Soitec reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of €113 million, up 23% year-over-year at constant currency and scope, exceeding its guidance of approximately 15% growth. The stronger-than-expected performance was driven by rapidly increasing demand for Photonics-SOI substrates used in high-speed optical transceivers for AI data centers, prompting the company to publish its quarterly results ahead of schedule.

Photonics-SOI sales doubled compared with the same period last year as hyperscale AI infrastructure continued to expand. The company also announced that its 300 mm SOI manufacturing facility in Singapore has been qualified for high-volume production with its first customers, while additional customer qualifications are underway to support further capacity expansion.

Revenue by end market for the first quarter was:

  • Edge & Cloud AI: €65 million, up 46% year-over-year
  • Mobile Communications: €39 million, down 10%
  • Automotive & Industrial: €10 million, up 108% from a low comparison base

The Edge & Cloud AI business accounted for approximately 57% of total quarterly revenue and remained the company’s primary growth driver. Demand was supported by increasing deployment of optical interconnect technologies, including pluggable transceivers, Near-Package Optics (NPO), and the industry’s ongoing qualification of Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) architectures for AI data centers.

Soitec said it continues to strengthen long-term visibility through multi-year capacity reservation agreements with customers, supported by cash deposits and extending beyond fiscal 2027. The company is expanding production capacity to meet accelerating demand for Photonics-SOI substrates.

Within Mobile Communications, Piezoelectric-on-Insulator (POI) adoption continued to increase, although ongoing inventory corrections in RF-SOI and weakness in the smartphone market offset these gains. In the Automotive & Industrial segment, Power-SOI and automotive FD-SOI wafer sales increased year-over-year, supported by higher shipment volumes and long-term customer agreements.

Looking ahead, Soitec expects second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue to grow more than 30% year-over-year, driven primarily by continued acceleration in Photonics-SOI demand.

The company also upgraded its outlook for its AI-related business, forecasting that Photonics-SOI revenue will more than double in fiscal 2027 compared with the slightly above $100 million generated in fiscal 2026, assuming no significant disruption in the AI market.

Capital expenditure guidance remains unchanged, with projected fiscal 2027 cash outflows of approximately €100 million.

The results highlight the growing importance of silicon-on-insulator substrates for AI optical interconnects as hyperscale data centers transition toward higher-bandwidth, lower-latency optical networking technologies.

Original – Soitec