better footing now, and in particular, they're talking about strength in their advanced packaging franchise with potentially billions of sales in the pipeline. I know about a year to a year and a half ago revenue from that particular customer was nearly zero. What does your visibility for that particular account look like over the next two years? Is your share position meaningfully different there? And are you seeing any strength from the photonics and optics trend, given incremental hybrid bonding applications? Some of your peers have talked about incremental inspection strength there.

Okay. So definitely, our position with the customer you're referring to is meaningful. I assume I understand which customer you mean. We have a very good and close relationship there. I think we will start to see business towards the latter part of this year and into 2027. Our position there is strong. Regarding photonics, we are involved and there are opportunities in the photonics area. The magnitude of that business is smaller compared with larger applications like HBM chiplets. Photonics is not the same size as that business, but we are getting applications and I think it will be a business; the magnitude, however, is still early to quantify.

Our next question will be from Shane Brett with Morgan Stanley.

My first question is on China. Regarding the China business, how should I think about the competitive environment and your ability to continue winning there? It would be great to receive some color on how you see domestic and international competition playing out.

So I think in general, there is obviously international competition there from some of the bigger players. In parallel, we are seeing many local players trying to compete with us. The disadvantage of the local players is that there are many smaller entities and only one meaningful player really competes with us in China. I assume we will feel pressure at the lower end of applications. All in all, because we've been very successful from the beginning of the semiconductor industry growth in China, we have a very large installed base that enables us to continue and expand the business there. There is a lot of OSAT buildup in China. They see that we are very dominant in this market and that gives us opportunities. So yes, there is pressure, mainly from local players, and also from foreign players, but we have a very strong position. I expect a positive trend in the foreseeable future in China.

Got it. For my follow-up, your process control peers and front-end edge tech companies seem to be seeing advanced packaging growth of 50% or higher this year. I understand there can be differences in definition of advanced packaging. If we take your second half guidance, it implies your HPC revenue should grow closer to 20% year-over-year. You outperformed in 2025, and throughout this call the sense I'm getting is you see a lot of strength into 2027. Can you help me understand the discrepancy in the 2026 growth profiles between what you're seeing and maybe what the broader peer set is seeing?

Thank you, Shane. If the question suggests that we are losing market share, the answer is absolutely no. Our 2026 growth is measured against record revenues in 2025, which may not be true for other competitors. So first, we're not comparing the same bases. As noted in our prepared remarks, we plan to increase our market share both in 2D inspection and 3D in the advanced packaging area. Looking at the shift of business we will see in the second half and what we estimate into the first half of 2027, the growth will be very significant and closer to the numbers you mentioned. So I think that's the right way to compare us with our competitors.

Our next question will be from Edward Yang of Oppenheimer.

My first question would be on the difficult situation in the Middle East. How are you managing through that? Have you seen any impact so far? And a reminder of your manufacturing footprint — I believe most of it is in Northern Israel, but Germany is about 10% and expanding. So if you could expand on those issues that would be great.

All right. Thank you, Edward. First of all, as we said in previous calls and we've discussed with investors and analysts, our facility is working as usual. We have a phenomenal team in Israel. The team is committed, understands the responsibility it has and the commitments to customers. We've not missed even one shipment throughout the entire few months. This situation is difficult, but we are able to execute and operate both in manufacturing and on the R&D side. Most of the people are coming to work; very few work from home and usually just one day a week. From a capacity point of view, we are able to ramp and we are seeing near 100% performance as if the situation did not exist at all. As you said, we are going to add capacity in Germany; this is ongoing. We've been able to overcome the situation and I'm sure that we'll continue to operate and execute the same way we have in the past months and years.

Okay. For my follow-up, could you expand more on your competitive differentiation? It sounds like you're very confident about Hawk and Eagle G5. Other than technology, what is Camtek's advantage? In the past, you've talked about customization at scale. Is it pricing, service? Some color around that would be great.

I think we mentioned it in the prepared notes. In the first year of introducing Eagle G5 and Hawk, 30% of our revenues came from these new machines and we plan to at least double sales of these two products. That says something about customer confidence and product performance. From a high level, there are two things. First, mechanical capabilities that are state-of-the-art — we use very precise platforms with strong optical and other hardware capabilities. Second, coupled with that is our AI capability, which, with the Visual Layer acquisition, will create another differentiation. Beyond that, OSATs and customers in China require a lot of flexibility. Built into our machines and manufacturing capabilities, there is a lot of flexibility for customization, quick deliveries and the ability to respond to new customer requirements remotely. We also have a strong customer support organization. So the combination of relationships with customers, product flexibility, product quality and strong support together create Camtek's competitive advantages.

Our next question will be from Vedvati Shrotre of Evercore.

The first one I had is we're seeing a lot of component pricing increases, and at the same time DRAM prices are going up. Is that a potential headwind to gross margins? Are you seeing that impact your margins at all?

So obviously, there is some pressure from the supply chain. At the same time, we continue to implement cost reductions in our machines. All in all, we expect to see improvement in gross margin in the second half of the year.

Understood. And then on the orders you talked about for HBM, how does that split into 2026 and 2027?

We didn't include a detailed split in our prepared notes, and I don't want to be imprecise. There is a significant number already for 2026 shipments and the rest will come in 2027, but there is a big number coming this year.

So that will end our question-and-answer session. Within the coming few hours, we'll upload the recording of this call to the Camtek website. And with that, I'd like to hand the call back to Rafi for any concluding remarks. Rafi, please go ahead.

Okay. I want to express my gratitude to all of you for your ongoing interest in our business. A special thanks goes to our employees and management team for their outstanding performance. To our investors, I appreciate your long-term support. I look forward to our next conversation in the upcoming quarter. Thank you, and goodbye.