PDF Solutions, Inc. (PDFS) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the PDF Solutions, Inc. conference call to discuss its financial results for the first quarter conference call ending Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Operator Instructions)

各位好，歡迎參加 PDF Solutions, Inc. 的電話會議，討論截至 2026 年 3 月 31 日（星期二）止第一季的財務結果電話會議。(接線員指示)

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. If you have not yet received a copy of the corresponding press release, it has been posted to PDF's website at www.pdf.com. Some of the statements that will be made in the course of this conference call are forward-looking, including statements regarding PDF's future financial results and performance, growth rates and demand for its solutions. PDF's actual results could differ materially. You should refer to the section entitled Risk Factors on Pages 16 through 30 of PDF's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, and similar disclosures in subsequent SEC filings.

提醒各位，本次會議將被錄音。若您尚未收到相關新聞稿副本，已發布於 PDF 的網站 www.pdf.com。於本次電話會議中將發表的部分陳述屬於前瞻性陳述，包括關於 PDF 未來財務結果與表現、成長率以及對其解決方案需求的陳述。PDF 的實際結果可能會有重大差異。請參閱 PDF 截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日止會計年度之 Form 10-K 年報第 16 至 30 頁「風險因素」章節，以及後續向 SEC 申報文件中的類似揭露。

The forward-looking statements and risks stated in this conference call are based on information available to PDF today. PDF assumes no obligation to update them.

本次電話會議中的前瞻性陳述與所述風險係基於 PDF 目前可取得之資訊。PDF 不承擔更新上述陳述之任何義務。

Now I'd like to introduce John Kibarian, PDF's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Adnan Raza, PDF's Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Kibarian, please go ahead.

現在我想介紹 PDF 的總裁兼執行長 John Kibarian，以及 PDF 的財務長 Adnan Raza。Kibarian 先生，請開始。

Thank you for joining us on today's call. If you've not already seen our earnings press release and management report for the first quarter, please go to the Investors section of our website where each has been posted.

感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。若您尚未閱讀我們第一季的財報新聞稿與管理層報告，請至我們網站的投資人專區查閱，兩者皆已發布。

For today's call, I will provide a summary of the past quarter, our perspective on the environment and outlook for the remainder of the year. The first quarter was a good start to the year as we made solid progress on our objective to position PDF Solutions as the leading commercial data analytics and mission-critical platform for the semiconductor industry. This was visible in the nature of the bookings, business activity and our product development during the quarter.

在今天的電話會議中，我將概述上一季的情況、我們對環境的看法，以及對今年剩餘期間的展望。第一季為今年帶來良好開局，我們在將 PDF Solutions 定位為半導體產業領先的商用資料分析與關鍵任務平台之目標上取得了扎實進展。這可從本季的訂單性質、業務活動以及產品開發中看出。

From a bookings perspective, Exensio and Cimetrix products were particularly strong. Exensio's strength was primarily from larger deployments, including an enterprise-wide deployment for Exensio Test at a large IDM. Cimetrix booking strength came in part from our larger customers placing orders for runtime licenses in anticipation of additional machine shipments in future quarters. Total revenues were up 26% compared to Q1 of the prior year. Adnan will provide revenue details in his prepared remarks.

從訂單角度來看，Exensio 與 Cimetrix 產品表現特別強勁。Exensio 的強勁主要來自較大型的部署案，包括在一家大型 IDM 對 Exensio Test 進行的企業級全面部署。Cimetrix 的訂單強勁部分來自我們較大型客戶為因應未來季度額外機台出貨而預先下單購買執行期授權（runtime licenses）。總營收較去年第一季成長 26%。Adnan 將在其事先準備的發言中提供營收細節。

We shipped one eProbe in the quarter and anticipate that machine to begin contributing to revenue in Q2. Our capital investments in eProbe was meaningful in the quarter as we build additional machines to support our goal of shipping six machines this year.

本季我們出貨一台 eProbe，並預期該機台將於第二季開始對營收做出貢獻。本季我們對 eProbe 的資本投資相當可觀，因我們正在打造更多機台，以支持今年出貨六台機台的目標。

Selling activity was very high across all aspects of the semiconductor industry, from hyperscalers to equipment vendors. We did see significant activity in our characterization and DFI business as customers look to develop advanced processes and products. We anticipate that this activity will result in strong bookings in this category as the year progresses.

在半導體產業各個面向，從超大規模業者（hyperscalers）到設備供應商，銷售活動都非常熱絡。我們也在特性化（characterization）與 DFI 業務上看到顯著活動，因客戶希望開發先進製程與產品。我們預期隨著年度推進，這些活動將帶動此類別的強勁訂單。

Development of our new AI-enabled Exensio analytics systems that we announced at our users' conference in December 2025 remained on track in Q1, and we anticipate beta release in the third quarter. Customer interest has been very high for this capability. In the quarter, we celebrated our first anniversary with secureWISE as a part of PDF Solutions. Our secureWISE system provides secure end-to-end remote access and monitoring for manufacturing equipment, enabling the equipment companies to provide better support and advanced services for the equipment installed at fabs all over the world.

