萬機儀器 (MKSI) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the MKS fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加 MKS 2025 年第四季及全年業績電話會議。（操作說明）

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Paretosh Misra. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我謹將會議交給今天的演講嘉賓帕雷托什·米斯拉。請繼續，先生。

Good morning, everyone. I'm Paretosh Misra, Vice President of Investor Relations, and I'm joined this morning by John Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Ram Mayampurath, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

各位早安。我是投資者關係副總裁帕雷托什·米斯拉，今天早上和我一起的有總裁兼首席執行官約翰·李，以及執行副總裁兼首席財務官拉姆·馬亞姆普拉特。

Yesterday, after market close, we released our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, which are posted to our investor website at investor.mks.com. As a reminder, various remarks about future expectations, plans, and prospects for MKS comprise forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in yesterday's press release and in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. These statements represent the company's expectations only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing the company's estimates or views as of any date subsequent to today, and the company disclaims any obligation to update these statements.

昨天收盤後，我們發布了2025年第四季及全年財務業績，詳情請見投資者關係網站investor.mks.com。請注意，文中關於MKS未來預期、計畫及前景的各種表述均屬於前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能因各種重要因素而與預期存在重大差異，這些因素包括昨天的新聞稿、我們最新的 10-K 表格年度報告以及任何後續的 10-Q 表格季度報告中討論的因素。這些聲明僅代表本公司截至今日的預期，不應被視為代表本公司在今日之後任何日期的估計或觀點，本公司不承擔更新這些聲明的任何義務。

During the call, we will be discussing various non-GAAP financial measures. Unless otherwise noted, all income statement-related financial measures will be non-GAAP other than revenue and gross margin. Please refer to our press release and the presentation materials posted to the Investor Relations section of our website for information regarding our non-GAAP financial results and a reconciliation to of our GAAP measures. Our investor website also provides a detailed breakout of revenues by end market and division.

在電話會議中，我們將討論各種非GAAP財務指標。除非另有說明，除收入和毛利率外，所有與損益表相關的財務指標均為非公認會計準則 (Non GAAP)。有關我們的非GAAP財務表現以及與GAAP指標的調節表，請參閱我們網站投資者關係部分發布的新聞稿和簡報資料。我們的投資者網站也提供了按終端市場和部門劃分的詳細收入明細。

Now I'll turn the call over to John.

現在我把電話交給約翰。

Thanks, Paretosh, and good morning, everyone. 2025 was a year of impressive execution for MKS in a gradually improving demand environment. Year over year, we delivered 10% sales growth, 20% EPS growth, and over 20% free cash flow growth. We maintained strong gross margins despite trade policy dynamics while staying focused on delivering for our customers, investing in our business, and proactively bringing down our leverage.

謝謝帕雷托什，大家早安。 2025年對MKS來說是執行力強勁的一年，市場需求也逐漸改善。與前一年相比，我們的銷售額成長了 10%，每股盈餘成長了 20%，自由現金流成長超過 20%。儘管貿易政策瞬息萬變，我們仍然保持了強勁的毛利率，同時專注於為客戶提供服務、投資我們的業務並積極降低槓桿。

We're proud of our accomplishments in 2025 and grateful for the continued support and collaboration of our customers, suppliers, and employees. Our partnerships and engagement have been critical as we work together to deliver the broadest portfolio differentiated solutions that are foundational to advanced electronics in the AI era.

我們為2025年所取得的成就感到自豪，並感謝我們的客戶、供應商和員工的持續支持與合作。在人工智慧時代，我們攜手合作，提供最廣泛的差異化解決方案，這些解決方案是先進電子產品的基礎，而我們的合作夥伴關係和參與至關重要。

As we begin 2026, the demand outlook across our semiconductor, and electronics and packaging markets is strengthening, and we are already seeing this in the ambitious CapEx plans announced by large chip manufacturers. MKS has a long track record of outperforming WFE in rising spending environments and we are in an excellent position with our broad and deep portfolio of designed in products and are foundational to semiconductor manufacturing and electronics and packaging.

進入 2026 年，半導體、電子和封裝市場的需求前景正在增強，我們已經從大型晶片製造商宣布的雄心勃勃的資本支出計劃中看到了這一點。MKS 在支出不斷增長的環境下，一直表現出色，優於 WFE，我們擁有廣泛而深入的產品組合，處於非常有利的地位，並且是半導體製造、電子和封裝的基礎。

I'll highlight some examples as I review our financial and end market performance. Our Q4 revenue, gross margin and earnings per diluted share all came in above the midpoint of the guidance ranges we provided on our Q3 call in November. Revenue was strong across all three of our end markets.

在回顧我們的財務和終端市場表現時，我將重點介紹一些例子。我們第四季的收入、毛利率和稀釋後每股收益均高於我們在 11 月第三季電話會議上給出的預期範圍的中點。我們在所有三個終端市場都實現了強勁的收入成長。

In our semiconductor market, revenue was above the high end of our guidance, driven primarily by subsystems serving etch and deposition applications in the DRAM and logic foundry markets. Our plasma and reactive gases business delivered another strong quarter. We also maintained healthy momentum in dissolved gases for advanced logic applications and in back-end applications related to high bandwidth memory.

在我們的半導體市場，收入高於我們預期的上限，這主要得益於服務於 DRAM 和邏輯代工市場的蝕刻和沈積應用的子系統。我們的等離子體和活性氣體業務又迎來了一個強勁的季度。我們在用於高級邏輯應用和與高頻寬記憶體相關的後端應用的溶解氣體領域也保持了良好的發展勢頭。

Order activity in both areas remains robust. NAND-related activity remained stable sequentially as expected. I'm also pleased to note that our semiconductor business outperformed estimated WFE growth for the full year 2025, consistent with our track record of outperforming industry spending and improving demand environments.

這兩個領域的訂單活動依然強勁。如預期的那樣，NAND 相關活動依序保持穩定。我也很高興地註意到，我們的半導體業務在 2025 年全年都超過了 WFE 的預期增長，這與我們以往超越行業支出和改善需求環境的業績記錄相符。

Looking to the first quarter, we expect semiconductor revenue to be up on a sequential basis. We believe this outlook is consistent with market views a steady improvement in industry spending over the course of the year. With our global footprint, broad product portfolio, and deep technical expertise, we are ready to respond to demand as it comes with solutions that solve our customers' hardest problems and enable their increasingly complex road maps. On that front, we're excited to be ramping our new supercenter factory in Malaysia in the second half of this year, which will give us added capacity and resiliency to meet our customers' needs.

展望第一季度，我們預期半導體營收將季增。我們認為這一前景與市場對行業支出在年內穩步改善的看法相一致。憑藉我們的全球佈局、廣泛的產品組合和深厚的技術專長，我們隨時準備好回應客戶的需求，提供解決方案，解決客戶面臨的最棘手問題，並協助他們實現日益複雜的發展規劃。在這方面，我們很高興能在今年下半年加快馬來西亞新超級中心工廠的建設，這將使我們擁有更大的產能和更強的韌性來滿足客戶的需求。

Turning to Electronics & Packaging. Revenue came in near the high end of our guidance. The sequential increase was primarily driven by increased flexible PCB drilling and chemistry equipment sales. The Flex market continues to largely follow seasonal patterns tied to smartphone and PC cycles.

轉向電子產品和包裝領域。營收接近我們預期的高端水準。環比成長主要得益於柔性PCB鑽孔和化學設備銷售額的成長。Flex市場依然很大程度上遵循與智慧型手機和PC週期相關的季節性模式。

And we also saw continued momentum in orders for our chemistry and chemistry equipment solutions for advanced PCBs related to AI applications. AI is driving increasing packaging complexity, and we are uniquely positioned to help our customers with the broadest portfolio of differentiated solutions. Excluding the impact of FX and palladium pass-through, the chemistry sales increased 16% in the fourth quarter and 11% for the full year compared to the same periods in 2024, reflecting another year of healthy growth.

