AIXTRON SE increases FY 2026 guidance
Driven by stronger-than-expected optoelectronics demand,
AIXTRON delivered robust Q1 order growth and has upgraded its full-year outlook.
AIXTRON SE is increasing its guidance for fiscal year 2026 on the back of stronger than expected optoelectronics equipment demand.
AIXTRON has benefited from a stronger than expected Optoelectronics demand in the first quarter. Preliminary order intake in the first quarter of 2026 grew by about 30% yoy to approx. EUR 171 million (Q1/2025: EUR 132.2 million). More than 65% of the equipment order intake was related to the Optoelectronics segment. Preliminary revenues came in at approx. EUR 59 million (Q1/2025: EUR 112.5 million), within the guided range of EUR 65 million plus/minus EUR 10 million. Gross profit and operating result in the quarter were negatively affected by a mid-single-digit EUR million one-off amount related to a personnel measure. As a result, preliminary gross profit for the past quarter came out at approx. EUR 11 million (Q1/2025: EUR 34.1 million) with a gross margin of about 18% (Q1/2025: 30%). The preliminary operating result (EBIT) totalled approx. EUR –22 million (Q1/2025: EUR 3.3 million), which translates into an EBIT margin of about -38% (Q1/2025: 3%). Besides the above-mentioned one-off expenses, the main reason for the low gross and EBIT margin is the negative operating leverage due to low volume.
Due to continued positive cash flow development, the preliminary cash and cash equivalents including other current financial assets, increased to approx. EUR 273 million at the end of the quarter (December 31, 2025: EUR 224.6 million).
Based on the current market developments and an exchange rate of 1.20 USD/EUR, the company increases the guidance for fiscal year 2026: AIXTRON now expects to generate revenues of around EUR 560 million in a range of plus/minus EUR 30 million (previously EUR 520 million in a range of plus/minus EUR 30 million). In addition, AIXTRON expects an increased EBIT margin of around 17% – 20% (previously 16% – 19%). The gross margin is expected to come out at around 42% (previously 41% – 42%).
“The significantly stronger-than-expected demand from the Optoelectronics sector in the first quarter is a very encouraging development. We expect this trend to continue and have therefore raised our guidance for the year. With our G10-AsP system, we have the tool of record for the next generation of photonic components, which are the basis for chip-to-chip, rack-to-rack and datacenter-to-datacenter communications in the AI era,” says Dr. Felix Grawert, CEO of AIXTRON SE.
The full report for the first quarter of 2026 will be published as planned on April 30, 2026.