我們在 2025 年 12 月使用者大會上宣布的新一代 AI 賦能 Exensio 分析系統，其開發在第一季仍按計畫進行，我們預期第三季推出 Beta 版本。客戶對此能力的興趣非常高。本季我們也慶祝 secureWISE 加入 PDF Solutions 滿一週年。我們的 secureWISE 系統為製造設備提供安全的端到端遠端存取與監控，使設備公司能為全球各地晶圓廠已安裝的設備提供更佳支援與進階服務。

During the past year, we invested in R&D to improve the product and services, expanded the customer base to include fab owners, not just equipment makers and now we're expanding the network into the OSATs and fabless. As collaboration in the chip industry moves from being driven by humans to being led by AI, we believe that remote connectivity enabled by secureWISE will increasingly be important. Customer enthusiasm for our stewardship of secureWISE has been super. Overall, it was a strong start to the year, both in terms of our traction with the customers and our product development.

過去一年，我們投入研發以改善產品與服務，並將客戶基礎擴展至晶圓廠業主，而不僅是設備製造商；目前我們也正將網路擴展至 OSAT 與無晶圓廠（fabless）公司。隨著晶片產業的協作從以人為主導轉向由 AI 引領，我們相信 secureWISE 所提供的遠端連線能力將日益重要。客戶對我們管理與推動 secureWISE 的表現反應非常熱烈。整體而言，今年開局強勁，無論是在客戶端的進展，或是產品開發方面皆是如此。

Now let's turn to our perspective on the environment. I believe this is my 100th quarterly conference call with investors. And as I reflect on my tenure having the honor and opportunity to serve our stockholders, customers and employees, I realize that this is the most interesting time that I've ever seen for the industry and PDF in particular. I don't say that lightly. And in fact, I've never said that before.

接下來談談我們對環境的看法。我想這是我與投資人進行的第 100 次季度電話會議。當我回顧自己有幸服務股東、客戶與員工的任期時，我意識到，這是我所見過對產業、尤其對 PDF 而言最有意思的時刻。我並非輕率地這麼說。事實上，我以前從未這麼說過。

Over the years, we have experienced many semiconductor cycles. Each time we are told this one is different. I have little doubt that this cycle can overshoot like all the past ones. What is different this time is how AI is changing so dramatically the way engineering is being performed everywhere. A recent business trip in Asia this past quarter highlighted that for me.

多年來，我們經歷過多次半導體景氣循環。每一次都有人說這次不一樣。我幾乎可以確定，這一輪循環也可能像過去一樣出現過度擴張。這次不同之處在於，AI 正以極其劇烈的方式改變各地工程作業的執行方式。我在本季一次亞洲的出差中對此感受尤深。

What I found interesting was that in eight of the nine customer meetings, the CEO attended, and he was very interested in learning how AI is being used in R&D and manufacturing across the industry from PDF's vantage point.

我覺得有意思的是，在九場客戶會議中有八場由 CEO 親自出席，而且他非常希望從 PDF 的視角了解 AI 在整個產業的研發與製造中是如何被運用的。

The inference that I drew from this is that executives realize that AI is having the most profound effect on how companies operate and may result in the changing the nature of the industry and hence companies. These CEOs see PDF as a leader in bringing AI to manufacturing, and they want to understand our perspective on the transformation that is happening and our vision for manufacturing, product and test engineering and yield ramp as a result of AI.

我由此推論，高階主管已意識到 AI 正對企業運作方式產生最深遠的影響，並可能改變產業的本質，進而改變公司本身。這些 CEO 視 PDF 為將 AI 導入製造的領導者，他們希望了解我們對正在發生之轉型的觀點，以及我們對製造、產品與測試工程、以及在 AI 驅動下良率爬坡（yield ramp）的願景。

What this means for PDF is that this is the most interesting business environment we have experienced in our 25 years as a listed company. As the PDF platform transitions from a system used within the company to increasingly an AI and analytics platform used across the industry, we believe we can deliver and capture more value as we help our customers seize on the opportunities that our platform can provide them. This is resulting in deeper collaborations with our customers and ultimately can result in larger engagements with them.

對 PDF 而言，這意味著這是我們作為上市公司 25 年來所經歷過最有意思的商業環境。隨著 PDF 平台從公司內部使用的系統，逐步轉型為跨產業使用的 AI 與分析平台，我們相信在協助客戶掌握平台所能提供的機會時，我們能交付並取得更多價值。這正促成我們與客戶更深度的合作，最終也可能帶來更大型的合作案。

Given our progress in Q1, we reconfirm our total year-over-year revenue growth for this year to be consistent with our 20% long-term target. I want to thank all the PDF customers, employees and contractors for their efforts during the quarter.

基於我們在第一季的進展，我們重申今年全年營收年增率將與我們 20% 的長期目標一致。我要感謝所有 PDF 的客戶、員工與承包商在本季的努力。

Now I'll turn the call over to Adnan, who will review finances and provide his perspective on our results. Adnan?

