AIXTRON SE beat third-quarter 2026 earnings estimates on both the top and bottom line, reporting adjusted earnings per share of $0.31 against a forecast of $0.3097 and revenue of EUR 183.8 million versus EUR 179.87 million expected. Revenue jumped 54% year over year and 60% sequentially. Gross margin expanded to 48% from 39% in the year-earlier quarter, while operating cash flow reached EUR 138 million.
New orders totaled EUR 275 million, more than double the prior year and 40% above the second quarter. The company reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance for revenue of EUR 560 million plus or minus EUR 30 million and said the fourth quarter should be very strong and above the third quarter. Management did not provide formal 2027 guidance but said that year should be clearly ahead of 2026.
CEO Felix Grawert said the company received "strong new orders of EUR 275 million, more than double the prior year level, and 40% above Q2," driven mainly by optoelectronics and increasingly by power electronics. CFO Christian Danninger cautioned that Q3's 48% gross margin was "really a constellation of stars" and should not be used as a proxy for next year, though he expected a few percentage points of gross margin improvement in 2027 helped by higher volume and favorable mix.
The company said its business benefited from rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, driving demand for advanced optical interconnects and power conversion tools. Optoelectronics accounted for 61% of equipment revenue and 68% of order intake in the quarter. Customer advance payments reached EUR 309 million as of Sept. 30, up sharply from EUR 44 million at year-end 2025.
Shares rose 2.76% to $32.34 in premarket trading but later reversed to trade down 5.27% from the previous close of $34.14. The stock remains up 131% over the past year despite declining more than 31% over the past six months.
AIXTRON shares trade well below the 52-week high of $62.66 but well above the 52-week low of $13.765. Investors watching AIXTRON should monitor whether gross margins normalize as the CFO suggested and how quickly new orders convert to revenue in coming quarters.