Photronics Q3 2026 revenue tops guidance on recovery
Photronics reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $216 million, up 3% year over year and above the high end of guidance, while operating margin was 21% and non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.50.
Photronics (NASDAQ: PLAB ) held its third-quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday.
Below is the complete transcript from the call.
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View the webcast at Summary Photronics Inc. reported fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $216 million, a 3% increase year-over-year, surpassing their guidance range, driven by recovery in semiconductor design releases.
Strategic investments in the US and Korea are on track, with Allen facility targeting initial revenue this quarter and the Korean clean room expansion progressing as planned, positioning the company to benefit from node migration and regionalization trends.
High-end IC business recorded a record 44% of IC revenue, reflecting improved business conditions and node migration trends, while fiscal Q3 operating margin was 21% and non-GAAP EPS was $0.50 per share.
Future guidance for fiscal Q4 projects revenue between $207 million and $227 million, with operating margin expected between 19% and 24%, reflecting wider guidance due to ongoing market uncertainties.
Management highlighted partnerships and investments in EUV technology to expand market presence and potential, while maintaining a disciplined capital allocation strategy with updated fiscal 2026 capex guidance between $255 million and $305 million.
Full Transcript OPERATOR Good day and thank you for standing by.
Welcome to the Photronics third quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings conference call.
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Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.
I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Ted Morrow, Vice President of Investor Relations.
Please go ahead.
Ted Morrow, Vice President of Investor Relations Thank you, operator.
Good morning, everyone.
Welcome to our review of Photronics' fiscal third quarter 2026 financial results.
Joining me this morning are George Macacostas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Eric Rivera, President and Chief Financial Officer; and Frank Lee, Senior Executive, Asia.
The press release issued earlier this morning, along with the presentation materials accompanying our remarks, is available on the Investor Relations section of our website and in the Form 8-K filed with the SEC this morning.
This call includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause Photronics' results to differ materially from management's current expectations.
We encourage you to review the forward-looking statements disclosure included in our earnings release and in our most recent 10-K and subsequent filings.
In the coming months, we will be participating in the following investor conferences: Three Part Advisors in Chicago, Lake Street Capital in New York, and the CEO Summit at SEMICON West in San Francisco and SEMICON Europe in Munich.
With that, I will now turn the call over to George.
George Macacostas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Ted, and good morning, everyone.
Total fiscal Q3 revenue of 216 million, increased 3% year over year, was above the high end of our guidance range.
Our fiscal third quarter results reflect the recovery of some of the semiconductor design releases that were delayed and pushed out of our fiscal second quarter.
We began to recognize some of this recovery during the month of May, as we had previously communicated during our Q2 earnings call.
This gradual recovery continued through the remainder of fiscal Q3.
As discussed during our prior earnings call, we indicated that delays in new semiconductor design releases were driven by several factors, including elevated fab utilization rates, memory constraints, and geopolitical uncertainty.
While these factors continue to affect the photomask industry, some design releases have moved into production, with semiconductor wafer utilization rates remaining high.
Fabs are prioritizing higher-profitability product projects and expanding capacity at higher technology nodes.