接下來我把電話交給 Adnan，由他回顧財務並分享他對我們業績的看法。Adnan？

Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone. Good to speak with you again today, and I hope all of you and your families are well. We're pleased to review the financial results for the first quarter of 2026. As mentioned, our earnings release and a management report are posted in the Investor Relations section of our website.

謝謝你，John。各位下午好。很高興今天再次與各位交流，也希望各位及家人一切安好。我們很高興在此回顧 2026 年第一季的財務結果。如前所述，我們的財報新聞稿與管理層報告已發布於網站的投資人關係專區。

Our Form 10-Q was also filed with the SEC today. Please note that all of the financial results we discuss in today's call are on a non-GAAP basis, and a reconciliation to GAAP financials is provided in the materials on our website.

我們的 Form 10-Q 也已於今日向 SEC 提交。請注意，我們在今天電話會議中討論的所有財務結果皆以非 GAAP 基礎呈現，並已在我們網站的相關資料中提供與 GAAP 財務數字的調節表。

We are pleased with the results of Q1 with multiple large bookings during the quarter. We secured a double-digit million-dollar Exensio Test Operations booking to help our customer manage geographically distributed operations, an Exensio renewal with a large fabless customer for better analytics. And a booking for fab control software for a large fab customer in Asia. We ended the quarter with a backlog of $246 million, up 9% versus the same quarter of last year. Total revenue for the first quarter were $60.1 million, up 26% versus the same quarter of last year.

我們對第一季的成果感到滿意，本季取得多筆大型訂單。我們拿下了一筆金額達數千萬美元、雙位數百萬等級的 Exensio 測試營運（Test Operations）訂單，協助客戶管理跨地域分散的營運；也與一家大型無晶圓（fabless）客戶完成 Exensio 續約，以提升分析能力。此外，亦取得一筆提供給亞洲某大型晶圓廠客戶的晶圓廠控制（fab control）軟體訂單。本季結束時，我們的在手訂單（backlog）為 2.46 億美元，較去年同期成長 9%。第一季總營收為 6,010 萬美元，較去年同期成長 26%。

Our platform revenue was $50.9 million for the quarter or up 36% versus the same quarter of last year, driven by strength in our leading edge solutions, Exensio software and one complete quarter of secureWISE revenues.

本季平台營收為 5,090 萬美元，較去年同期成長 36%，主要受惠於我們在先進製程解決方案、Exensio 軟體的強勁表現，以及 secureWISE 營收完整貢獻一整季。

Volume-based revenue for this quarter was $9.2 million or down 12% versus the same period of last year, primarily due to lower gain share. Our gross margin for the first quarter came in at 76% versus 77% last quarter, driven by a small increase in cost of revenue with a smaller revenue base as expected.

本季按量計費（volume-based）營收為 920 萬美元，較去年同期下滑 12%，主要因分潤（gain share）較低所致。第一季毛利率為 76%，較上季的 77% 略降，主因如預期在營收基礎較小的情況下，營收成本小幅增加。

Our operating margin for the first quarter came in at 25% versus 24% for the prior quarter and 18% for the same quarter a year ago. We are pleased that on a dollar basis, we generated approximately $15 million of operating profit this quarter, slightly higher than operating profit during last quarter and 75% higher than the $8.6 million operating profit in the same quarter of last year. We remain cognizant of our long-term target operating margin of 27% and continue to make meaningful progress towards that goal.

第一季營業利益率為 25%，高於前一季的 24%，也高於去年同期的 18%。我們很高興本季以金額計算，營業利益約 1,500 萬美元，略高於上季的營業利益，且較去年同期 860 萬美元的營業利益高出 75%。我們仍然關注長期 27% 的目標營業利益率，並持續朝該目標取得實質進展。

Before we updated our long-term targets in December 2025, we had achieved our prior long-term targets set in 2023 within 2 years of setting those prior targets. As we reflect on our current target model of 27% operating margin and achievement of 24% during Q4 of 2025 and 25% for Q1 of 2026, we are happy to note that we are making faster progress towards our long-term target than the last time.

在我們於 2025 年 12 月更新長期目標之前，我們已在設定 2023 年的前一版長期目標後 2 年內達成該等目標。回顧目前以 27% 營業利益率為目標的模型，以及我們在 2025 年第四季達成 24%、2026 年第一季達成 25% 的表現，我們很高興看到相較上一次，我們正以更快速度朝長期目標邁進。

Net income for the quarter totaled $12.6 million or $0.31 per share compared to $8.1 million or $0.21 per share in the same quarter a year ago or up 56% for net income and 48% for EPS on a year-over-year basis. We anticipate improvements in EPS as we approach the long-term model due to the scale the business is achieving as our costs to operate the business are rising slower than our revenues.