我們也看到，針對與人工智慧應用相關的先進PCB的化學和化學設備解決方案的訂單持續成長。人工智慧正在推動包裝產業走向日益複雜化，而我們擁有獨特的優勢，能夠透過最廣泛的差異化解決方案組合來幫助我們的客戶。剔除外匯和鈀金價格的影響，與 2024 年同期相比，化學品銷售額在第四季度增長了 16%，全年增長了 11%，反映出又一個健康增長的年份。

When we acquired Atotech in 2022, we saw the importance of advanced packaging for electronic devices, well ahead of many in our industry. With AI now rapidly driving demand for more complex PCBs with rapidly increasing numbers of layers, we are seeing growth despite multiyear softness in smartphones and PCs.

2022 年我們收購 Atotech 時，我們比業內許多人更早認識到先進封裝技術對電子設備的重要性。人工智慧正在迅速推動對層數不斷增加的更複雜的PCB的需求，儘管智慧型手機和個人電腦市場多年來一直疲軟，但我們仍然看到了成長。

Looking ahead to Q1 and the anticipated seasonal impact from the Luna New Year holiday, we expect electronics and packaging revenue to be up slightly sequentially and to increase in the low 20% range year over year. Key drivers for our expected performance in Q1 include higher flexible PCB drilling revenue and a continued strong performance in our chemistry equipment business.

展望第一季以及農曆新年假期帶來的季節性影響，我們預計電子產品和包裝收入將較上季略有成長，年成長率將在 20% 左右。第一季業績預期主要驅動因素包括柔性PCB鑽孔收入增加以及化學設備業務持續強勁成長。

In our specialty industrial market, revenues came in at the high end of our guidance. We saw sequential improvement in research and defense in certain industrial applications. Looking ahead to Q1, we expect specialty industrial revenue to decline low to mid-single digits, mainly due to the Luna New Year holiday, which impacts our general metal finishing business. Year over year, we expect revenue to be up in the mid-single digits, led by the industrial and research and defense markets.

在我們的專業工業市場，收入達到了我們預期的高端水準。我們看到某些工業應用領域的研究和國防水準穩步提升。展望第一季度，我們預期特種工業收入將出現個位數低至中度的下降，主要原因是農曆新年假期影響了我們的一般金屬表面處理業務。我們預期營收將年增個位數中段，主要得益於工業、科研和國防市場的成長。

Overall, our specialty industrial market continues to deliver steady performance and contribute attractive cash flows. Our fourth quarter performance and outlook for Q1 underscore our strong position across our two key end markets.

總體而言，我們的特種工業市場持續保持穩定的業績，並貢獻了可觀的現金流。我們第四季的業績和對第一季的展望凸顯了我們在兩大主要終端市場的強勁地位。

In semi, we continue to strengthen our position in supporting leading-edge foundry and high-bandwidth memory investment through our vacuum and Photonics offerings while also remaining well positioned to capitalize on large scale investment in NAND equipment upgrades expected over the next several years.

在半導體領域，我們透過真空和光子學產品，繼續加強我們在支持領先的晶圓代工和高頻寬記憶體投資方面的地位，同時保持良好的地位，以充分利用未來幾年預計對 NAND 設備升級的大規模投資。

In Electronics & Packaging, we are demonstrating momentum with equipment and chemistries ideally suited to support a smaller, more complex and more vertical packaging structures for AI and other emerging devices such as foldable phones. We expect this business to grow over time as we realize long-term revenue streams from proprietary chemistries moving through production lines built with our equipment.

在電子與封裝領域，我們憑藉設備和化學品展現出強勁的發展勢頭，這些設備和化學品非常適合支援更小、更複雜、更垂直的封裝結構，用於人工智慧和其他新興設備，例如可折疊手機。我們預計隨著我們利用自有設備建造的生產線生產專有化學品，從而實現長期收入來源，這項業務將隨著時間的推移而成長。

The secular drivers powering our end markets are fully intact present exciting opportunities for MKS in the years to come. Our business is in a strong position with a resilient global footprint and margins that reflect the value we deliver and strong free cash flows that we are reinvesting into the business and using to pay down debt.

推動我們終端市場發展的長期因素仍然穩固，為 MKS 在未來幾年提供了令人興奮的機會。我們的業務處於強勢地位，擁有穩健的全球佈局，利潤率反映了我們所創造的價值，並且擁有強勁的自由現金流，我們正在將這些現金流再投資於業務並用於償還債務。

Lastly, we are proud to have been honored for the third consecutive year as one of America's most responsible companies by Newsweek and Statista. In honor to reflects our continued focus and commitment to our people, customers, and suppliers.

最後，我們很榮幸連續第三年被《新聞週刊》和 Statista 評為美國最具社會責任感的公司之一。以此表彰我們對員工、客戶和供應商的持續關注和承諾。

Now let me turn it over to Ram to run through the financial results and first-quarter guidance in more detail. Ram?

現在，我把麥克風交給 Ram，讓他更詳細地介紹一下財務表現和第一季業績預期。記憶體？

Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone. We ended the year with a very strong fourth quarter. Demand increased across all three end markets. We delivered healthy margins, robust free cash flow, and made meaningful progress on our deleveraging goals. That progress has continued into the new year with another $100 million voluntary prepayment on our term loan in February as well as further optimization of our capital structure with the recently completed issuance of EUR1 billion senior unsecured notes as a refinancing and extension of our term loan maturities.

謝謝你，約翰，大家早安。我們以非常強勁的第四季業績結束了這一年。三大終端市場的需求均有所成長。我們實現了健康的利潤率、強勁的自由現金流，並在降低槓桿率方面取得了實質進展。這項進展延續到了新的一年，2 月我們自願提前償還了 1 億美元的定期貸款，並透過最近完成的 10 億歐元高級無擔保票據發行，進一步優化了我們的資本結構，以此作為定期貸款的再融資和延期。

I'll cover these topics in detail in my remarks. Let me start with the results for the fourth quarter. MKS reported revenue of $1.03 billion, up 5% sequentially and 10% year over year. Fourth quarter semiconductor revenue was $435 million, up 5% sequentially and 9% year over year. The result was driven by strengthening demand, especially in DRAM and logic and foundry applications. The sequential increase was led by plasma and reactive gases products. Year-over-year comparisons reflect more broad-based strength across many product categories, providing further evidence of an improving semi demand environment.

我將在發言中詳細闡述這些主題。讓我先從第四季的業績說起。MKS公佈營收為10.3億美元，季增5%，年增10%。第四季半導體營收為 4.35 億美元，季增 5%，年增 9%。這結果是由需求的增強所驅動的，尤其是在DRAM、邏輯電路和代工應用領域。等離子體和反應性氣體產物導致了這種連續增長。與去年同期相比，許多產品類別的業績呈現更全面的成長勢頭，進一步證明了半導體需求環境的改善。

Fourth quarter Electronics & Packaging revenue was $303 million, an increase of 5% quarter over quarter and 19% year over year. This sequential improvement reflected higher flexible PCB drilling and chemistry equipment sales. The strong year-over-year comparison reflected healthy underlying growth across chemistry flexible drilling equipment and chemistry equipment. Chemistry sales in the quarter were up 16% year over year, excluding the impact of FX and palladium pass-through. Marking another strong year in chemistry revenue.

第四季電子及包裝業務營收為 3.03 億美元，季增 5%，年增 19%。這一連續成長反映了柔性PCB鑽孔和化學設備銷售額的提高。強勁的同比數據反映了化學柔性鑽井設備和化學設備業務的健康潛在成長。不計外匯和鈀金價格變動的影響，本季化學品銷售額年增 16%。化學業務收入再創新高。

In our specialty industrial market, fourth quarter revenue was $295 million, an increase of 4% sequentially largely due to the improvement in our research and defense markets as well as certain industrial applications. This was partially offset by a decline in automotive. Revenue was up 5% on a year-over-year basis, supported by modest improvement across several of our key market categories. However, automotive segment remain soft.

