Aixtron Se

AIXTRON reported 2025 revenue of EUR 557 million, down 12% year over year. Gross profit was EUR 222 million, down 15%, gross margin was 40% (down 1 percentage point), EBIT was EUR 100 million (down 24%), and net profit was EUR 85 million (down 20%). Q4 2025 revenue was EUR 187 million, down 18% year over year, with gross margin of 46% and EBIT margin of 31%; Q4 orders were EUR 170 million, up 8% year over year. Full-year order intake was EUR 544 million and backlog was EUR 258 million, down 11% year over year. Cash and other financial assets ended at EUR 225 million, operating cash flow was EUR 208 million, and free cash flow was EUR 182 million. For 2026, the company guided to revenue of EUR 520 million plus/minus EUR 30 million, gross margin of 41%-42%, EBIT margin of 16%-19%, and Q1 2026 revenue of EUR 65 million plus/minus EUR 10 million.

CEO Felix Grawert framed 2025 as a good operating year in a soft market, emphasizing that the team delivered customer shipments in Q4 and generated strong cash flow despite lower net profit. Strategically, he highlighted optoelectronics as the key growth engine for 2026, driven by AI-related datacom and optical interconnect demand, while SiC is expected to stay under pressure from overcapacity and slower EV momentum. His tone was confident but cautious: he repeatedly stressed that 2026 is still a weak market year overall, even as he sees attractive mid- to long-term opportunities in SiC, GaN for AI data centers, and 300 mm GaN.

CFO Christian Danninger focused on the financial bridge from lower revenue to stronger cash. He cited 2025 gross margin of 40%, R&D spend of EUR 81 million, OpEx of EUR 122 million, EBIT of EUR 100 million, and net profit of EUR 85 million, and explained that cash improved because inventory fell by about EUR 85 million to EUR 284 million and receivables released about EUR 60 million in cash. He said cash and other financial assets ended at EUR 225 million versus EUR 65 million a year earlier, CapEx fell sharply after the innovation center investment phase, free cash flow improved from negative EUR 72 million in 2024 to EUR 182 million in 2025, and the company is proposing a stable EUR 0.15 dividend per share while planning to further build cash in 2026.

Analysts focused on order cadence, optoelectronics momentum, 300 mm GaN readiness, and whether SiC or AI data-center GaN could surprise to the upside. Management said 2026 will likely be back-end loaded, with Q2 onward above Q1 seasonality, and described optoelectronics orders as already strong in Q1 with more coming through Q2. On 300 mm GaN, Felix Grawert said the tool is on track and that leading supplier decisions could come in Q3 or Q4 2026; on SiC, he said the weakness is cyclical and that any meaningful recovery is more likely in 2027-2028 than in 2026.