本季淨利合計 1,260 萬美元，或每股 0.31 美元；相較去年同期為 810 萬美元，或每股 0.21 美元。以年增率計，淨利成長 56%，每股盈餘（EPS）成長 48%。隨著我們逐步接近長期模型，預期 EPS 將持續改善，因為公司規模擴大之際，我們的營運成本增速低於營收增速。

Turning to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $31 million, compared to $42 million at the end of the prior quarter, with the change primarily driven by approximately $10 million used for CapEx needs related primarily to building eProbe systems and fulfilling the customer demand we have spoken about. Given the demand we are seeing, we expect to increase our CapEx spend for this year versus last year, balanced by customer collections such that we expect to grow our cash balance over the coming quarters, particularly the second half of the year.

接著談資產負債表。本季結束時，現金、約當現金及短期投資為 3,100 萬美元，較前一季末的 4,200 萬美元下降；變動主要來自約 1,000 萬美元用於資本支出（CapEx），主要與建置 eProbe 系統及滿足我們先前提到的客戶需求相關。鑑於目前看到的需求，我們預期今年的資本支出將高於去年；同時在客戶收款的平衡下，我們預期未來幾季現金餘額將成長，尤其是下半年。

After the quarter closed, we also expanded our revolving credit facility and have $30 million of unused revolver credit facility now available for use by the company as needed. As we look to the rest of the year, we reiterate our expectation that 2026 revenue will grow year-over-year, consistent with our 20% long-term revenue growth target and that we will make meaningful progress towards our long-term target margin operating models of 27% with gross margin of 77%.

在季後，我們也擴大了循環信用額度（revolving credit facility），目前公司尚有 3,000 萬美元未動用的循環額度可視需要使用。展望今年剩餘時間，我們重申 2026 年營收將年增，符合我們長期 20% 的營收成長目標；同時我們將在朝向長期目標營業利益率模型 27%（毛利率 77%）方面取得實質進展。

With that, let me turn the call over to the operator for Q&A. Operator?

接下來，我把電話交給接線員進行問答。接線員？

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Blair Abernethy, Rosenblatt Securities.

Blair Abernethy，Rosenblatt Securities。

Nice quarter. I just wanted to -- John, just maybe if you could give us a little more color on how you're doing with the eProbe, particularly around new customers. What's that pipeline looking like? And you said you're on track for about six shipments this year. How much of that is like net new customers?

這一季表現不錯。我想請教一下——John，你是否能多分享一些 eProbe 的進展，特別是新客戶方面？目前的案源（pipeline）看起來如何？你提到今年大約可出貨六台。其中有多少是淨新增客戶（net new customers）？

We expect about 1/3 of them to end up at net new customers and the others to be repeat orders on existing customers. And maybe not all of them directly contributing to revenue this year, one of them may end up being -- will be a demo machine. So probably five of the six will be revenue generating, one will be demo, two will be at new customers. The other four should be at existing customers, at least as it looks now.

我們預期大約三分之一最終會交付給淨新增客戶，其餘則是既有客戶的重複訂單。而且可能不是全部都會在今年直接貢獻營收，其中一台可能會——將會是展示機（demo machine）。所以六台之中大概五台會帶來營收，一台是展示機；其中兩台會在新客戶端。另外四台目前看起來應該會在既有客戶端。

Okay. And looking ahead to 2027, I know, it's only May here, but how are you thinking about how the pipeline is developing for next year?

了解。再往前看 2027 年，我知道現在才 5 月，但你們如何看待明年的案源發展？

Yes, it's a great question. We do see quite a bit of interest. We are trying to build as many additional machines as we can, right? We've committed to six. We are looking to do -- see what we can do about additionals. We do have interest to be able to ship additional demo machines and it is gated by our ability to -- how we look at executing. But what we don't get to this year, we will start serving next year.

是的，這是個很好的問題。我們確實看到相當多的興趣。我們正努力盡可能多打造一些額外的機台，對吧？我們已承諾六台。我們也在評估——看看能否再增加一些。我們確實有需求希望能出貨更多展示機，而這取決於我們的執行能力——也就是我們如何評估與落實。但今年來不及完成的部分，我們會從明年開始供應。

Okay. Great. And then just on the secureWISE, how is that pipeline developing on that side of the business now that you've had it for a year?

好的。很棒。另外關於 secureWISE，在你們持有這項業務滿一年後，這一端的案源發展如何？

Yes. So a couple of things have happened. First of all, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, we started making -- providing service directly to the fabs. What we found was fabs also have people all around the world. And the security features that secureWISE provides, the ability to have a log of who was looking at what data when and what machine when auditable for a couple of years is very valuable even when it's within the same company.

是的。有幾件事發生了。首先，如我在事先準備的講稿中提到的，我們開始直接向晶圓廠提供服務。我們發現晶圓廠也在全球各地都有員工。而 secureWISE 所提供的安全功能——能夠記錄誰在何時查看了哪些資料、何時查看了哪台機器，並可稽核保存數年——即使是在同一家公司內部，也非常有價值。

So starting last year, we started selling to the fabs. At our user conference, Intel talked about how they standardize on secureWISE.

因此從去年開始，我們開始向晶圓廠銷售。在我們的使用者大會上，Intel 談到他們如何將 secureWISE 標準化。

What that's also done has gotten a lot of the equipment vendors who -- when we bought the company, the largest equipment vendors of the world were the heaviest users of data for secureWISE and also the biggest customers because they had developed the most services, usually related to AI, that provided value by taking the data from the machines, analyzing it at headquarters and providing back updated models and value-added capabilities.