在我們的專業工業市場，第四季營收為 2.95 億美元，季增 4%，這主要歸功於我們的研究和國防市場以及某些工業應用的改善。汽車產業的下滑部分抵消了這一影響。營收年增 5%，這得益於我們幾個主要市場類別的溫和改善。然而，汽車產業依然疲軟。

Turning to gross margin. We reported fourth quarter gross margin of 46.4%, which is above the midpoint of our guidance. While margins were down year over year, it was a very solid performance, given ongoing impact from higher tariffs, higher palladium prices, which are passed through at 0 margins and the effect of higher chemistry equipment in our overall mix.

接下來我們來看毛利率。我們公佈的第四季毛利率為 46.4%，高於我們先前預期的中位數。雖然利潤率較去年同期下降，但考慮到關稅上漲、鈀金價格上漲（利潤率為 0%）以及整體產品組合中化學設備增加等持續影響，業績表現依然非常穩健。

Fourth quarter operating expenses were $263 million, slightly above the guidance range, primarily due to higher variable compensation due to stronger-than-expected results. Fourth quarter operating income was approximately $217 million, yielding an operating margin of 21%, which is above our guidance midpoint. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA was $249 million, yielding 24.1% margin and also above the midpoint of our guidance. Net interest expenses was $42 million. Fourth quarter effective tax rate was 1%, which was in line with our guidance.

第四季營運支出為 2.63 億美元，略高於預期範圍，主要原因是業績優於預期，導致可變薪酬增加。第四季營業收入約 2.17 億美元，營業利益率為 21%，高於我們預期的中位數。第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 2.49 億美元，利潤率為 24.1%，也高於我們預期的中點。淨利息支出為4200萬美元。第四季實際稅率為1%，與我們的預期一致。

We finished the year strong with fourth quarter net earnings of $168 million or $2.47 per diluted share which is above the midpoint of our guidance. We closed the quarter with approximately $1.4 billion of liquidity comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $675 million and our undrawn revolving credit facility of $675 million.

我們以強勁的業績為今年畫上了圓滿的句號，第四季度淨利潤為 1.68 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 2.47 美元，高於我們預期的中位數。本季末，我們的流動資金約為 14 億美元，其中包括 6.75 億美元的現金及現金等價物和 6.75 億美元的未提取循環信貸額度。

Net debt at year-end was $3.6 billion, That, combined with improving adjusted EBITDA resulted in a net leverage ratio of 3.7 times based on full year 2025 adjusted EBITDA of $966 million. Quickly summarizing our full year 2025 results. Revenue was $3.9 billion, up 10% year over year. Semiconductor revenue totaled $1.7 billion, up a healthy 13% year over year, driven by plasma and reactive gases and racking products.

年末淨債務為 36 億美元，加上調整後 EBITDA 的改善，使得 2025 年全年調整後 EBITDA 為 9.66 億美元，淨槓桿率為 3.7 倍。簡要總結我們2025年全年業績。營收達39億美元，年增10%。半導體收入總計 17 億美元，年增 13%，主要得益於等離子體和反應氣體以及機架產品的銷售成長。

Our service business remained a steady and meaningful growth contributor. Electronics & Packaging revenue was $1.1 billion in 2025, up a strong 20% year over year. Total chemistry sales increased 11% year over year, excluding the impact of foreign exchange and palladium pass-through. Specialty Industrial revenue was $1.1 billion, down 4% year over year primarily driven by softness in industrial markets, including automotive. Gross margin was 46.7%, down 90 basis points year over year, driven by additional costs related to tariffs and product mix, including record chemistry equipment sales. We moved quickly during the year to mitigate the impact of tariffs.

我們的服務業務一直是穩定且重要的成長貢獻者。2025 年電子及包裝業務營收為 11 億美元，較去年同期成長 20%。不計外匯和鈀金轉嫁的影響，化學品總銷售額年增 11%。特種工業收入為 11 億美元，年減 4%，主要原因是包括汽車在內的工業市場疲軟。毛利率為 46.7%，較去年同期下降 90 個基點，主要原因是關稅和產品組合相關的額外成本，包括創紀錄的化學設備銷售額。今年我們迅速採取行動，減輕關稅的影響。

That impact was largely mitigated on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the fourth quarter but will still continue to impact gross margin by about 50 basis points. Full year operating margin was 20.7%, down 60 basis points year over year as a result of lower gross margin. However, our operating expenses as a percentage of sales was 26% and improved by 30 basis points year over year.

到第四季度，這種影響已基本緩解，但仍將對毛利率造成約 50 個基點的影響。全年營業利益率為 20.7%，年減 60 個基點，原因是毛利率下降。然而，我們的營業費用佔銷售額的百分比為 26%，比去年同期改善了 30 個基點。

Let me now turn to cash flow and balance sheet discussion. For 2025, we generated operating cash flow of $645 million, an improvement of $17 million year over year. Even with an uptick in capital expenses, full year free cash flow was $497 million, an increase of 21% year over year and reflective of a very healthy conversion rate of our non-GAAP net earnings. In 2025, we made a total of $400 million of ordinary prepayments on our term loan.

現在讓我來談談現金流量和資產負債表。2025 年，我們產生了 6.45 億美元的營運現金流，比前一年增加了 1,700 萬美元。即使資本支出增加，全年自由現金流仍達到 4.97 億美元，年增 21%，反映出我們非 GAAP 淨收益的轉換率非常健康。2025 年，我們對定期貸款進行了總計 4 億美元的普通提前還款。

This month, we made another voluntary prepayment of $100 million. Since February 2024, we have paid down over $1 billion of our debt. We continue to remain focused on deleveraging. We also closed a few key financing transactions in recent weeks. The repricing of our term loan facility reduced credit spreads on our US term loan by 25 basis points and the euro loan by 50 basis points. In connection with this repricing, we increased the size of our revolver to $1 billion.

本月，我們又自願預付了1億美元。自 2024 年 2 月以來，我們已經償還了超過 10 億美元的債務。我們將繼續專注於去槓桿化。最近幾週，我們也完成了一些重要的融資交易。我們對定期貸款融資進行了重新定價，使我們的美國定期貸款的信用利差降低了 25 個基點，歐元貸款的信用利差降低了 50 個基點。配合此次重新定價，我們將循環信用額度增加至 10 億美元。

Finally, our successful EUR1 billion bond offering has allowed us to diversify our capital structure, reduce interest rates on our debt, replace a portion of our secured debt with unsecured debt and extend our maturities. Based on current interest rates, the combined effect of these actions we took in this month will reduce annual interest expenses on a run rate basis by approximately $27 million. In addition, to lowering interest rates.

最後，我們成功發行了 10 億歐元的債券，這使我們能夠實現資本結構多元化，降低債務利率，用無擔保債務替換部分有擔保債務，並延長債務期限。根據目前的利率，我們本月採取的這些措施的綜合效果將使年度利息支出按運行率計算減少約 2700 萬美元。此外，還要降低利率。

These transactions will provide greater flexibility for the company. Finally, during the quarter, we paid a dividend of $0.22 per share or $15 million. As we announced last week, the Board authorized a 14% increase in the next dividend, which is payable in early March. Let me now turn to first quarter outlook, we expect revenue of $1.04 billion, plus or minus $40 million. By end market, our first quarter outlook is as follows: Revenue from semiconductor market is expected to be $150 million, plus or minus $15 million.

這些交易將為公司提供更大的靈活性。最後，本季我們派發了每股 0.22 美元的股息，總計 1,500 萬美元。正如我們上周宣布的那樣，董事會批准將下一筆股息提高 14%，並將於 3 月初支付。現在讓我談談第一季的展望，我們預計營收為 10.4 億美元，上下浮動 4000 萬美元。按終端市場劃分，我們第一季的展望如下：半導體市場的營收預計為 1.5 億美元，上下浮動 1,500 萬美元。

Revenue from electronics and packaging market is expected to be $305 million, plus or minus $15 million and revenue from our specialty industrial market is expected to be $285 million, plus or minus $10 million.

