Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) reported record revenue and sharply higher bookings for its fiscal 2027 first quarter, citing expanding demand for wafer-level and package-level burn-in systems used in artificial intelligence, data center and power-semiconductor applications.
Revenue for the quarter reached $33.0 million, up 200% from $11.0 million in the prior-year period and 75% sequentially. Non-GAAP net income was $9.4 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared with $0.2 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, a year earlier. The company said its results reflected increased production demand for AI semiconductor testing and reliability screening.
“We delivered an outstanding start to fiscal 2027 with record quarterly revenue, strong bookings, and significant progress across several major AI semiconductor customer programs,” President and Chief Executive Officer Gayn Erickson said on the company’s earnings call.
Bookings, Backlog and Raised Outlook
First-quarter bookings totaled $46.7 million, more than four times the $11.4 million reported in the prior-year quarter. The company recorded a book-to-bill ratio of 1.4. Quarter-end backlog was $100.9 million, rising from $80.6 million at the end of fiscal 2026, while effective backlog, including $8.4 million of orders received after quarter-end, reached $109.3 million as of Nov. 1.
Based on first-quarter performance, backlog and production visibility, Aehr raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to $150 million from a previous range of $130 million to $150 million. The company said the outlook would represent 200% annual revenue growth, or triple fiscal 2026 revenue. It continues to expect non-GAAP net income of at least 20% of revenue for the full year.
Chief Financial Officer Chris Siu said the company expects another strong second quarter, supported by systems scheduled for shipment to its lead hyperscale customer. Erickson said revenue is expected to increase through the remaining quarters of the fiscal year, though customer order timing and shipment schedules can vary.
AI Programs Drive Wafer-Level and Package-Level Demand
Aehr said its lead AI processor production customer is continuing to add wafer-level burn-in capacity. In August, the company announced a $22 million follow-on order for fully automated FOX-XP systems, WaferPak auto aligners and proprietary WaferPak full-wafer contactors.
The company also said a major supplier of AI accelerators, CPUs and network processors has elected to purchase a fully configured FOX-XP wafer-level burn-in test cell following a successful benchmark evaluation. The system is expected to be installed at an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test partner in Taiwan in early calendar 2027. Aehr said the customer plans to evaluate the system in a high-volume environment, with a decision on broader production deployment expected several months after installation and validation.
Erickson characterized the engagement as among the company’s largest potential opportunities, pointing to rising chip complexity and the need to detect early-life failures before processors are integrated into costly multi-die packages containing memory and input/output components.
On the package-level side, Aehr said it is shipping and installing more than a dozen Sonoma high-power burn-in systems per month for its lead hyperscale customer’s first AI processor. The customer’s second AI processor has completed qualification on Sonoma, and Aehr has received follow-on orders for systems, burn-in modules and software enhancements supporting initial production sampling and an anticipated calendar 2027 ramp.
The second processor requires higher power and more complex thermal management, including multiple independently controlled thermal zones within a package, according to the company. Aehr said the customer expects the second processor eventually to reach higher volumes than the first processor currently in production on Sonoma.
Consumables, Manufacturing Capacity and Margins
Revenue from contactors and related products—including WaferPaks, burn-in modules and burn-in boards—totaled $13.5 million, or 41% of first-quarter revenue, compared with $2.6 million, or 24% of revenue, a year earlier. Aehr expects consumables to represent about 35% of fiscal 2027 revenue, compared with 29% in fiscal 2026.
The company said consumable demand is tied to its growing installed base as customers expand production volumes and introduce new devices. It also cited additional production orders for silicon photonics applications, improving silicon carbide demand, and two additional gallium nitride production customers added during the past six months.
To support production ramps, Aehr has expanded manufacturing and support operations in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The company began shipping Sonoma systems from an existing Southeast Asian contract manufacturing site during the quarter, adding capacity for more than 20 additional Sonoma systems per month. It also signed a lease in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and is adding customer-service resources there.
Non-GAAP gross margin rose to 48.5% from 37.5% a year earlier, driven by higher sales volumes and a more favorable product mix. Siu said the company expects full-year fiscal 2027 gross margin to remain near the first-quarter range, although quarterly results may vary and the second quarter could be lower because of the expected Sonoma shipment mix.
Cash Position and Investment Priorities
Non-GAAP operating expenses increased to $7.8 million from $5.7 million in the prior-year period, primarily due to research and development spending on AI-related programs, next-generation package-level burn-in and memory initiatives. Despite the higher spending, revenue growth outpaced expense growth, the company said.
Aehr used $3.1 million in operating cash flow during the quarter, largely reflecting working-capital investments and purchases of long-lead-time components intended to support anticipated AI-related demand. The company ended the quarter with $105.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, down from $116.5 million at the end of fiscal 2026, and said it remained debt-free.
The company also appointed Vijay Rao to its board of directors. Aehr said Rao brings 30 years of technology-industry experience, including expertise in hyperscale data center infrastructure, AI accelerators, high-performance memory and optical networking.
About Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR)
Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR) develops and manufactures test and burn-in equipment used to qualify and screen semiconductor devices. Its systems are designed to identify manufacturing defects and reliability issues before chips are shipped to customers, helping semiconductor manufacturers improve production yields and product quality.
The company’s product portfolio includes the FOX family of semiconductor test systems, including the FOX-XP, FOX-NP and FOX-1P platforms. Aehr also provides wafer contactors, DiePak carriers and related test fixtures and software.
