Aehr Test Systems Tag Archive

Aehr Test Systems announced financial results for its fiscal 2025 fourth quarter and full year ended May 30, 2025. 

Fiscal Fourth Quarter Financial Results: 

• Net revenue was $14.1 million, compared to $16.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
• GAAP net loss was $(2.9) million, or $(0.10) per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $23.9 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, which included a tax benefit of approximately $20.7 million, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP net loss, which excludes stock-based compensation, acquisition-related adjustments and restructuring charges, was $(0.2) million, or $(0.01) per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $24.7 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, which included the tax benefit and excluded stock-based compensation and acquisition-related costs, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Bookings were $11.1 million for the quarter.
• Backlog as of May 30, 2025 was $15.2 million. Effective backlog, including bookings since May 30, 2025, is $16.3 million.
• Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of May 30, 2025 was $26.5 million, compared to $31.4 million at February 28, 2025.

Fiscal Year Financial Results:

• Net revenue was $59.0 million, compared to $66.2 million in fiscal 2024.
• GAAP net loss was $(3.9) million, or $(0.13) per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $33.2 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, which included a tax benefit of approximately $20.7 million, in fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP net income was $4.6 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, which excludes stock-based compensation, acquisition-related adjustments and costs, restructuring charges and officer severance benefits, compared to non-GAAP net income of $35.8 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, which included the tax benefit and excluded stock-based compensation and acquisition-related costs, in fiscal 2024.
• Cash used in operating activities was $7.4 million for fiscal 2025.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented: 

“Fiscal 2025 was a transformative year for Aehr Test Systems, marked by significant progress on our strategic initiatives to expand our total addressable market, diversify our customer base, and enhance our product portfolio. We expanded into new markets for test and burn-in, including artificial intelligence processors for both wafer and package level, gallium nitride power semiconductors, data storage devices, and silicon photonics integrated circuits for optical chip-to-chip communication, unlocking substantial growth opportunities beyond our concentration in silicon carbide last fiscal year.

“A major milestone was the successful launch and adoption of our first production wafer level burn-in (WLBI) system specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) processors. This breakthrough validates the feasibility and cost benefits of WLBI testing for high-power AI devices, attracting strong interest from leading processor companies considering high-volume adoption.

“We are excited to report today that one of these companies has asked us to move forward with an evaluation for wafer level testing of one of their current high-volume processors. Based on their feedback, we believe that if this evaluation is successful, they intend to transition to high-volume production wafer-level testing, which would represent a significant opportunity for Aehr. We also expect to move to evaluation phases with additional AI companies during this fiscal year and believe we can capture a meaningful share of the total production burn-in market for AI processors with our FOX WLBI systems and proprietary WaferPak Contactors.

“We also expanded into packaged part qualification and production burn-in for AI processors this year through the acquisition of Incal Technology, enabling us to offer both wafer level and packaged part reliability burn-in and test solutions. Since the acquisition, we’ve achieved record shipments of packaged part burn-in (PPBI) systems and secured a major hyperscaler as our first production AI customer in this space. This customer is one of the premier large-scale data center hyperscalers that is developing its own AI processors and significantly expanding this capacity. They have indicated plans to ramp this device over the next year and have already begun discussing their next generation processors with us to ensure we can meet their production capacity needs. Aehr is the only company on the market that offers both a WLBI and a PPBI system for both qualification and production burn-in of AI processors, and we are very excited about our new AI product offerings and the expanded total addressable market they bring to us.

“In gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors, we secured the first production order from a leading automotive semiconductor supplier for our FOX-XP high-power multi-wafer production system with high voltage for volume production of GaN devices. We are in discussions and engagements with multiple other potential new GaN customers, highlighting the growing adoption of WLBI for GaN devices and signaling future opportunity as this market expands.

“GaN offers a wider range of applications than silicon carbide and is poised for significant growth in the next decade. While about 70% of silicon carbide’s largest market segment is for electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging infrastructure, GaN is more diverse and not focused on a single application. With more uses, there are more potential customers and a larger market for GaN compared to silicon carbide.

