Formfactor Inc Q1 FY2022 Earnings Call

Thank you. Today the Company will be discussing GAAP P&L results and some important non-GAAP results intended to supplement your understanding of the Company's financials. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures, and other financial information, are available in the press release issued today by the Company and on the Investor Relations section of our website. Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Examples of such forward-looking statements include those with respect to the projections of financial and business performance, future macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions, the benefits of acquisitions and investments in capacity and in new technologies, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, anticipated industry trends, the disruption in our supply chain, the impacts of regulatory changes, the anticipated demand for products, our ability to develop, produce, and sell products, and the assumptions upon which such statements are based. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed during this call. Information on risk factors and uncertainties is contained in our most recent filing on Form 10-K with the SEC for the fiscal year ended 2021. And in our other SEC filings, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, and in our press release issued today. Forward-looking statements are made as of today, April 27th, 2022, and we assume no obligation to update them. With that, we will now turn the call over to FormFactor's CEO, Michael Slessor. Michael?

Thanks, Stan. And thanks everyone for joining us today. FormFactor again posted strong results in the first quarter, delivering the second highest quarterly revenue in company history, exceeding the non-GAAP gross and operating margin levels of our target financial model, and producing the highest quarterly free cash flow in company history. This momentum continues in the second quarter, as we manage through a variety of challenges to utilize our added capacity in meeting growing customer demand for our products. Like many manufacturing companies, we continue to face supply chain and labor headwinds, both in terms of availability and cost. We expect these issues to continue at least through the middle part of 2022, and our team remains focused on tactically resolving components and labor constraints as they emerge, while taking steps to moderate the impact of inflation in both manufacturing and operating expenses. Our long-term investments in automation and vertical integration have helped us partially mitigate the effect of these headwinds and have contributed to our strong results for the past several quarters. Before we move to market level details, I'd like to share some exciting news on the customer plan. FormFactor was recently recognized by Intel as a 2022 distinguished supplier in their Epic award program for our dedication to excellence, partnership, inclusion, and continuous quality improvement. Only 26 of Intel's thousands of suppliers worldwide earned this award this year. And we're extremely proud that Intel recognized FormFactor's recent performance and commitment to supplier excellence with its second-highest honor. Turning now to segment and market level details; in Foundry and Logic Probe cards, our largest business, demand sustained at an overall level comparable to the strong fourth quarter which we expected to find in RF, offset by stronger Foundry demand. Both the top Foundry and the largest logic IDM were 10% customers in the quarter. Key drivers for the Foundry business were 7 and 5 nanometer designs in high performance compute, along with mobile and RF. And we expect a similar demand profile in the second quarter. IDM microprocessor demand continues to be a diverse mix of client PC and server designs, primarily on the 10-nanometer node. Foundry and Logic customers are investing in both leading-edge capacity, as evident from record levels of wafer fab equipment spending, and early stage innovative advanced packaging architectures, like EMIB, Foveros, and 3D Fabric. These chiplet or tile-based integration schemes drive both higher test intensity, which expands the number of Probe cards required per wafer out, and test complexity, which raises the performance requirements for the Probe card. Advanced probe card architectures like FormFactor's MEMS technology are essential to meet these challenging technical requirements at a compelling cost of ownership. These are short delivery lead times needed to support our customers’ rapid and dynamic production ramps. To maintain our competitive advantage, we're investing heavily in R&D while collaborating with our key foundry, logic, and memory customers to meet these challenging technical and commercial requirements with our proprietary 2D and 3D MEMS technologies. At the same time, we're investing to ensure we have sufficiently vertically integrated MEMS production capacity to meet the growing demand for our innovative and differentiated MEMS probe card technologies. Turning now to DRAM. As expected, first quarter demand for DRAM probe cards reduced from the near record levels we delivered throughout much of 2021, and we expect second quarter DRAM probe card demand to be comparable through the first quarter. New design activity from each of the major DRAM manufacturers remained healthy with a mix of new DDR4 and DDR5 designs in both mobile and PC server applications. As we often note, probe cards are consumable specific to each new chip design, and so we benefit both from node transitions and from the release of new designs on existing nodes. The current DRAM activity is a diverse mix of designs across multiple technology nodes and memory architectures from each of the leading DRAM manufacturers. Our systems business also delivered strong results in the first quarter, with revenue near $40 million, a level that we expect to achieve again in the second quarter. Paired with its solid financial contribution and revenue diversification, the systems business provides significant strategic value, enabling us to engage with key customers in early characterization and yield improvement of novel new devices as part of our Lab to Fab strategy. These engagements range from 300 millimeter wafer probers, for mainstream 2-nanometer seam loss development, to optical metrology and inspection tools for yield improvements in advanced packaging and chiplet applications, to wafer and chip-scale cryogenic probers for developments of tomorrow's quantum processors. We continue to expand the served markets for our systems products, as evidenced by our first quarter introduction of the Tesla 300 high-power wafer probing system for automotive, renewable energy, and industrial applications. Let me close by noting that our first quarter results and second quarter outlook demonstrate another step towards our target financial model that delivers $2 million of non-GAAP earnings per share on $850 million of revenue. There continue to be challenges to overcome for both FormFactor and the industry as a whole, including supply chain constraints and inflationary cost pressures. Our recent results and outlook have demonstrated the resilience and agility of our team and operational model. And together with our leadership positions and our attractive served markets, this resilience and agility will drive continued growth and share gains as FormFactor progresses towards our target model and beyond. Shai, over to you.

