ACM Research Gears Up to Report Q2 Earnings: How to Play the Stock

ACM Research’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, while missing twice, the average surprise being 20.44%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACM Research’s second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $268.2 million, suggesting year-over-year growth of 24.5%.

Key Factors to Note for ACM Research's Q2 Earnings

ACM Research's second-quarter performance is expected to have benefited from strong demand for its electrochemical plating (ECP) products. Demand for these tools is being driven by investments in high-bandwidth memory, advanced packaging and 2.5D chip packaging. In the first quarter of 2026, revenues from ECP, furnace and other technologies increased 205% year over year to $84.2 million. Continued demand for copper plating tools is likely to have supported second-quarter growth.

Strong demand for advanced packaging equipment is also likely to have aided second-quarter results. First-quarter revenues from advanced packaging, excluding ECP, increased 62% year over year. ACM Research is seeing demand for coaters, developers, wet etchers, strippers and cleaning tools used in advanced packaging. The company is gaining traction with its panel-level horizontal plating platform and expects customer evaluations to support future production orders.

The cleaning business is expected to have improved in the second quarter. In the first quarter of 2026, cleaning tool shipments increased 32% year over year. Management said that several technical issues related to new cleaning applications have largely been resolved. The company is also ramping its single-wafer SPM cleaning tool and expects to deliver 15-20 units in 2026. ACM Research's new products are expected to have supported its prospects in the second quarter. The company expects higher contributions in 2026 from its Tahoe, single-wafer SPM and vertical furnace products. These factors are likely to have boded well for ACMR’s prospects in the second quarter of 2026.

However, higher operating expenses are likely to have limited earnings growth. ACM Research expects R&D expenses to account for 16-18% of revenues in 2026 compared with 15% in the first quarter, as the company continues to invest in new products. In the first quarter of 2026, operating expenses increased 38.5%, reflecting continued investments in R&D, sales and global expansion. As a result, operating margin declined to 18.1% from 20.7% in the year-ago quarter.

Further, in the first quarter of 2026, gross margin declined year over year to 46.5% from 48.2%. Management specifically noted that product mix can cause quarterly fluctuations, meaning rapid growth in newer product categories may not translate directly into stable margin expansion. These factors could have hurt the company’s prospects in the second quarter of 2026.

What Our Model Says About ACMR

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for ACMR this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. However, that’s not the case here.

ACMR has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With Favorable Combination

Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Lumentum LITE has an Earnings ESP of +0.46% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Lumentum is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 11. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lumentum’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.99 per share, up by 3 cents over the past 30 days, indicating a rise of 239.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Analog Devices ADI has an Earnings ESP of +21.21% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Analog Devices is slated to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 19. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Analog Devices’ third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $3.33 per share, up by 4 cents over the past 30 days, indicating a rise of 62.4% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Applied Materials AMAT has an Earnings ESP of +1.52% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Applied Materials is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 13. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Applied Materials’ third-quarter earnings is pegged at $3.36 per share, up by a penny over the past 30 days, indicating a rise of 35.5% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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