“We are also making significant progress in the hard disk drive market. This past year, our lead customer began ordering multiple FOX-CP solutions for burn-in and stabilization of new devices in hard disk drives, representing follow-on orders to the first production order we received from them back in 2019. This customer is one of the top suppliers of data storage devices worldwide. In addition to the multiple systems we have in backlog, they have indicated they will be purchasing additional systems both in the short term and over time.

“We saw solid momentum in the silicon photonics market this year with the adoption of optical chip-to-chip communication and optical network switching. Several companies, including AMD, Nvidia, Intel, TSMC, and GlobalFoundries, have announced product roadmaps for devices that utilize optical chip-to-chip communication. We have several customers in this market, including the largest supplier of silicon photonics integrated circuits in the market. We have seen a significant number of new WaferPak designs from our installed base of systems for new designs that they use for qualification and development work on their FOX wafer level test and burn-in systems. We also now offer a new system with higher power 3500 watt per wafer configuration to meet the needs of new high-power wafers for optical I/O and chip-to-chip communication devices. This is also available as an upgrade to our FOX-NP systems for low-volume production and product qualification, as well as our FOX-XP nine wafer production systems. This system can also be configured with our new integrated WaferPak Auto aligner, which provides fully hands-free factory automation of silicon photonics integrated circuit wafers. We expect to see not only revenue from system upgrades and WaferPaks but also for incremental FOX-XP system and WaferPak orders to meet the capacity needs of the silicon photonics market this year. We remain very excited about the silicon photonics market and see this as a significant market opportunity for our products.

“While the silicon carbide market growth has slowed due to a slower growth in EVs, we remain confident in its long-term opportunity for Aehr and our leadership in WLBI solutions for this sector. EVs are still growing significantly worldwide, and we believe the silicon carbide market continues on a robust long-term growth trajectory. Demand for silicon carbide remains significantly driven by battery EVs, but silicon carbide devices are also gaining traction in other markets, including power infrastructure, solar, and various industrial applications. This quarter, we shipped our first high-voltage configuration of the FOX-XP, which can test 18 wafers simultaneously, extending the capabilities of our proven nine-wafer high-voltage configuration. We believe we are well-positioned in the silicon carbide market with our industry-leading solution for WLBI.

“We are also collaborating with a global leader in flash memory to demonstrate our FOX-XP platform for high-volume production wafer level test and burn-in of flash memory wafers, aiming to provide a competitive, cost-effective alternative to traditional testing methods. New technologies in NAND are driving new requirements for WLBI to address the manufacturing and negative yield implications of testing these NAND devices at the package or system level, and we believe our FOX WLBI solution is positioned to be a very competitive low-cost alternative to packaged part or alternative wafer level test and burn-in solutions for this market.

“Looking ahead, we are well-positioned to capitalize on strong demand across various semiconductor applications. The strategic investments we made this past year have built the infrastructure and capacity needed for significant growth, and we plan to boost our research and development efforts to add more capabilities and resources for our expanding customer base. We believe that nearly all the opportunities and market verticals we serve will experience order growth in fiscal 2026. The one exception may be silicon carbide, as customer forecasts for this market are back-half loaded, with stronger growth expected in our fiscal 2027.

“While we remain confident in Aehr’s long-term growth prospects, we continue to experience some timing-related delays in order placements due to tariff-related uncertainty, particularly in our first quarter. Accordingly, we are maintaining our cautious approach and are not reinstating specific guidance beyond what we have already stated, which is that we anticipate order growth across all our segments this fiscal year with the possible exception of silicon carbide. Overall, we are very optimistic about our growth opportunities in the diverse markets we serve and our ability to meet increasing demand.”

Original – Aehr Test Systems

Aehr Test Systems announced financial results for its third quarter of fiscal 2025 ended February 28, 2024. 

Fiscal Third Quarter Financial Results: 

• Net revenue was $18.3 million, compared to $7.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2024.
• GAAP net loss was $(0.6) million, or $(0.02) per diluted share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $(1.5) million, or $(0.05) per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP net income, which excludes the impact of stock-based compensation, acquisition-related costs and adjustments, and charges related to an executive officer’s death related accelerated benefits, was $2.0 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $(0.9) million, or $(0.03) per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Bookings were $24.1 million for the quarter.
• Backlog as of February 28, 2025 was $18.2 Effective backlog, including bookings since February 28, 2025, is $21.8 million.
• Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of February 28, 2025 was $31.4 million, compared to $35.2 million as of November 29, 2024.