預計電子和包裝市場的收入為 3.05 億美元，上下浮動 1500 萬美元；預計特種工業市場的收入為 2.85 億美元，上下浮動 1000 萬美元。

Based on anticipated revenue levels and product mix, including sequentially lower chemistry sales due to the Lunar New Year, we estimate first quarter gross margin of 4% to 6% plus or minus 100 basis points. We expect first quarter operating expenses of $270 million plus or minus $5 million. Looking to the rest of the year, we will continue to invest in the growth of our business, but we expect operating expenses to grow at a rate lower than revenue. We estimate first quarter adjusted EBITDA of $251 million plus or minus $24 million. We expect capital expenditures to average in the 4% to 5% of revenue through 2026.

根據預期的收入水準和產品組合，包括由於農曆新年導致化學品銷售額環比下降，我們估計第一季毛利率為 4% 至 6%，上下浮動 100 個基點。我們預計第一季營運支出為 2.7 億美元，上下浮動 500 萬美元。展望今年餘下的時間，我們將繼續投資於業務成長，但我們預期營運支出成長速度將低於營收成長速度。我們預計第一季調整後 EBITDA 為 2.51 億美元，上下浮動 2,400 萬美元。我們預計到 2026 年，資本支出將平均佔收入的 4% 至 5%。

We expect a tax rate of approximately 21% in the first quarter. For the year, we expect our tax rate to be in the range of 18% to 20%. Based on these assumptions, we expect first quarter net earnings per diluted share of $2 plus or minus $0.28.

我們預計第一季的稅率約為21%。我們預計今年的稅率將在 18% 到 20% 之間。基於這些假設，我們預期第一季每股攤薄淨收益為 2 美元，正負 0.28 美元。

Propping up, MKS continues to execute at a high level meeting growing customer demand and maintaining strong profitability. We continue to prioritize making the necessary investments in the business and proactive deleveraging. We believe that we are in an excellent position to capitalize on what we expect to be a robust demand environment.

在各方支撐下，MKS 繼續保持高水準的運營，滿足不斷增長的客戶需求，並保持強勁的獲利能力。我們將繼續優先對業務進行必要的投資，並積極主動地降低槓桿率。我們相信，我們處於非常有利的地位，能夠充分利用我們預期的強勁需求環境。

With that, operator, please open the call for questions.

接線員，現在開始接受提問。

(Operator Instructions) Steve Barger, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）史蒂夫·巴格爾，KeyBanc Capital Markets。

Thank you. I wanted to start with the 46% gross margin midpoint guide. How much of that is from chemistry equipment mix? And does the lower 1Q sequentially suggests an upward inflection in 2Q from higher chemistry sales volume? Or how do you expect that to play out as the year progresses?

謝謝。我想先從 46% 的毛利率中點作為參考。其中有多少是化學實驗器材混合物？第一季業績下滑是否預示第二季化學品銷售成長將帶來業績上升？或者，你預期隨著時間的推移，情況會如何發展？

Steve, this is Ram. I'll take that. I'll start with your second question. The answer is yes. It is due to the seasonality from lower chemistry driven by Lunar New Year and we expect the mix to improve in Q2 and further in Q3. So mix is the main reason for the 4% to 6% plus or minus 100 basis points guide.

史蒂夫，我是拉姆。我接受。我先回答你的第二個問題。答案是肯定的。這是由於農曆新年期間化學品需求下降的季節性因素造成的，我們預計第二季情況會有所改善，第三季將進一步改善。因此，混合比例是 4% 到 6% 上下浮動 100 個基點指導價的主要原因。

Got it. And so that should be the low point of the year? Understood.

知道了。所以那應該是今年的最低谷了？明白了。

And John, can we just talk about the memory shortage. It seems like that could be both good or bad for you. Can you talk about what you're seeing with NAND tool upgrades and other memory investments that could be coming. And then can you talk about what happens with consumer products just given the increase that you're seeing in the market?

約翰，我們能不能談談內存短缺的問題？這似乎對你來說既可能是好事也可能是壞事。您能否談談您目前看到的 NAND 工具升級以及未來可能出現的其他記憶體投資方面的情況？那麼，鑑於目前市場上消費品需求的成長，您能否談談消費品領域將會發生什麼變化？

Yes, Steve. So I think the customers and our customers' customers are putting a lot of the investments in DRAM, obviously, for AI, and that's causing this crunch in terms of availability of memory. I would say this, the industry is moving very fast to try to meet those demands. You see a lot of announcements of fabs going up and whatnot. And then more recently, NAND has become potentially a bottleneck as well in terms of availability.

是的，史蒂夫。所以我認為，客戶以及我們客戶的客戶顯然​​都在對 DRAM 進行大量投資，用於人工智慧，這導致了記憶體供應短缺的問題。我想說的是，為了滿足這些需求，整個產業正在快速發展。你會看到很多工廠建設之類的公告。而最近，NAND閃存在供應方面也可能成為一個瓶頸。

And so you saw one large chip company announced a new NAND factory, brand new greenfield us out a little ways, but that's good because it extends the ramps, as you will. In terms of upgrades, I think our customers are best to answer that. I would say this. We have plenty of capacity to meet those upgrades should they come. And as a reminder, our position in RF power for NAND vertical channel etching allows us to enjoy upgrades almost as much as greenfield.

所以你會看到一家大型晶片公司宣布新建一座 NAND 工廠，這是一座全新的綠地工廠，離我們有點遠，但這很好，因為它可以延長產能。至於升級方面，我認為我們的客戶最能回答這個問題。我會這麼說。我們有足夠的能力來應對這些升級需求。再次提醒大家，我們在 NAND 垂直通道蝕刻的射頻功率方面的優勢，使我們能夠像在全新專案中一樣輕鬆地進行升級改造。

So I think NAND is something that's going to be kind of icing on the cake as that happens throughout the year and the next couple of years.

所以我認為，隨著今年及未來幾年的發展，NAND 將會像錦上添花一樣發揮作用。

Got it. And then just any comment on consumer products, what the potential effect could be?

知道了。然後，就消費品發表一下任何評論，例如可能產生的影響是什麼？

Yes. I mean, I think it's going to depend on how much availability there is. I think you read some analyst reports, people are kind of thinking maybe low single-digit decreases in PCs and phones, but that really is going to be dynamic throughout the year. I think it's really going to be a function of how fast the industry can make those chips for that segment of the market. So I think if we have a little decrease in PCs and smartphones, I think it's going to be more than made up with AI.

是的。我的意思是，我認為這取決於供應量。我認為如果你閱讀一些分析報告，你會發現人們普遍認為個人電腦和手機的銷量可能會出現個位數的下滑，但這在今年全年都會是一個動態變化的過程。我認為這實際上取決於該行業能夠以多快的速度為該細分市場生產這些晶片。所以我認為，即使個人電腦和智慧型手機的數量略有下降，人工智慧的發展也足以彌補這個缺口。

Jim RicchiutI, Needham & Company.

Jim RicchiutI，Needham & Company。

Thank you. Yes, I'm wondering if we look at the electronics and packaging business, the 20% plus growth in 2025, John, any sense as to how much of that was a function of capacity additions. And I'm curious how much of a tailwind would you anticipate this being in 2026 in this area of the business?

謝謝。是的，約翰，我想知道，如果我們看看電子和包裝行業，預計到 2025 年將增長 20% 以上，那麼其中有多少增長是由於產能增加造成的呢？我很好奇，您預計到 2026 年，這股趨勢會為該業務領域帶來多大的順風？

Yes, good question, Jim. I think what we said also is that while the electronics and packaging grew 20%, chemistry grew about 11% year over year. So that's great growth, too. So chemistry would be more utilization dependent. And then the rest of that growth is capacity additions from chemistry equipment as well as flex drilling equipment.