這也讓許多設備供應商——在我們收購該公司時，全球最大的設備供應商是 secureWISE 資料使用最重度的用戶，同時也是最大的客戶——開始有更多動作，因為他們已開發出最多的服務，通常與 AI 相關：把機台資料帶回總部分析，再回傳更新後的模型與加值能力，從而創造價值。

But every equipment customer wants to be able to do that, company wants to be able to do that. And I think the Intel announcement gave a number of other equipment companies the realization that this was going to become more available. And so we've started picking up and have quite a deep pipeline to expand the business with, what I would say is, secureWISE classic, the business with equipment vendors.

但其實每一家設備客戶都希望能做到這件事，每家公司都希望能做到。我認為 Intel 的宣布讓其他一些設備公司意識到，這將會變得更普及、更容易取得。因此我們開始加速推進，並且建立了相當深的案源，以擴展我所稱的 secureWISE classic——也就是與設備供應商合作的這塊業務。

Also, we've been picking up more business with the fabs. And as I said in my prepared remarks more recently, as we look at the OSATs and the fabless and even the foundries as they go out to those facilities, we start getting interest in people connecting front-end to back-end as advanced packaging becomes more important, back-end packaging to the fabless as the testing and production is becoming more important.

此外，我們也從晶圓廠（fabs）那邊承接到更多業務。而且如我在近期的事先準備發言中提到的，當我們觀察 OSAT、無晶圓廠（fabless），甚至是晶圓代工廠（foundries）在走向那些設施時，隨著先進封裝變得更重要，我們開始看到市場對於把前段（front-end）連到後段（back-end）的連結需求產生興趣；同時，隨著測試與量產變得更重要，後段封裝也需要連到無晶圓廠端。

So we've got pilots ongoing to bring secureWISE out to that part of the community too, leveraging on the fact that we already had DEX services there, which was our own historical system, to many of the OSATs as well. So it's been a natural extension to bring the secureWISE additional capabilities it provides out to that part of the market. And now we're going into that. So that's kind of our big activity for the second year of our stewardship of the product.

因此我們正在進行試點（pilots），把 secureWISE 也推向社群的那一端，並利用我們先前已在那裡提供 DEX 服務（我們歷史上的自有系統）這個基礎，DEX 也服務了許多 OSAT。所以，把 secureWISE 所提供的額外能力延伸到那個市場區塊，是很自然的擴展。而現在我們正在推進這件事。所以這大概就是我們接手該產品後第二年的主要活動。

Clark Wright, D.A. Davidson.

Clark Wright，D.A. Davidson。

Awesome. Well, I would just like to start maybe the question for Adnan here around the CapEx guidance that you provided with the step-up that we saw in 1Q. Could we maybe parse through if that's demand-driven, where you're seeing CapEx upfront in order to supply eProbe systems later this year? Or if there's anything that's more related to the long-term objectives of that business?

太棒了。我想先從你們提供的資本支出（CapEx）指引談起，特別是我們在第一季看到的上調；我這邊可能先問 Adnan。能否請你拆解一下，這是需求驅動的嗎？也就是你們為了在今年稍晚供應 eProbe 系統，而提前投入 CapEx？或者其中是否有任何部分更偏向該業務的長期目標？

Yes. I think as you have heard in our prior remarks and us confirming today, one out of the six machines that we targeted for this year getting shipped. If you look at our installed base that we've spoken about, six machines through the end of last year and then shipping six this year, that's a meaningful step-up that we're trying to get to this year. And that spend is to make sure that we are positioned well to meet that demand. Somewhat of it is, starting to think about the future, but it's mostly related to the current demand that we are needing to meet for this year.

是的。我想如同你們在我們先前的發言中聽到、以及我們今天再次確認的，我們今年目標的六台機器中，已有一台出貨。如果你看我們談過的裝機基礎（installed base），截至去年底是六台，而今年再出貨六台，這是我們今年要達成的一個相當有意義的躍升。而這些支出是為了確保我們具備良好條件來滿足那樣的需求。其中有一部分確實是在開始思考未來，但大多數仍與我們今年需要滿足的當期需求相關。

Got it. And then additionally, last year, 53% of revenue came from the top 3 customers based on your disclosures in the 10-K. Can you provide any color on the conversations you're having right now? You referenced numerous times the points around demand and interest. How do you expect these large relationships to grow this year? And if there's any upside potential opportunities within that customer base?

了解。另外，根據你們在 10-K 的揭露，去年有 53% 的營收來自前三大客戶。你能否分享一下目前你們正在進行的對話有哪些重點？你多次提到需求與興趣的相關訊號。你預期今年這些大型合作關係會如何成長？以及在這個客戶群中是否存在任何上行（upside）機會？

Sure. Always our business, the largest bookings have -- it's an 80-20 rule, right? The top 20% drive a high percentage of the bookings volume typically. And we expect that again this year. You are correct that it is broadening in terms of the number of types of customers. Before we had secureWISE, very few of the equipment companies were in our top 20 list. Now we have equipment companies in the top 5 list, and that is growing quite meaningfully.