Fiscal First Nine Months Financial Results:

• Net revenue was $44.9 million, compared to $49.6 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2024.
• GAAP net loss was $(1.0) million, or $(0.03) per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $9.3 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, in the first nine months of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP net income was $4.8 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, which excludes the impact of stock-based compensation, acquisition-related costs and adjustments, and charges related to accelerated benefits, compared to non-GAAP net income of $11.0 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, in the first nine months of fiscal 2024.
• Cash used in operating activities was $5.1 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2025.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented: 

“We have been laser-focused on the initiatives we set out to expand our total addressable markets, diversify our customer base, and develop new products, capabilities, and capacity to grow our business moving forward. We are excited by the significant progress we’ve made this year in expanding into new key markets and unlocking new opportunities to attract customers and drive revenue growth, particularly in diversifying our markets and customers beyond our revenue concentration last fiscal year from silicon carbide (SiC) wafer level burn-in (WLBI).

SiC WLBI accounted for over 90% of our business in fiscal 2024, while this year it’s tracking to less than 40%, with artificial intelligence (AI) processors burn-in representing over 35% of our business in just the first year. For the third quarter, we had four customers representing over 10% of revenue, and three of these are new markets for Aehr: WLBI for AI processors, packaged part burn-in (PPBI) for qualification and ongoing process monitoring of AI processors, and WLBI of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. If you look at bookings, yet another customer and market, hard disk drive components, accounted for over 15% of our bookings. We are very excited about our expansion into new customers and markets, while at the same time we believe we are well positioned to continue to grow our business in the silicon carbide WLBI market.

“During the quarter, we qualified, received orders for, and shipped the world’s first production WLBI systems specifically designed for AI processors. Our new high-power FOX-XP^TM WLBI system can test up to nine 300mm AI processor wafers simultaneously. This new customer ordered multiple FOX-XP systems and sets of Aehr proprietary WaferPak^TM full wafer Contactors for installation at their Outsourced Assembly and Test House (OSAT/Test House.) Aehr has worked with this OSAT/Test House for many years including working on WLBI of silicon photonics devices and optical sensors on our FOX systems and on PPBI of AI processors and ASICs on our Sonoma ultra-high-power test and burn-in systems. Aehr is the only company on the market that offers both a WLBI system as well as a PPBI system for both qualification test and production screening and burn-in of AI processors.

“Another new market for Aehr is adding production PPBI for AI processors in addition to AI processor qualification burn-in. We have shipped multiple Sonoma production burn-in systems this year to a world-leading hyperscaler for production PPBI of their AI application-specific processors and expect to complete installations of the initial order by the end of the current quarter. We’ve also successfully integrated this Sonoma system from the acquisition of InCal Technology last August into Aehr’s engineering and manufacturing operations, enabling us to scale output to two to three times the previous record shipment volume within just nine months.

“In addition to AI-related orders and installations for WLBI and PPBI this quarter, Aehr achieved several other key milestones:

• Expanded into production WLBI for GaN power semiconductors,
• Secured the high-volume production orders for a new WLBI application in hard disk drives,
• Completing the production qualification of our new high-power, multi-wafer system for production WLBI of silicon photonics devices used in co-packaged optics and optical I/O devices, and
• Made significant progress on proof-of-concept work with a leading flash memory supplier on a new WLBI system for high-volume production of next-generation flash memory devices.

“The SiC market continues to be a significant opportunity for Aehr, and we believe we are well positioned to continue to grow our business in this market. We have most recently seen some recovery in utilization rates and in our customers’ customers’ forecasts and orders. SiC, still driven significantly by electric vehicles (EVs), has deepened its penetration in the EV market thanks to lower prices and accessible supply. At the same time, it is gaining momentum in adjacent sectors such as power infrastructure, solar energy, and other industrial applications. According to market research firm Yole Group, despite a temporary slowdown in battery EV shipments, the SiC market remains on a strong long-term growth trajectory.