是的，吉姆，問得好。我認為我們也說過，雖然電子和包裝產業成長了 20%，但化學產業卻比去年同期成長了約 11%。所以這也是一個巨大的成長。因此，化學將更依賴利用率。其餘的成長則來自化學設備以及柔性鑽井設備的產能增加。

So we've talked about our chemistry equipment. That's a nice leading indicator of future chemistry revenue. We're now into the fifth quarter of strong bookings and revenue for that. I think in the past, we talked about the first half of '26. Our factories are full through then. I think we're not going to guide bookings going forward in equipment, but I would say the difference between 90 days ago is we continue to see strong chemistry. So I think that continues, and that's really just something that, over time, will lead to that high gross margin chemistry revenue that will be on our production equipment.

我們已經討論過化學實驗器材了。這是未來化學產業收入的一個良好先行指標。現在我們已經進入了預訂量和收入強勁增長的第五季度。我想過去我們討論過 2026 年上半年的事情。到那時我們的工廠都滿載運作。我認為我們不會再對未來的設備預訂進行指導，但與 90 天前相比，最大的變化是我們繼續看到強勁的市場化學反應。所以我認為這種情況會繼續下去，而且隨著時間的推移，這確實會為我們的生產設備帶來高毛利率的化學品收入。

And a follow-up just on -- you highlighted the improving demand in CD drilling equipment. How would you characterize the recovery that you're seeing in this part of the business. versus previous cycles. I know it's been a while since we've seen a decent upturn in this business.

還有一點後續問題——您重點提到了 CD 鑽井設備需求的不斷增長。您如何評價目前該業務領域的復甦情況，與先前的周期相比有何不同？我知道我們已經很久沒有看到這個行業出現像樣的復甦了。

Yes, I know you've covered ESI for a long time, Jim. I would say there was a super cycle maybe 4 or 5 years ago. This is more like a normal cycle. So probably two years now where it's kind of been more normalized. So we're happy to see that.

是的，我知道你報道ESI很久了，吉姆。我認為大約四、五年前出現了一個超級週期。這更像是一個正常的生理週期。所以大概兩年前，這種情況就比較正常化了。所以我們很高興看到這一點。

I have to see that our share continues to be very strong. and that some new devices that we talked about full phones are driving more flex demand. So I think I would characterize this as not a super cycle, if you will, for Flex, but more of a normalized cycle that we have expected on a more consistent basis throughout the years.

我必須看到我們的市場份額繼續保持強勁勢頭，並且我們之前討論過的一些新型設備，例如完整的手機，正在推動對 Flex 設備的需求成長。所以我認為，對於 Flex 來說，這與其說是一個超級週期，不如說是我們多年來一直期待的正常週期。

Melissa Weathers, Deutsche Bank.

梅麗莎‧韋瑟斯，德意志銀行。

Thank you for the question. John, I was hoping to ask you to pull out your crystal ball and get your opinion on WFE growth this year. So we've heard some pretty strong outlook from some of your customers and peers on WFE. Any sense of magnitude or how are you guys thinking about like the magnitude of growth the equipment spending could have this year? And then how should we think about that flowing through to your semiconductor system sales?

謝謝你的提問。約翰，我原本想請你預測今年 WFE 的成長情況。我們從一些客戶和同行那裡聽到了對 WFE 的一些非常積極的看法。你們對今年設備支出可能出現的成長幅度有什麼預估或看法嗎？那麼，我們該如何看待這種影響最終會如何影響你們的半導體系統銷售呢？

Yes. I'll pull out my crystal ball, Melissa, it's cloudy, but I guess it's a positive. A couple of our edge customers are talking about 20% year-over-year WFE growth, a couple of our listometrology customers are talking more in the mid-teens, if you will. So you put it all together, WFE will be a large grower. And I think more importantly, I think everybody is kind of assuming it's more than just a one-year thing.

是的。梅莉莎，我拿出我的水晶球看看，雖然天色陰沉，但我猜應該是個好兆頭。我們的一些邊緣運算客戶正在談論 20% 的年均 WFE 成長，而我們的一些清單計量學客戶則談論的是 15% 左右的成長。綜上所述，WFE 將會成為一家快速成長的公司。而且我認為更重要的是，我覺得大家都在猜測這不只是一年的事。

It's going to be a cycle that maybe lasts longer than that. MKS has always outperformed during the upturn. That's just math. Everything is designed in already in an upturn. People are just ordering things that are already designed in. We have to ship before our customers could ship. At the same time, during a ramp our customers are going to try to build inventory. And so all that leads to outperformance.

這將是一個可能持續更長時間的循環。MKS在市場上漲期間一直表現出色。這只是數學問題。一切都已在向上復甦的計畫中規劃好了。人們只是在訂購那些已經設計好的東西。我們必須先出貨，客戶才能出貨。同時，在產能爬坡期間，我們的客戶會嘗試建立庫存。因此，所有這些都帶來了優異的表現。

Even in 2025, when there wasn't really a ramp I believe we will have shown that we outperformed WFE even in a relatively stable 2025. And I would say in my commentary a couple of months ago, the ramp has started. We have started. Supply chain teams are working hard with our suppliers. We're in constant communication with our customers and everybody in the industry is getting ready for this ramp.

即使到了 2025 年，當市場沒有真正成長的時候，我相信我們也會證明，即使在相對穩定的 2025 年，我們的業績也優於 WFE。我在幾個月前的評論中說過，這個階段已經開始了。我們開始了。供應鏈團隊正與我們的供應商緊密合作。我們與客戶保持著密切的溝通，業內所有人都在為這一成長做好準備。

And MKS, as you know, is supporting 85% of WFE. So we're going to see all of that. And we're really looking forward to meeting that demand. I think we also talked about the Malaysia plant. Which will come online midyear. And that will give us just extra flexibility in the future. But our factories today are ready to meet the demand that we see in the next year or two.

如你所知，MKS 為 WFE 的 85% 提供支援。所以我們將會看到所有這些內容。我們非常期待滿足這項需求。我想我們還談到了馬來西亞工廠。將於年中上線。這將使我們在未來擁有更大的靈活性。但我們目前的工廠已經做好準備，能夠滿足未來一兩年內的需求。

Perfect. And then maybe following up on something you've already touched on, on the call, but the ability for the AI side of things sort of offset the -- any slowness that we could see in consumer electronics. And you talked about like the board complexity and layer counts going up for AI boards. Is there any other way to quantify like what is your revenue opportunity with or 2027 Board versus what you've seen in the past? Just any other way to frame how we should think about that content opportunity and sort of how much that could offset any weakness on the consumer electronics side.

完美的。然後，也許可以繼續討論你在電話中已經提到過的事情，人工智慧方面的能力可以抵消消費性電子產品中可能出現的任何速度緩慢的問題。你也提到了人工智慧電路板的複雜性和層數不斷增加的問題。還有其他方法可以量化嗎？例如，與過去相比，您透過 2027 年董事會計畫獲得的收入機會是多少？這只是另一種看待內容機會的方式，以及它在多大程度上可以彌補消費性電子產品的任何弱點。

Yes. Maybe the way to think about it is, let's say, smartphones. The number of layers and the PCBs for smartphones could be in that 10 to 12 layers, give or take, and it's increasing as well. but the HDI type of boards for AI are in that 15% to 20% already. And in addition, AI also needs multilayer boards, which are in the 30 to 40 layers.

是的。或許我們可以這樣想：比如說，智慧型手機。智慧型手機的PCB板層數通常在10到12層左右，而且還在增加。但用於人工智慧的HDI類型電路板的層數已經占到15%到20%。此外，人工智慧還需要多層電路板，這種電路板通常有 30 到 40 層。

And then, of course, the substrate -- the package substrate layers. So I would say that PCs and smartphones, the number of layers is consistent. It goes up a couple of layers every cycle. The AI, we're talking about doubling the number of layers. And so we've talked about in the past that our chemistry revenue from AI in 2024 was about 5% of our revenue -- our chemistry revenue in Electronics & Packaging. And now in 2025, it's 10%.

