ACM Research, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACMR) grew second-quarter revenue 36% year over year to $292.9 million, with its electroplating and advanced packaging categories running well ahead of the headline. The case for ACMR has always rested on product-cycle exposure in fast-moving process steps. What's changed is scale: the company ended June with $1.0 billion in net cash and a raised full-year revenue outlook.
ECP and advanced packaging drive the growth
The growth is concentrated. ECP (front-end and packaging) revenue climbed 168% year over year; advanced packaging, excluding ECP, rose 153%. Those two lines are doing the work. CEO Dr. David Wang framed the quarter's milestone in concrete terms, citing shipment of the 2,000th electroplating chamber, following shipment milestones of 500 chambers in 2022 and 1,500 chambers in 2025.
Total shipments reached $281.5 million, up 36.4%, a figure that includes first-tool deliveries awaiting customer acceptance. During the quarter ACM received its first production order for one 510 x 515 mm Ultra ECP ap-p tool from an existing advanced packaging customer in mainland China, with delivery scheduled for the first half of 2027. A new panel-manufacturer customer in Asia placed an evaluation order for a 310 x 310 mm tool, slated for the fourth quarter of 2026.
The margin question
The counterargument centers on gross margin, which fell to 46.0% from 48.5% a year earlier. ACM's own long-term model targets a range of 42% to 48%, so the current figure sits above midpoint. Management attributes period-to-period variation to product mix, currency, and sales volume, but the direction of travel is worth tracking. Non-GAAP gross margin came in at the same 46.0%, so stock-based compensation is not the driver here.
Operating expenses rose 16.6% to $84.9 million. Because revenue grew faster, those expenses as a share of revenue fell to 29.0% from 33.8%. GAAP operating income reached $49.7 million, with an operating margin of 17.0% compared to 14.7% a year ago. Non-GAAP operating income was $56.3 million.
One figure in the GAAP results deserves a separate read. Net income attributable to ACM Research came in at $89.0 million, versus $29.8 million a year ago. The gap is explained almost entirely by a $69.6 million unrealized gain on short-term investments held by ACM's principal Shanghai subsidiary, marked to market quarterly. Exclude that item, as the non-GAAP calculation does, and net income was $44.5 million. Non-GAAP basic EPS was $0.66, up from $0.58.
Raised guidance and the line to watch
ACM lifted the floor of its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $1.125 billion from $1.08 billion, with the ceiling held at $1.175 billion. That implies 25% to 30% annual growth. Dr. Wang named a $4 billion long-term revenue target as the anchor, with new product ramps in SPM Cleaning, Track, PECVD, and horizontal panel-level plating cited as near-term catalysts.
The line to watch is whether gross margin holds near the top of the 42% to 48% target range as the product mix, now heavily weighted toward ECP and advanced packaging, continues to scale through the back half of 2026.