“In response to this growing demand, we have expanded our WLBI offering for SiC to support high-voltage testing across up to 18 wafers on a single system, doubling the capacity of our industry-leading nine wafer FOX-XP system. We have already received our first order for this 18-wafer high-voltage system as an upgrade to a customer’s current FOX-XP configuration. This enhancement further strengthens our technical and cost of test advantages for SiC, which is also highly applicable to the high-volume production of GaN devices, an important capability for customers working on both types of wide bandgap compound semiconductors.

“Looking ahead, with our $45 million in revenue and $22 million backlog to date this fiscal year, our customer forecasts, and our success in adding new markets and customers, we feel very good about our business. We do not believe that the impact of the tariff announcements made by the U.S. administration last week will significantly affect Aehr directly. However, considering the secondary effects on our current and potential new customers, along with the uncertainty this quarter regarding possible pauses or delays in customer orders, shipments, or supply chain delivery delays, we are temporarily withdrawing our guidance for our current fiscal 2025 year ending May 30th and will reassess our guidance policy as clarity develops. 

“We are encouraged by the increasing number of engagements with both current and potential customers, as well as the long-term growth potential across our diverse target markets. Our strategic expansion into high-growth sectors, including AI processors, GaN power semiconductors, data storage devices, silicon photonics integrated circuits, and flash memory, opens up new opportunities to attract customers and drive revenue growth.” 

Original – Aehr Test Systems

Aehr Test Systems announced financial results for its second quarter of fiscal 2025 ended November 29, 2024. 

Fiscal Second Quarter Financial Results: 

• Net revenue was $13.5 million, compared to $21.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• GAAP net loss was $(1.0) million, or $(0.03) per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $6.1 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP net income, which excludes the impact of stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, the acquisition-related fair value adjustment to inventory, and acquisition-related costs, was $0.7 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $6.7 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Bookings were $9.2 million for the quarter.
• Backlog as of November 29, 2024 was $12.4 million. Effective backlog, including bookings since November 29, 2024, is $26.6 million.
• Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of November 29, 2024 was $35.2 million, compared to $40.8 million as of August 30, 2024.

Fiscal First Six Months Financial Results:

• Net revenue was $26.6 million, compared to $42.1 million in the first six months of fiscal 2024.
• GAAP net loss was $(0.4) million, or $(0.01) per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $10.8 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, in the first six months of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP net income was $2.8 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, which excludes the impact of stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, the acquisition-related fair value adjustment to inventory, and acquisition-related costs, compared to non-GAAP net income of $11.9 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, in the first six months of fiscal 2024.
• Cash used in operating activities was $3.5 million for the first six months of fiscal 2025.

Recent Business Achievements:

• Secured the first artificial intelligence (AI) processor customer for wafer level burn-in, utilizing the new high-power FOX-XP^TM solution for wafer level production test and burn-in of AI processors.
• Secured the first volume production orders from an AI processor customer for package part burn-in, utilizing recently acquired Sonoma ultra-high-power systems for high-volume production test and burn-in of AI processors.
• Secured the first gallium nitride (GaN) customer for high-volume production wafer level burn-in of GaN devices using Aehr FOX-XP platform. 

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented: 

“We achieved significant progress on the key objectives we outlined at the start of the fiscal year, most notably expanding our product reach into additional large and fast-growing markets. Market diversification into artificial intelligence (AI) processors, gallium nitride power semiconductors, data storage devices, silicon photonics integrated circuits, and flash memory is driving new opportunities in terms of customers and revenue. This progress includes our wafer level burn-in solutions and also the success we’re achieving with the new semiconductor package part test and burn-in product line from the acquisition of Incal Technology we closed last August. The acquisition has led to the acceleration of our market diversification with particular success and leverage expanding our total available market (TAM) in AI processors.

“Last month, we reached a significant milestone by securing our first AI processor customer for wafer level burn-in. This includes initial volume production orders for multiple high-power FOX-XP systems and our proprietary WaferPak^TM Contactors, which enable full wafer contact for testing and burn-in of AI processors in wafer form before system integration. This achievement represents a technological and commercial breakthrough for Aehr, significantly expanding the market potential for our FOX-XP wafer level test and burn-in systems.