Thank you, Michael, and good afternoon. As you saw in our press release, and as Michael mentioned, FormFactor posted strong first quarter results. Revenues were at the high end of our outlook range, and non-GAAP gross margin and EPS exceeded the values in the outlook range. We also achieved record GAAP and non-GAAP operating income, record non-GAAP net income, and record free cash flow in the quarter. First quarter revenues were $197 million, a 4% sequential decrease from our Q4 of 21 record quarterly revenue, and an increase of 6% year-over-year. Probe card segment revenues were $160 million in the first quarter, a decrease of $6 million or 4% from Q4 of 21. The decrease was driven by lower DRAM revenue. System segment revenues were $37 million in Q1, a decrease of $2 million, or 5% from the fourth quarter. Within the probe card segment, Q1 Foundry and Logic revenues were flat with Q4 at $114 million, comprising 58% of total company revenues, slightly higher than the 56% in the fourth quarter. DRAM revenues were $35 million in Q1, $6 million or 14% lower than in the fourth quarter, and were 70% of total company quarterly revenues as compared to 20% of revenue in the fourth quarter. Flash revenues of $11.4 million in Q1 were essentially flat through the fourth quarter, and were 6% of total revenues in Q1, the same as in Q4. GAAP gross margin for the first quarter was 47.8% of revenues, as compared to 43.7% in Q4. Cost of revenues included $2.4 million of GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items, which we outlined in our press release issued today and in the reconciliation table available in the Investor Relations section of our website. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin for the first quarter was 49%, 200 basis points above the high end of our outlook range and 470 basis points higher than the 44.3% non-GAAP gross margin in Q4, with higher gross margins in both our segments, more significantly so in the Probe card segment. The increase as compared to our outlook is mainly due to revenue at the high end of the range and more favorable product mix, lower manufacturing costs, and higher utilization. Our Probe card segment gross margin was 48.3% in the first quarter, an increase of 420 basis points compared to 44.1% in Q4. The increase is mainly due to the factors I just mentioned. Our Q1 system segment gross margin was 52.2%, 670 basis points higher than the 45.5% gross margin in the fourth quarter. This increase is due to a more favorable mix and lower expenses, primarily warranty, face, and inventory reserves. As we've said previously, we expect our system segment gross margin to range between the high 40s to low 50s. We are encouraged by achieving a gross margin above our target model in the first quarter. However, we continue to expect that margins will fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter. Our GAAP operating expenses were $60 million for the first quarter, $2 million higher than in the fourth quarter. Non-GAAP operating expenses for the first quarter were $51.9 million, or 26.3% of revenues, as compared with $49.7 million, or 24.2% of revenues, in Q4. The $2.2 million increase relates mainly to the annual benefits and tax effect, higher headcount, and higher travel expenses. Company non-cash expenses for the first quarter included $7.5 million for stock-based compensation and $2.4 million for the amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, both of which are at similar levels for the fourth quarter, and depreciation of $7 million, $0.5 per fully diluted share higher than in the fourth quarter as a result of our capacity