當然。我們的業務一向如此，最大的訂單（bookings）通常遵循 80/20 法則，對吧？前 20% 的客戶通常會貢獻很高比例的訂單量。我們預期今年也會是如此。你說得沒錯，從客戶類型的數量來看，確實正在擴大。在我們推出 secureWISE 之前，設備公司很少出現在我們的前 20 名名單中。現在設備公司已經進入前 5 名，而且這個趨勢正在相當明顯地成長。

Also, we see with what we're doing with Exensio, a lot of opportunity to expand in the, I would say, the core fabless and merchant semiconductor IDM list. So we do expect this year the bookings to broaden out. We do have a couple of customers that are very large -- significant customers that we do expect renewal bookings this year too.

另外，從我們在 Exensio 上所做的事情來看，我們也看到很多機會可以在我所稱的核心無晶圓廠（fabless）與商用半導體 IDM 名單中擴張。因此我們確實預期今年的訂單會更分散、覆蓋面更廣。我們也有幾家非常大型、很重要的客戶，我們預期今年也會有續約訂單（renewal bookings）。

So the exact ratio, Clark, I'm not so sure about, but I think the volume of bookings this year will have a mix of maybe weighted a little bit more in terms of numbers of newer significant customers. In terms of dollars, probably the repeat customers may be some of the bigger dollar amounts.

所以確切的比例，Clark，我不太確定，但我認為今年的訂單量在組成上，可能會在「新增的重要客戶數量」方面權重更高一些。以金額來看，可能重複客戶（repeat customers）會貢獻一些較大的金額。

Got it. That's helpful. And then one last thing, as I was going through the Q, I just wanted to kind of understand the margin implications. It looks like Gainshare and Advantest revenues were down year-over-year. And just trying to understand if the margins we see today would benefit from increased share there or if you're not expecting any additional Gainshare revenue going forward, at least on the growth side?

了解。這很有幫助。最後一點，當我在看 Q 的時候，我想理解一下毛利的影響。看起來 Gainshare 和 Advantest 的營收年對年下滑。我想了解的是，如果那邊的占比提高，是否會對我們目前看到的毛利率有幫助？或者你們是否不預期未來還會有任何額外的 Gainshare 營收成長，至少在成長面向上？

Yes. So the volume-based part of the business is at least in our control, how volumes -- how customers ship volumes, how much data they use and how much wafers they ship. And so that is relatively volatile. We don't put that in our backlog, right? Yet we know it's always going to be there.

是的。所以，這個以量計價（volume-based）的業務部分，至少在某種程度上不在我們控制之內：客戶出貨量如何變動、他們使用多少資料、以及他們出貨多少晶圓。因此它相對波動。我們不會把那部分放進我們的在手訂單（backlog），對吧？但我們也知道它一直都會存在。

It does always -- when that's significant, it does really help with our gross margin. So obviously, to achieve the 76% gross margin that we achieved this quarter, while that number was down, really speaks to the overall scale of the business overall and why our confidence and why we believe we can meet or exceed the 77% long-term target, maybe in shorter time than the typical three-plus years that people would typically set for a long-term target and recognize we just set that target in December.

當那部分占比顯著時，確實會對我們的毛利率有很大幫助。所以很明顯地，為了達到本季 76% 的毛利率，即便那個數字是下滑的，仍然能做到這點，這其實反映了整體業務規模的擴大；也說明了我們為何有信心、以及為何我們相信我們能達成或超越 77% 的長期目標，甚至可能比一般人設定長期目標時常見的三年以上時間更快——而且要記得，我們是在 12 月才剛設定這個目標。

So I mean, the way we looked at it was we know people will start -- we will be shipping. We will start seeing those volume-based numbers go back up. And as they come back up as well as the scale in the rest of the business, we do expect to meet and exceed our gross margin targets.

所以我的意思是，我們的看法是：我們知道隨著時間推進——我們會持續出貨。我們會開始看到那些以量計價的數字回升。而當它們回升，再加上其他業務的規模擴大，我們確實預期能達成並超越我們的毛利率目標。

Christian Schwab, Craig-Hallum.

Christian Schwab，Craig-Hallum。

This is Ben Taxdahl on for Christian Schwab here. Great quarter. I just want to go back to those targets and tracking a little bit earlier than expected. I know you just mentioned it's early still, but I mean, could we kind of expect this getting to those targets to be a '27 event? Or could it be a little bit longer?

我是 Ben Taxdahl，代 Christian Schwab 提問。本季表現很棒。我想回到那些目標，以及你們似乎比預期更早一些在追蹤達標進度。我知道你剛提到現在還早，但我們是否可以預期達到那些目標會是在 2027 年發生的事件？還是可能會再久一點？

So if you look, you know, our 2023 targets were 20% revenue growth, 75% gross margin, 20% operating margin. And within two years by 2025, really just in Q4 of 2025, we exceeded all those numbers, I believe. It was the first year that we exceeded them.