“During the quarter, we secured our first production AI processor customer for package part burn-in, receiving initial volume production orders for multiple Sonoma ultra-high-power systems. This customer is a large-scale data center hyperscaler and provides computing power and storage capacity to millions of individuals and organizations worldwide. System shipments have already commenced to their contract manufacturer doing test and burn-in for them in Asia. We see a significant potential to expand our packaged part test and burn-in business with the product line acquired from Incal, and feel we are particularly well positioned to capitalize on opportunities in the rapidly growing AI semiconductor market with the ultra-high power Sonoma product line. We estimate that the combined wafer level and package part reliability test and production burn-in market for AI processors will exceed $100 million annually in the future, and with our comprehensive product portfolio we believe we can capture a meaningful share of this market.

“Last week we announced another exciting milestone with our first gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor production order. This achievement expands our production wafer level burn-in market for power semiconductors beyond silicon carbide used in electric vehicles, data center power conversion, and solar to now include GaN, a high-performance compound semiconductor optimized for mid-power applications such as data centers, solar energy, automotive systems, and consumer computing. Over the past 12 months, we have collaborated with this lead customer using our FOX-NP system, leading to their purchase of multiple WaferPak reference designs for diverse GaN applications. GaN offers a broader application range than silicon carbide and is poised for significant growth in the coming decade. With an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 40%, the GaN market is projected to surpass $2 billion in annual device sales by 2029, according to Yole Group’s Power SiC/GaN Compound Semiconductor Market Monitor. Additionally, Frost & Sullivan estimates GaN semiconductors will account for over 10% of the worldwide power semiconductor industry by 2028. This transformative technology represents a significant growth opportunity for Aehr’s wafer level test and burn-in solutions, positioning us to capitalize on the rapid expansion of the GaN market.

“In addition, we are excited about our opportunity for production burn-in and stabilization of devices used in hard disk drives using our FOX-CP systems and WaferPak Contactors. Our lead customer for this application is ramping this year and has told us that they will purchase multiple production systems from us over the next few quarters to support their planned new product rollout and ramp. This customer, first announced back in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, initially purchased our FOX-CP single wafer test and burn-in solution to support the qualification and early test stages of this new product aimed at the enterprise and data center markets. We view the data storage market both for hard disk drives and flashed-based semiconductor solid-state disk drives as significant growth opportunities for our systems. These markets have applications with devices made up of multiple die in complex structures, or in multiple die stacked on top of each other before they are put into higher-level packages or systems. These devices require exceptionally high levels of quality and long-term reliability of the die before they are put into these packages or systems, which aligns perfectly with the capabilities of our wafer level test and burn-in systems.

“Aehr also continues to expand its presence in the silicon carbide power semiconductor market, a critical sector for power conversion for electric vehicle traction inverters, charging infrastructure, and a range of industrial, data center, and infrastructure applications. Based on recent market forecasts, growth in silicon carbide sales outside of China should remain challenging before recovering in calendar 2026. We believe we are well positioned in this market as we have a large customer base and are currently engaged in benchmarking efforts with multiple potential new silicon carbide customers around the globe, including in China. While we remain cautiously optimistic about the opportunities in China, we also recognize the geopolitical, trade, and intellectual property risks associated with this market. Recently, we filed a lawsuit in China against a local supplier for intellectual property infringement. This action relates to features of products by that company targeted at wafer level burn-in of silicon carbide devices that we believe infringe on Aehr’s intellectual property and patents granted to Aehr by the Chinese patent office. Our current fiscal year forecast includes contemplated orders and revenue yet to be booked for silicon carbide wafer level burn-in systems and WaferPaks destined for silicon carbide manufacturers in China. It is important to bring this to our shareholders attention, as recent trade-related developments in the U.S. and the emergence of competitive offerings in China that we believe infringe on our intellectual property have heightened the risk associated with bookings and revenue from Chinese customers.

