Cohu (COHU) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q4 2025 revenue reached $122.2 million, up 30% year-over-year, with recurring business comprising 60% of total revenue and systems 40%.

• Recurring bookings/orders rose 34% sequentially, and systems demand/orders increased 47% quarter-over-quarter, driven by strong orders from major global customers in analog, automotive, RF, and computing segments.

• Full year 2025 revenue was $453.0 million, up 13% year-over-year, reflecting market recovery and successful design wins.

• Design-win momentum was strong in automotive ADAS, analog/power, compute AI, and HBM inspection metrology.

• Customer diversification remains strong, with top ten customers accounting for 63% of Q4 bookings.

Financial highlights

• Q4 2025 gross margin was 40.8% non-GAAP, below guidance due to one-time inventory charges from product line discontinuation and consolidation.

• Q4 2025 operating expenses were $49.8 million, in line with guidance.

• Q4 2025 GAAP net loss was $22.5 million ($0.48 per share); non-GAAP net loss was $7.2 million ($0.15 per share).

• Cash and investments increased by $286 million in Q4 to $484 million at year-end, mainly from convertible debt proceeds and operational cash flow.

• Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2025 was $3.1% of sales.

Outlook and guidance

• Q1 2026 revenue is expected to be seasonally flat with Q4 at approximately $122 million ±$7 million.

• Recurring revenue is forecasted to remain at 60% of total Q1 revenue.

• Q1 gross margin projected to return to 45%, with no repeat of Q4's unique inventory charges.

• Operating expenses for Q1 expected to be flat at about $50 million.

• HBM revenue for 2026 forecasted between $15 million and $20 million, with shipments expected to be linear through the year.

• Gross margin expected to rise to 46.7-46.8% at $130 million quarterly revenue, and reach 48% at $160 million per quarter under normalized conditions.

• Another year of revenue growth is projected for 2026.