expansion. GAAP operating income for Q1 was a record $34.2 million as compared with $31.8 million in Q4. Non-GAAP operating income for the first quarter was $44.8 million, breaking the record set last quarter by $3.5 million. GAAP net income for the first quarter was $30 million or $0.38 per fully diluted share, compared to $26 million or $0.33 per fully diluted share in Q4. The non-GAAP effective tax rate for the first quarter was 13.8%, 290 basis points lower than the 16.7% in Q4, and below our estimated non-GAAP annualized effective tax rate of 15% to 20%. During the first quarter, the required capitalization of R&D expenses changed, resulting in a higher foreign derived intangible income benefit, also known as FDII, and that's a lower effective tax rate. We expect to be on the lower end of these 15% to 20% range for the remainder of the year. As a reminder, our annual cash tax rate is expected to remain around mid-to-high single-digits of non-GAAP pre-tax income, until we fully utilized our remaining U.S.-based R&D credit. First quarter non-GAAP net income was a record $38.7 million or $0.49 per fully diluted share, compared to $34.7 million or $0.44 per fully diluted share in Q4. In summary, EPS came in higher than our outlook range due to revenue being at the high-end of the wind, higher gross margin, and lower effective tax rate, partially offset by higher operating expenses due to higher performance-based compensation. Moving to the balance sheet and cash flows. We generated a record $29 million of free cash flow in the first quarter, compared to $24 million in Q4, bringing total cash and investments to $300 million, at the end of the quarter. The $5 million dose sequential increase in free cash flow reflects the increase in profitability, as capital expenditures were at the similar level in the previous quarter. As of the end of the first quarter, we had two term loans remaining in our balance sheet, totaling $22 million. We invested $15.6 million in capital expenditures during the first quarter, compared to $15.1 million in Q4. As mentioned in our previous earnings call, in 2022 we expect to continue to invest in increasing capacity to meet customer demand with full-year CapEx planned to be between $60 million and $80 million. As a reminder, we expect CapEx to return to the 3.5% to 4% of revenues in our target financial model after we conclude these capacity expansions. Regarding stock buyback, during the first quarter, we purchased 241,000 shares under our existing $50 million two-year repurchase plan. This brings our repurchases through the end of Q1 to 363,000 shares. At quarter-end, $16.6 million remain available for future repurchases. Turning to the second quarter of non-GAAP outlook, as Michael mentioned, we expect the strong momentum to continue in the second quarter with a sequential increase mainly in Foundry and Logic. These factors result in Q2 revenue outlook of $203 million, plus or minus $6 million. Non-GAAP gross margin for the second quarter is expected to be 47%, plus or minus 150 basis points, on a similar product mix to Q1, offset by higher manufacturing costs. At the midpoint of these outlook ranges, we expect Q2 operating expenses to be higher than Q1 by approximately $2 million to $3 million, mainly due to additional hiring and annual salary increases. Accordingly, non-GAAP earnings per fully diluted share for Q2 is expected to be $0.43, plus or minus $0.04. A reconciliation of our GAAP to non-GAAP Q2 outlook is available on the Investor Relations section of our website and in our press release issued today. With that, let's open the call for questions.