“As we look at the composition of our total revenue for this fiscal year, silicon carbide is expected to account for less than half our total revenue as we have seen our expansion into additional markets capture real market share gains. AI processors, including wafer level and package parts, could comprise as much as 40% of our total revenue this fiscal year, up from effectively zero revenue last year. GaN, hard disk drives, silicon photonics integrated circuits, and other semiconductor package part revenues will comprise about another 20% of total revenue. We are not pivoting away from silicon carbide but rather are generating growth in these other markets while not seeing the growth in silicon carbide this year like we saw last year. According to recent market research from companies such as Yole, the estimated revenue for silicon carbide semiconductors in 2024 was around $2.5 billion and is expected to reach $10 billion by the end of the decade. To put this into perspective, the semiconductor market is projected to grow from about $600 billion overall in 2024 to over $1 trillion by the end of this decade, so silicon carbide will be about 1% of the overall semiconductor market by 2030.

“Aehr’s innovative solutions are poised to capitalize on this growth in the overall semiconductor market by addressing the critical reliability needs of next-generation applications and leveraging key megatrends shaping the semiconductor industry. Reliability has become a critical priority across a wide range of industries, including combustion and electric vehicles, data centers, electrification of the worlds infrastructure, and a wide range of AI applications. Factors such as smaller semiconductor geometries, the increasing adoption of compound and optical semiconductors, and the complexities of ensuring semiconductor reliability ever increasing power and performance of semiconductors and advanced packaging are driving the demand for wafer level and packaged part test and burn-in systems. Aehr’s solutions are instrumental in reducing early operational failures and ensuring long-term device performance in these rapidly advancing markets.

“With strong customer engagements, expanding market opportunities, and innovative products designed to meet evolving demands, we are optimistic as we move into the second half of our fiscal year and maintain our previously stated financial guidance for the fiscal year.

“As we’ve stated before, given the nature of our business with our high ASPs, our quarterly revenue can experience significant variability if system orders anticipated by quarter-end are delayed by even a few days. This was the case in this last quarter, and why we do not provide quarterly guidance. In the case of both our new GaN and wafer level AI customers, both requested pre-built systems that we fully expected to ship to them within the quarter. However, the purchase orders were not finalized until after the quarter ended. Looking past quarterly variations to the full year and beyond, we are excited about the current and emerging market opportunities for our products, which not only position us for a successful fiscal year, but also lay a solid foundation for long-term, sustainable growth in the years ahead.” 

Fiscal 2025 Financial Guidance: 

For the fiscal year ending May 30, 2025, Aehr is reiterating its previously provided guidance for total revenue of at least $70 million and non-GAAP net profit before taxes of at least 10% of revenue.

Original – Aehr Test Systems

Aehr Test Systems announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2025 ended August 30, 2024. 

Fiscal First Quarter Financial Results: 

• Net revenue was $13.1 million, compared to $20.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
• GAAP net income was $0.7 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $4.7 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP net income, which excludes the impact of stock-based compensation, acquisition-related costs, and amortization of intangible assets, was $2.2 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $5.2 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Bookings were $16.8 million for the quarter.
• Backlog as of August 30, 2024 was $16.6 million.
• Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of August 30, 2024 were $40.8 million, compared to $49.3 million at May 31, 2024, reflecting $10.6 million in net cash paid during the quarter for the acquisition of Incal Technology, Inc.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented:

“We finished the first quarter with revenue and non-GAAP net income ahead of consensus estimates and are off to a good start to our fiscal year. Silicon carbide wafer level burn-in test systems and full wafer contactors are poised to be key contributors to revenue again this year. We are also forecasting material bookings and revenue contributions from several other markets this fiscal year, as we are successfully executing on our strategy to expand our test and burn-in products into other large and fast-growing markets such as artificial intelligence processors, gallium nitride power semiconductors, hard disk drive components and flash memory devices.