如果你看，我們 2023 年的目標是：營收成長 20%、毛利率 75%、營業利益率 20%。而在兩年內、也就是到 2025 年，實際上在 2025 年第四季，我相信我們已經超過了所有這些數字。那是我們第一次超過這些目標的一年。

We then set new targets for, again, 20% revenue growth, but now on a much bigger base. 77% gross margin and 27% operating margin. So I think people were surprised at the big jump up in operating margin going from 20% to 27%, while gross margins were going from 75% to 77%.

接著我們又設定了新的目標：同樣是營收成長 20%，但基期已經大很多；毛利率 77%，營業利益率 27%。所以我想大家對於營業利益率從 20% 跳到 27% 的大幅提升感到驚訝，而毛利率則是從 75% 提升到 77%。

And that was in part because as we start getting scale, we felt that, the R&D leverage you start getting becomes significant. The G&A leverage you start getting becomes significant. And now if you look at the first couple of quarters, right, we're now at, let's say, 24%, 25% on that operating number. So we've made reasonable progress to that 27%. We're at 76%.

這部分原因是，當我們開始取得規模效益時，我們認為研發（R&D）的槓桿效益會變得顯著。一般與行政（G&A）的槓桿效益也會變得顯著。而現在如果你看前幾個季度，對吧，我們的營業利益率大概已經在 24%、25% 左右。所以我們朝 27% 已經取得合理的進展。毛利率方面我們目前是 76%。

So we've made some progress from 75% to 77%. We're starting to get there as well. And we do think we can get there sooner than the typical three years and probably sooner than we did the last time. How much sooner? We're not quite ready, Ben, to say how much sooner.

所以我們已經從 75% 進步到 77%。我們也開始逐步接近目標。而且我們確實認為，我們可以比典型的三年更快達成，可能也會比上一次更快。會快多少？Ben，我們還沒準備好說會快多少。

We'll see how the remainder of the year progresses. But we're super confident that this will come in strong and quickly. It's not going to take us typical three years for a long-term model.

我們會看看今年剩餘時間的進展。但我們非常有信心，這會強勁且快速地實現。對於長期模型而言，這不會花我們典型的三年時間。

Okay. Great. And then one question, one more on ePro. You talked about the six this year. How many -- I mean, where could that be in '27, '28? Or how big of an opportunity could this be over a multiyear period? A little bit more color on that.

好的。很好。接著還有一個問題，再問一個關於 ePro 的。你提到今年有 6 台。那麼——我的意思是，到了 2027、2028 年可能會到什麼程度？或者在多年期間，這可能會是多大的機會？能否再多給一些說明。

Yes. It's a question that we're getting our own hands on. What I can tell you, Ben, is right now, the majority of the machines are subscribed, and we expect them to stay subscribed over that time period anyway. And what that means is that, it's not like a capital purchase where we have to go and start from zero every quarter. We build from that base.

是的。這也是我們正在自己深入掌握的問題。Ben，我現在可以告訴你的是，目前大多數機台都是以訂閱方式簽約，我們也預期在那段期間它們會持續維持訂閱。這代表它不像資本性採購那樣，我們每一季都得從零開始。我們是在既有基礎上持續累積。

So our base exiting last year was 6 machines, but 5 of the 6 on a subscription. We expect to end this year with approximately double that on a subscription basis. So about 10 of the 12, one in demo and one that was purchased.

因此，我們去年年底的基礎是 6 台機台，其中 6 台裡有 5 台是訂閱制。我們預期今年年底在訂閱基礎上大約會是其兩倍。也就是大約 12 台中的 10 台為訂閱，1 台在展示（demo），另 1 台為一次性購買。

So that means that we keep on building that foundation. If we can sustain a slight modest growth in the number of machines we ship each year, we can get substantially more revenue growth right, than that because they -- all of them -- all the previous machines are still -- or the majority of the previous machines are still contributing revenue.

這表示我們會持續建立那個基礎。如果我們能維持每年出貨機台數的小幅溫和成長，我們就能取得遠高於該幅度的營收成長，因為——所有機台——先前的機台仍然，或說大多數先前的機台仍在貢獻營收。

So we do believe as you look out over '27 and '28, even if all we do is maintain this level, it is -- the eProbe continues to be a very important part and growing part of the business. Now we think the total market for e-beam has been talked about by others, is the fastest-growing inspection product category in the front end because so many of the nature, so many of the defects are now three-dimensional in nature, and e-beam is the most efficient way to look at 3D defects. And we feel we have a very unique capability there.

因此我們確實相信，展望 2027 與 2028 年，即使我們只維持目前這個水準，eProbe 仍會是業務中非常重要且持續成長的一部分。另外，我們認為整體 e-beam 市場如同其他人所談到的，是前段製程中成長最快的檢測產品類別，因為現在許多缺陷本質上已是三維（3D），而 e-beam 是觀察 3D 缺陷最有效率的方法。我們也覺得我們在這方面具備非常獨特的能力。

So the overall market is quite substantial. Depending on who you listen to, it's on the order of $1 billion market. You'd have to flip that to a subscription market versus a perpetual market. So you might look at that a little bit differently if you model that on a subscription basis. But it would stack up over time. And it is a meaningful market.