當然，還有基板——封裝基板層。所以我認為，PC 和智慧型手機的層數是一致的。每個循環都會向上移動幾層。我們說的是人工智慧的層數要翻倍。因此，我們過去曾討論過，到 2024 年，人工智慧帶來的化學收入將占我們電子和包裝業務化學收入的 5% 左右。而到了 2025 年，這個比例已經達到 10%了。

And I would say it's a sequential increase quarter on quarter on quarter in '25. So we expect AI to continue taking a larger percentage of our chemistry revenue even with a slightly muted PC and smartphone market.

而且我認為，2025 年的這個數字是逐季成長的。因此，即使個人電腦和智慧型手機市場略顯疲軟，我們預計人工智慧仍將繼續佔據我們化學業務收入的更大比例。

Michael Mani, Bank of America Securities.

Michael Mani，美國銀行證券。

To start, I just wanted to ask about your capacity position what this Malaysia facility fully ramping over the next course of next year? How much revenue do you think that could ultimately support for your business? And if there's any way to kind of quantify how much that footprint has expanded for you over the last couple of years to be great. And then as you look out, are there any other areas where you feel like you need to invest in your capacity position? I know there's a Thailand facility that you're ramping up, I believe that's for chemistry, but anywhere else where you anticipate any supply constraints?

首先，我想問貴公司在馬來西亞工廠明年全面投產後的產能狀況？您認為這最終能為您的企業帶來多少收入？如果有什麼方法可以量化過去幾年你的業務範圍擴大了多少，那就太好了。然後，放眼全局，你覺得還有哪些領域需要你投資提升自身能力？我知道你們在泰國有一個正在擴建的工廠，我相信那是用於化學品生產的，但你們預計在其他任何地方都會面臨供應限制嗎？

Yes. Thanks, Mike, for the question. I think with Malaysia, it was built as a business economy replan. It wasn't built to anticipate needed more capacity for this particular ramp. So we already have plenty of factory capacity for that.

是的。謝謝你的提問，麥克。我認為馬來西亞的成立是基於商業經濟重組的。它當初建造時並沒有預料到這條坡道需要更大的通行能力。所以我們已經有足夠的工廠產能來滿足這個需求。

I think Malaysia is kind of think about it as future capacity needs for WFE. We haven't sized it. I would say this, we always build our factories and phases. So we have the shell and then we'll put in a certain amount of lines and product lines beginning middle of this year. And then we'll plan on what makes sense to grow there. But it will give us a lot more capacity than we have currently.

我認為馬來西亞是把這看成是未來WFE的產能需求。我們還沒有確定尺寸。我想說的是，我們總是按照自己的步調和階段來建造工廠。所以我們已經有了外殼，然後從今年年中開始，我們將投入一定數量的生產線和產品線。然後我們會計劃在那裡發展哪些業務是合理的。但這將使我們擁有比目前更大的產能。

I would say we've added a little bit of CapEx here and there, kind of nip and up with our factories in anticipation of this particular cycle. But we had talked about being ready for $125 billion WFE three years ago. and we did that. And remember that $125 billion is run rate. We always have 30% surge capacity in addition to that.

我想說，我們已經在一些方面增加了一些資本支出，對我們的工廠進行了一些小幅升級，以應對當前的經濟週期。但三年前我們就討論過要為1250億美元的WFE做好準備，而我們也做到了。請記住，1250億美元是年均收入。除此之外，我們始終保留 30% 的應急容量。

So I think we're quite comfortable with our capability I think always in ramp constraints or supply chain. Our suppliers are better. They're bigger. They're ready, but the golden school effect will happen.

所以我認為我們對自身能力相當有信心，我認為在產能限製或供應鏈方面始終如此。我們的供應商更好。它們更大。他們已經準備好了，但「黃金學校效應」還會發生。

And so that's really where our execution has always been among the best, is finding those issues and then dealing with them and delivering to our customers on time. And we've always done that through every cycle. So I'm very confident we'll have the capacity. We have the team and the supply base to help us deliver to our customers this ramp as well.

因此，我們執行力一直名列前茅的原因就在於此，那就是發現這些問題，然後解決它們，並按時交付給我們的客戶。我們一直以來都是這樣做的，每個週期都是如此。所以我非常有信心我們有足夠的能力。我們擁有團隊和供應基地，可以幫助我們向客戶交付這條坡道。

Very helpful. And just moving on to electronics and packaging. So as you look out over this next year, is it fair to say that most of the growth this year, if it is sustainable in this kind of double-digit growth area would be -- would largely come from more chemistry revenue now that you've seen significant equipment orders over the last couple of months that are going to be ramping in terms of utilization?

很有幫助。接下來我們來看看電子產品和包裝方面的內容。展望來年，如果這兩位數的成長能夠持續，那麼今年的大部分成長是否可以說主要來自更多的化學品收入？因為在過去的幾個月裡，您已經看到大量的設備訂單，這些設備的使用率將會提高。

And then more broadly, this kind of relates to the previous question. I think in the past, you've said that every $100 million in install equipment translates to $20 million to $40 million in chemistry sales per year for utilization. So I just wanted to ask what are the sensitivities around that? Is the revenue function much higher if it's a substrate versus will be and as your customers are talking about pushing a number of layers to over 100. Like what does that do to that attach rate for revenue?

更廣泛地說，這與前一個問題有關。我記得你以前說過，每投入 1 億美元安裝設備，每年就能帶來 2,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元的化學品銷售額。所以我想問一下，這方面有哪些敏感點？如果採用基材，收入函數是否會高很多？而您的客戶正在討論將層數推高到 100 層以上。這會對該收入的附加率產生什麼影響？

Yes. Thanks, Michael. I think in general, our model is still the same, $20 million to $40 million is per $100 million of equipment sales. And it doesn't really change too much between particular types of boards. And it's really a function of utilization.

是的。謝謝你，麥可。我認為整體而言，我們的模式仍然一樣，每1億美元的設備銷售額對應2000萬美元至4000萬美元的投入。而且不同類型電路板之間的差異並不大。這實際上取決於利用率。

So if that tool is running 100%, then you're getting into that $20 million to $40 million range. And then I think, in general, we're just very happy with the continued shipments of our equipment, as I said in the earlier question, it continues to get better. It continues to be consistently strong even from a quarter ago. So if that's the case, then we will have had potentially two good years of record level chemistry equipment shipments. Now I also think we've talked about how long does it take for a piece of equipment to turn into chemistry revenue. We've said 18 to 24 months.

所以如果該工具的運作效率達到 100%，那麼成本就會達到 2,000 萬到 4,000 萬美元之間。總的來說，我們對設備的持續出貨情況非常滿意，正如我在前面的問題中所說，情況還在不斷好轉。與一個季度前相比，它依然保持著強勁勢頭。如果情況真是如此，那麼我們可能已經連續兩年迎來化學設備出貨量創紀錄的佳績。現在我也認為我們已經討論過，一件設備需要多長時間才能轉化為化學收入。我們說過需要18到24個月。

That's still the case. So a lot of the chemistry revenue that you saw grow in 2025 was with equipment we shipped in 2021, 2022. And so that's why I think the equipment we're shipping now will be great capacity for future chemistry going forward into -- into '26, '27 and going forward. So I just want to make sure that was clear. The chemistry revenue now is not constrained by the equipment more shipping. That chemistry revenue is growing because of the capacity we've already shipped in terms of equipment a few years ago.

情況依然如此。因此，您在 2025 年看到的許多化學收入成長都來自我們在 2021 年、2022 年交付的設備。所以，我認為我們現在交付的設備將為未來的化學發展提供巨大的產能，直到 2026 年、2027 年及以後。所以我想確認一下這一點是否清楚。現在化學產品的收入不再受限於設備和運輸。由於幾年前我們已經交付了一定數量的設備，化學品業務的收入正在成長。

Shane Brett, Morgan Stanley.

Shane Brett，摩根士丹利。

I want to follow up on Mani's question. Just based on the knowledge you currently have, should we be anticipating chemistry revenue to accelerate or decelerate in 2026? And I'm asking this because I want to better figure out just how much of this chemistry revenue is associated with just higher growth AI or should be kind of benefiting from a higher installed base. But how much could be impacted by just weaker consumer electronics sales.