Yeah. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. I had a couple of them and congrats on the really strong results, Michael and Shai. You mentioned that one of the reasons for the gross margin in June could be down relative to March, is because of the higher manufacturing costs. I'm curious, given the fact that DRAM with less of the mix in June relative to March, the manufacturing costs, is that a one-time headwind or how should we think about margins going forward given the fact that it's really good margins in March, it looks like really good margins in June too, but I thought I'd be much better given DRAM mix is lower?

Thank you, Kris, for your question. I want to discuss two factors that contribute to the Q2 margin being lower than in Q1. As we’ve mentioned before, it's crucial to understand that changes in revenues across the markets we operate in can lead to shifts in product mix. For instance, even if DRAM remains stable while foundry logic increases, it doesn't guarantee an improved product mix. We anticipate a similar product mix affecting the gross margin in Q2. Additionally, we expect higher manufacturing expenses in Q2. Like many of our competitors, we're experiencing rising raw material prices and higher labor costs. There’s also the influence of our capacity expansion coming online and some timing issues with our production flow that are projected to cause lower absorption and increased manufacturing expenses in Q2. The midpoint of our Q2 outlook range is 47%, plus or minus 150 basis points, which aligns with our target model. We remain optimistic about this.

Krish, it's Michael. I'll take that. I think, it's continued over the past 6 months to be a pretty even mix of DDR4 and DDR5. I think, when we think about our quarterly DRAM revenues, although through much of 2020, we were operating up around $40 million a quarter, but we had talked about a more realistic median level being somewhere around the mid-30s, which is right where we expect it to be in the second quarter. So I don't know that I can point to DDR5 push-outs per se. We've got a broad mix of DDR4 and DDR5 designs running through the factory with all of the major DRAM manufacturers. And in any quarter, we expect those to ebb and flow a little bit.

Good afternoon, and thanks for letting us ask a few questions. And congratulations again on the execution in the quarter. Perhaps to start with gross margins here again, on the surface, there doesn't seem to be any wild swings in mix. But the one new variable that certainly was at your disposal in the quarter was incremental output from Livermore. And so we're thinking about sustainability of margins more at these higher levels. Maybe not quarter out, quarter in, quarter out above the target model, but closer to the 47% level, which is definitely higher than we've been modeling. Is it fair to say that there were some drags on your gross margin line as you were really constrained over the past few years, even, I think at this point? And that new capacity really unlocks something that allows you to maybe put a bigger floor under your gross margins?

I would say gross margin has always been an area of focus for us, right? We always invest at all levels of the company in making improvements to gross margins and our operational teams have been doing an excellent job on being more efficient on having more efficient designs and on securing supply at the right prices. And it's been such an important strategic action for the company, which is something that I'm very happy to see good results there. And these excellent results in Q1 really validate our ability to achieve our target financial model, gross margin of 47% at revenue rate of $60 million a year. And maybe one more point about that. We are approaching our target model. If you look at the Q2 revenue outlook range, we are within 5% of the target model, and the growth really came from mostly Foundry and Logic, as expected, as we said it was going to happen. So gross margin is where we expected it to be, so it will continue to fluctuate, as we said before. But this validates our ability to achieve it.

I apologize, Michael. It's challenging to convert the CapEx number into a revenue figure. As you know, this has been a multi-year capacity expansion plan that began with significant fixed assets like buildings and has now shifted more toward tools, although there are still some infrastructure elements and a foundational platform in place to help us keep increasing capacity. It's a tough scenario for everyone in the industry to add sufficient capacity. We've heard large customers mention being constrained in growth, not by demand, but by their capacity to acquire tools. This seems to apply to nearly all players in the industry. Implementing safeguards is complicated, but we are working hard to boost capacity as quickly as possible, both in terms of equipment and personnel, which, in this labor market, has become just as challenging as securing the necessary equipment. Yeah, I think it's a great point that these advanced Foundry and Logic nodes, whether they be 3-nanometer, or the 7-nanometer node, as one of our other customers. Really, there's a strong coupling, or attach rate as you put it, now to these advanced packaging technologies. Things like die stacking, chiplet, different tile-based strategies that we talked about for a while really drive up both test intensity, so the number of probe cards required per wafer out, and test complexity. It drives that test intensity because very simply, if you're going to put four tiles together into a chip, you need to have relatively high confidence that each of those tiles is good, otherwise you couldn't have a situation where one tile can kill the other three, which economically is obviously, a very bad scenario. Test complexity is also going up, again associated with making sure each of these tiles or chiplets is good. And so I think, as we get closer to 2023, in the ramps associated with these next nodes, with the increased attach rate of these advanced packaging technologies, we do think there's some potential tailwinds there for the overall probe card intensity, and the opportunity in front of us, as we lead in the Foundry and Logic market. Alright. Thanks everyone for joining us today. We're excited we have on our calendars actual in-person appearances at several investor conferences here as we go through May and June, and through the summer and we're really looking forward to seeing many of you again in person and talking about the prospects for form factor in the future ahead. Until then, take care.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Good day.