所以整體市場相當可觀。依你聽誰的說法，大約是 10 億美元規模的市場。你必須把它從永久授權市場轉換成訂閱市場來看。因此若以訂閱制來建模，你可能會用不同方式來看待。但它會隨時間累積疊加。而且這是一個具相當意義的市場。

Clark Wright, D.A. Davidson.

Clark Wright，D.A. Davidson。

Hi there, just wanted to jump back in and just ask one on the leading-edge players and your relationships with those. I know during the Investor Day, that was a point of emphasis that you were making from a go-to-market perspective. Could you provide any update on the initiatives that you're putting in action in order to gain share with those fab players in the broader ecosystem?

你好，我想再插問一下，關於先進製程（leading-edge）客戶以及你們與他們的關係。我知道在投資人日，你們從 go-to-market 的角度特別強調了這一點。你能否更新一下，你們正在採取哪些措施，以便在更廣泛的生態系中，從那些晶圓廠（fab）客戶手上提升市占？

Yes. Sure, Clark. I mean, a few things. I think the previous question that Ben had about the eProbe is a significant part of it. There's a big emphasis there.

是的。當然可以，Clark。我的意思是，有幾件事。我想 Ben 先前問到的 eProbe 問題是其中很重要的一部分。我們在那方面投入很大的重點。

The eProbe tie-in to design is increasingly important for our customers. I'd like to understand exactly what the -- when the eProbe find things, exactly what about the design made that interacted with the process. So some AI capabilities that we're building into the eProbe for that. Customers love that because the eProbe has to grok the entire design, not just the layer it's looking at, but how that layer is connected to every other layer.

eProbe 與設計端的連結對我們的客戶而言愈來愈重要。我希望能精確理解——當 eProbe 發現問題時，設計中的哪些因素與製程互動而造成了這些問題。因此我們正在把一些 AI 能力建到 eProbe 裡來達成這點。客戶很喜歡，因為 eProbe 必須理解（grok）整個設計，不只是它正在看的那一層，還包括那一層如何與其他每一層相連。

Secondarily, in my prepared remarks, I talked a little bit about AI integration with Exensio and the releases that we're making this year. One of the targeted areas is the ability to interpret and understand the data coming off our test vehicles. Our test vehicles are the most -- in the industry, probably the most widely used and very detailed. And they have thousands of experiments in them.

其次，在我事先準備的發言中，我也稍微談到今年我們在 Exensio 上的 AI 整合以及即將推出的版本。其中一個鎖定的領域，是能夠解讀並理解從我們的測試載具（test vehicles）產生的資料。我們的測試載具在業界可能是使用最廣、而且非常細緻的。而且裡面包含數千個實驗。

And of course, the engineer has to know how to go through and look through all of that. And obviously, you can see how AI could play a very important role there to find the critical signals, interpret that, tie it into layout.

當然，工程師必須知道如何逐一檢視並分析所有這些內容。而且很明顯你可以看到，AI 在這裡可以扮演非常重要的角色：找出關鍵訊號、加以解讀，並把它與版圖（layout）連結起來。

So the way that we're going back and showing customers why they want to do more with our vehicles and systems is in part that AI integration with the Exensio module that does -- called Exensio Characterization that does the interpretation of the CV data, the characterization vehicle data. Sorry, for all the PDF acronyms there. And so that is a big piece of what we're doing in terms of driving from a product innovation standpoint.

因此，我們回到客戶端並向他們展示為什麼他們想在我們的載具與系統上做更多事情，其中一部分就是把 AI 整合到 Exensio 模組中——該模組稱為 Exensio Characterization——用來解讀 CV 資料，也就是特性化載具（characterization vehicle）資料。抱歉，PDF 裡縮寫太多了。因此，從產品創新的角度來看，這是我們推動的一大重點。

And then lastly, of course, partnerships in the industry, collaborations are always places where our systems turn out to be very valuable because you're able to share data, share analytics, understand how to work together, whether that's secureWISE, the characterization vehicles, Exensio itself. These are all points of systems that we provide to customers that are looking to collaborate. In this environment, more and more collaboration is needed. And so it's a great selling environment for us for that capability on the leading edge.

最後，當然，產業內的夥伴關係與協作也一直是我們系統能展現高度價值的地方，因為你可以共享資料、共享分析，並理解如何一起合作——不論是 secureWISE、特性化載具、或是 Exensio 本身。這些都是我們提供給希望進行協作的客戶的系統節點。在這樣的環境下，需要的協作愈來愈多。因此，對於我們在先進製程端的這項能力而言，這是一個很好的銷售環境。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

At this time, there are no more questions. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the program. Thank you for joining us on today's call.

目前沒有更多問題。各位女士、先生，本次會議到此結束。感謝各位參加今天的電話會議。