我想就馬尼提出的問題做個後續討論。僅根據您目前掌握的信息，我們應該預期 2026 年化學行業的收入會加速成長還是放緩？我問這個問題是因為我想更清楚地弄清楚，這些化學收入中有多少是與人工智慧的高速成長相關的，又有多少是受益於更大的用戶基礎。但僅僅是消費性電子產品銷售疲軟究竟會產生多大影響呢？

Yes, Shane, I think, well, there is a seasonality to the chemistry revenue, as Ron pointed out. So Q1 is for the consumer product cycle type of products is lowest. Because of Lunar New Year. And then the Consumer Products chemistry will continue to grow throughout the year. That's the consumer product cycle.

是的，肖恩，我認為，正如羅恩指出的那樣，化學品收入確實存在季節性。所以，Q1 指的是消費品週期類型的產品，其價格最低。因為是農曆新年。然後，消費品化學領域將在全年持續成長。這就是消費品生命週期。

To your point, if there's a single-digit decrease, then we'll see that in that chemistry revenue for that market. But at the same time, AI chemistry is really -- we are expecting that to continue to grow. All our customers that are in that AI supply chain are running capacity, they continue to add tools and add -- and bring those tools up. So I think, as I said, that's why I expect that even with a slight decrease in PCs and smartphones the AI part of the chemistry will more than make up for that.

正如您所說，如果出現個位數的下降，那麼我們將在該市場的化學品收入中看到這一點。但同時，人工智慧化學領域確實——我們預計它將繼續發展壯大。我們所有參與人工智慧供應鏈的客戶都在積極開發產能，他們不斷添加工具並提升這些工具的效能。所以我覺得，正如我所說，這就是為什麼我預計即使個人電腦和智慧型手機略有減少，人工智慧在化學領域的應用也將彌補這一損失。

Got it. And for my follow-up, on the E&P tooling side, late last year, you sort of mentioned that your book through the first half of 2026. Just how should I think about this E&P to -- your current capacity for E&P tools relative to the existing demand for these tools.

知道了。至於我的後續問題，關於勘探與生產工具方面，去年年底，您曾提到您的書將涵蓋 2026 年上半年。我該如何看待這次勘探與生產——你們目前的勘探與生產工具產能與現有對這些工具的需求之間的關係？

Yes. I think we've added some capacity. We didn't need to build a new factory if you -- if that's your question. And we've been able to meet the timing demands of our customers even at these elevated levels. And as I said earlier in the commentary, based on changes from 90 days ago, we continue to see these strong bookings.

是的。我認為我們增加了一些產能。如果你問的是這個，那我們不需要新建一間工廠。即使在如此高的水平下，我們也能夠滿足客戶的交貨時間要求。正如我之前在評論中所說，根據 90 天前的變化，我們繼續看到強勁的預訂量。

So I think it's going to be another strong year for equipment. And our capacity to meet the time lines need by our customers right now is sufficient. We're not constraining our customers.

所以我認為今年設備市場又將迎來強勁的一年。目前我們完全有能力滿足客戶所需的時間要求。我們不會限制客戶。

David Liu, Mizuho.

大衛劉，瑞穗銀行。

Let me ask the question. On for Vijay at Mizuho. Maybe the first one just back on WFE. I think your customers and peers have mentioned second half-weighted strength and acceleration. Do you think like we can see that and revenue hit probably a 5 handle starting in September, December?

請容許我問這個問題。Vijay在瑞穗銀行繼續領銜。或許第一個人剛剛回到WFE。我認為您的客戶和同行都提到了下半場的權重和加速度。你認為我們能看到這種情況嗎？營收可能會從9月到12月達到5倍嗎？

Sorry, David, 5 handle --?

抱歉，大衛，5號把手——？

On semis revenue.

半導體收入。

Semis revenue, I see. We're guiding 450 years. Well, I would say this, if WFE grows in that same range between 15% to 20% as many of our customers are saying, we're going to have to ship ahead of that. We're going to have to shift to build that revenue for their inventory. I think in the past, we have hit that 5 handle at the last ramp.

我明白了，是半導體產業的收入。我們正在引領450年。我想說的是，如果 WFE 的成長幅度像我們許多客戶所說的那樣在 15% 到 20% 之間，我們就必須提前出貨。我們需要轉變思路，為他們的庫存創造收入。我認為過去我們曾在最後一個坡道上達到 5 號把手。

That wasn't constraints from our factories, that's constrained some supply chain, right? And so I think that -- I think we're better at managing supply chain. I think the supply chain is better.

那不是我們工廠的限制，而是供應鏈的某些環節的限制，對吧？所以我認為——我認為我們在供應鏈管理方面做得更好。我認為供應鏈有所改善。

So 5 handle would not be surprising. I just can't predict when it will be. But in order to meet a 20% WFE increase. We have to get to a 5 handle probably as MKS. Otherwise, the industry won't get to that 20%.

所以，5個把手並不奇怪。我無法預測具體時間。但為了滿足 20% 的 WFE 成長要求。我們必須達到 5 級手柄，可能就像 MKS 一樣。否則，該行業就達不到 20% 的水平。

Got it. And then a longer-term question, I think part of the industry is beginning to look at moving to panel for advanced packaging. I'm just wondering what kind of conversations you guys are starting to have there in the advanced packaging side and if there's any sort of outlook or time line that benefits and KSI.

知道了。再來看一個更長遠的問題，我認為部分產業正在開始考慮將先進包裝轉向面板。我只是想知道你們在先進包裝方面開始進行哪些類型的對話，以及是否有任何有利於 KSI 的前景或時間表。

Yes. I think you're referring to redistribution layers going from wafer shaped to panel rectangular shape. And I think -- many customers are working on that. And of course, when they go to panel, that's MKS. We are participating in the wafer type of packaging.

是的。我想你指的是從晶圓形狀到面板矩形形狀的重分佈層。而且我認為——很多客戶都在努力做到這一點。當然，當他們去小組討論時，那就是 MKS。我們正在參與晶圓型封裝技術的發展。

But our strength has always been in panels. And so that is a tailwind for MKS. But as I mentioned in the past, that's kind of one or two layers of redistribution layers, and that is still relatively small in terms of market growth for us because the HDI and MOB are growing at 10 layers a year or more each. So while it's a tailwind, I think we don't want to miss the bigger picture, which is that the number of layers of MLB and HDI and package substrates are growing much faster.

但我們的優勢一直在於面板。所以這對MKS來說是一個有利因素。但正如我之前提到的，這只是一兩層再分配，就我們的市場成長而言，這仍然相對較小，因為 HDI 和 MOB 每年都在以 10 層或更多的速度成長。所以，雖然這是一個順風，但我認為我們不應該忽略更大的形勢，那就是 MLB 和 HDI 的層數以及封裝基板的數量增長得更快。

(Operator Instructions) Peter Peng, JPMorgan.

（操作說明）彼得·彭，摩根大通。

Some of your semi customers are already talking about inventory build. Have you seen that in your -- in the second half of 2025? Or are you starting to see that now in terms of inventory build?

你們的一些半拖車客戶已經在討論庫存建設了。你有沒有在 2025 年下半年看到這種情況？或者說，你現在開始在庫存累積方面看到這一點了嗎？

Yes. Well, you can look at their inventory numbers and you see if it's building. But I would say this, Peter, a lot of the conversations on getting ready happened in that Q4 time frame, and they have continued to accelerate in the Q1 time frame. And so we're ramping our factories in our supply chain. And I think it will take a little while to show up as inventory build in our customers because right now, we're -- as a supply chain, we're all just getting ready to just meet the higher demand.

是的。你可以看看他們的庫存數字，看看庫存是否正在成長。但我想說的是，彼得，很多關於準備工作的討論都發生在第四季度，而且在第一季度，這些討論還在加速進行。因此，我們正在擴大供應鏈中各工廠的產能。我認為還需要一段時間才能在客戶的庫存中體現出來，因為目前，作為供應鏈的一部分，我們都在為滿足更高的需求做好準備。

So you'll probably see that build up in their inventory numbers over the next couple of quarters. But we are still shipping to demand at this point just because we're just in the early stages of that ramp.