“We have been seeing a stabilization and increasingly positive discussions within the silicon carbide power semiconductor market over the past quarter. Electric vehicle (EV) suppliers are clearly moving towards silicon carbide in integrated modules, combining silicon carbide MOSFETs into single packages to meet the industry’s power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness demands. Due to the need for extensive test and burn-in of these devices to ensure reliability for mission-critical applications like EVs, the benefits of conducting this screening at the wafer level before integrating them into modules, which may sometimes contain 32 or more other devices, are becoming clear. The process improves yields and reduces costs, driving demand for wafer level burn-in, an area where Aehr Test stands as the low-cost leader and proven solution for this critical testing. We are highly optimistic about our silicon carbide business and expect it to gain momentum over the next few quarters. Our silicon carbide customers are forecasting capacity expansion needs in calendar 2025, with several anticipating purchases of one or two systems in early 2025, followed by production volumes in the second half of the year, and ramping further into 2026.

“Meanwhile, we continue to see strong demand for our FOX WaferPak^TM full wafer Contactors for silicon carbide, driven by a record number of new device designs started this past quarter. These designs are expected to lead to additional WaferPak purchases for engineering qualification as well to volume production orders as they advance to production. We had another solid quarter for WaferPak sales, generating over $12 million in revenue from WaferPaks in the first quarter.

“We are also making steady progress on our previously announced benchmarks and engagements with new silicon carbide device and module suppliers. We are confident that we will add several new silicon carbide customers this year, establishing our solution as their tool of record for volume production. Additionally, silicon carbide is gaining traction in applications beyond electric vehicles, such as solar, industrial, and data centers, which will expand our addressable markets.

“We are now in negotiations with our first gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor customer for volume production wafer level test and burn-in of their devices. This past year, this customer purchased a significant number of WaferPaks to successfully qualify a wide range of GaN device types aimed at multiple markets, including consumer, industrial, and automotive. In addition, we have had increased discussions and engagements with multiple potential new GaN suppliers. We believe GaN is a significant up and coming technology for power semiconductors. With a forecasted CAGR of more than 40% to over $2 billion in GaN devices sold annually by 2029, it has the potential to be a significant market opportunity for Aehr’s wafer level solutions.

“Last quarter, we announced that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) accelerator company committed to evaluating our FOX^TM solution for wafer level burn-in of their high-power processors. This evaluation is underway at our Fremont facility, where multiple wafers are being tested using our proprietary WaferPaks and new high-power FOX-XP and NP systems, which provide up to 3500 watts of power delivery and thermal control per wafer. We are delivering over 2000 amperes of current to a single 300 mm wafer, allowing us to burn-in numerous processors with our proprietary test modes. The evaluation is progressing very well, and once we demonstrate successful wafer level test results and throughput, we anticipate they will adopt our high-power FOX-XP systems for production of their next-generation AI processors, beginning this fiscal year.

“During the quarter we announced and completed our acquisition of Incal Technology, Inc. We are excited to bring the combined strengths of both companies to market as we begin engaging with Incal’s customers, including many AI industry leaders. Customer feedback to this acquisition has been overwhelmingly positive, with several meetings held over the past few weeks where some customers indicated increased forecasts for engineering qualification as well as for volume production.

“Last month, we were pleased to announce the first volume production orders for Incal’s new Sonoma ultra-high-power semiconductor packaged part test and burn-in solution designed for AI accelerators, graphics processors, network processors, and high-performance computing processors. These orders were placed by a large-scale data center hyperscaler that provides computing power and storage capacity to millions of users worldwide. The integration with Incal is progressing well. We have already shipped several systems since the acquisition, and we plan to consolidate personnel and manufacturing into Aehr’s Fremont facility by the end of the fiscal year.

“Last quarter, we announced a key customer in the hard disk drive space that is now forecasting a production ramp-up starting this fiscal year for a new high-volume data storage device application. This customer is finalizing their capacity requirements, and we expect this ramp-up to drive orders for multiple FOX-CP production systems and WaferPak Contactors, with shipments likely occurring in the second half of this fiscal year. We see the data storage market, along with various devices supporting the global 5G expansion, as new growth opportunities for our systems, as these markets require devices with exceptionally high levels of quality and long-term reliability.

“With all of these customer engagements, market opportunities, and the products to address them, we are very optimistic about the year ahead, and we are reaffirming our financial guidance for revenue growth and profitability for the year.” 

For the fiscal year ending May 30, 2025, Aehr is reiterating its previously provided guidance for total revenue of at least $70 million and net profit before taxes of at least 10% of revenue.

Original – Aehr Test Systems