因此，在接下來的幾個季度裡，你可能會看到他們的庫存數字不斷增加。但目前我們仍然按照需求出貨，因為我們還處於產能爬坡的早期階段。

Got it. And then in the lines, there's a lot of, I guess, constraints and greenfield capacities even from your end customers as you kind of engaged, is there any -- I guess, are you seeing any constraints from your customers where they just don't have enough space to move equipment yet. And so maybe you can talk about that dynamic.

知道了。然後，在生產線方面，我想有很多限制，甚至來自您的最終客戶，因為您在與客戶溝通時，也遇到了許多限制和新建產能方面的問題。我想，您是否看到您的客戶有任何限制，例如他們還沒有足夠的空間來移動設備？所以或許你可以談談這種動態。

I've not heard that, Peter. I think our customers are well run customers. They have large factories located globally. At the last ramp we all added capacity, got more efficient. So I don't see that as a constraint in terms of not enough space to build the tools, if that was your question.

彼得，我沒聽過這件事。我認為我們的客戶都是管理良好的客戶。他們在全球各地擁有大型工廠。在最後一個坡道上，我們都增加了產能，並提高了效率。所以，如果你的問題是空間不足以建造工具，那麼我不認為這是一個限制。

Joe Quatrochi, Wells Fargo.

喬·夸特羅奇，富國銀行。

Maybe just kind of on that line of thinking on the semi business. You're guiding for kind of 3%-ish sequential growth, and I think some of your main customers are guiding for high single-digit, low double-digit sequential growth through the first quarter. So just kind of curious if you could kind of give us the puts and takes there.

或許只是在半拖車產業有這種想法。你們預計環比成長約為 3%，而我認為你們的一些主要客戶預計第一季環比成長將達到個位數高段或兩位數低段。所以我就有點好奇，你能不能跟我們講講這方面的買賣狀況。

Yes, Joe, I think we're guiding based on what we -- our best view today. But I think you've been in this industry a long time. When that ramp occurs, it just accelerates fast. This is our best view today. But during a ramp, as you know, things can accelerate rapidly.

是的，喬，我認為我們是根據我們——我們今天所看到的最佳情況來指導的。但我認為你在這個行業已經很久了。當出現這種斜坡時，它會迅速加速。這是我們今天看到的最好景色。但如你所知，在加速過程中，速度可能會迅速加快。

And so we're going to stick to this guidance. But certainly, we give a range. And even last quarter, we gave a range and we went higher than the upper end of that range. And that's kind of a characteristic of ramps. And so this is what we see today.

因此，我們將繼續遵循這項指導原則。當然，我們會給出一個範圍。即使是上個季度，我們也給了一個區間，而我們的實際業績高於該區間的上限。這是坡道的典型特徵。所以，這就是我們今天看到的景象。

I would say this, if we could ship more, our customers will probably take it. So we're trying to ramp as fast as we can.

我想說的是，如果我們能多發貨一些，我們的客戶可能會接受。所以我們正在盡最大努力加快生產速度。

That's helpful. And then maybe just as we think about the ramp of the course of the year and think about just the puts and takes on gross margin, should we still think about 50% is kind of incremental gross margin leverage just thinking about the tariff dynamic as well?

那很有幫助。然後，當我們考慮今年的成長趨勢，並考慮毛利率的波動時，我們是否仍然認為 50% 的毛利率成長幅度是一種增量槓桿，同時也要考慮關稅動態？

Joe, this is Ram. I'll take that. The quick answer is yes. We are very pleased with the gross margin for 2025. And if it weren't for tariffs, you would have been to your point or 47%.

喬，我是拉姆。我接受。簡而言之，答案是肯定的。我們對2025年的毛利率非常滿意。如果沒有關稅，你就能達到你所說的 47% 了。

And if you remember, last three quarters, we were focused on mitigating the cost of the tariffs. And by we offset the cost dollar for dollar. And going forward, we'll be focused more on mitigating the impact on the gross margin itself. So yes, the volume and the right mix will certainly get us back to the 4%.

如果你還記得的話，過去三個季度，我們一直致力於降低關稅成本。我們用一美元對一美元的成本抵消了其他成本。展望未來，我們將更重視減輕對毛利率本身的影響。所以，是的，只要音量和合適的配比，我們肯定能回到 4% 的水平。

(Operator Instructions) James Schneider, Goldman Sachs.

（操作說明）詹姆斯·施耐德，高盛。

Just as a clarification initially, you talked about your semi customers citing a 15% to 20% outlook and your ability to kind of do towards the high end of that, presumably, given the mix of your customers and the mix of your business You'd also just referenced potential constraints in terms of ramping your production. Can you maybe just give us a clarity on whether you see yourselves as constrained in your ability to ship in the next quarters? Do you think you'll be able to catch up to your customers' full demand -- unconstrained demand run rate by the middle of the year at least?

首先澄清一下，您提到您的半成品客戶給出了 15% 到 20% 的預期，而您有能力達到這個預期的上限，這大概是因為您的客戶組合和業務組合。您也提到了在提高產量方面可能存在的限制。能否請您明確說明一下，您認為在接下來的幾個季度裡，您的產品交付能力是否會受到限制？您認為您至少能在年中之前滿足客戶的全部需求—也就是不受限制的需求運行速度嗎？

Yes, I'd say this is Jim. During the beginning of the ramp, we're never the constraint because I think we have a supply chain with inventory as well. And even during the peak ramp and even after many quarters of a ramp, we have never constrained our major customers. And I think it's an industry that's always met demand as an entire semiconductor industry. And companies that don't meet demand and constrain their customers they're not around anymore, right?

是的，我覺得這就是吉姆。在產能爬坡初期，我們從來不會成為瓶頸，因為我認為我們也有完善的供應鏈和庫存。即使在高峰期和高峰期過後，我們也從未限製過我們的主要客戶。我認為，作為一個整體半導體產業，它一直都能滿足市場需求。那些無法滿足市場需求、限制客戶需求的公司，最終都會被淘汰，對吧？

And so I think we have plant capacity. The challenge is getting the supply chain to ramp up. But even then our biggest customers have always been a priority and we've never disappointed them.

所以我認為我們有足夠的產能。挑戰在於如何提升供應鏈的產能。但即便如此，我們始終把最大的客戶放在第一位，從未讓他們失望過。

Very clear. And then just in terms of how we think about the forward model, you've clearly stated that you expect to grow OpEx slower than revenue, but give us a sense about the leverage you expect there, please? 2:1 or et cetera?

非常清楚。那麼，就我們對未來模型的思考而言，您已經明確表示預計營運支出成長速度將低於收入成長速度，請您簡要介紹一下您預計在這方面能發揮多大的作用？2:1 或其他？

Jim. So if you look at -- so we will be investing. We want our OpEx very carefully, but we will be investing this year to support the growth. But in terms of leverage. That will be a focus to drive our leverage further.

吉姆。所以如果你看看——所以我們將會進行投資。我們希望謹慎控制營運支出，但今年我們將進行投資以支持成長。但就槓桿作用而言。這將是我們進一步提升自身影響力的重點。

If you look at 24% to 25%, our OpEx dollars grew, but our OpEx as a percentage of sales was lower. So we finished around 26% for 25 and 26, we will be lower than that.

如果看 24% 到 25% 的數據，我們的營運支出金額成長了，但營運支出佔銷售額的比例卻下降了。所以，25歲和26歲這兩位的最終完成率在26%左右，我們會低於這個數字。

Thank you. And I would now like to hand the conference back over to Paretosh Misra for closing remarks.

謝謝。現在我謹將會議交還給帕雷托什·米斯拉，請他作閉幕致詞。

Thank you all for joining us today and for your interest in MKS. Operator, you may close the call, please.

感謝各位今天蒞臨指導，也感謝大家對MKS的關注。接線員，您可以掛斷電話了。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接了。