ACM Research (ACMR) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $3.06B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 1.47M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 26.9
• Beta (1Y): 1.65
• Revenue Growth: 20.77%
• EPS Growth: 26.08%
• Country: US
• Employees: 2,023
• Sector: Technology
• Sector Strength: 88
• Industry: Semiconductors
• EPS (TTM): 0.25
• Shares Outstanding: 60,705,784
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,202,033
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,473,931
• PEG Ratio: -2.25
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.73
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.81
• P/FCF Ratio: -38.01
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 0.85
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 2.88
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 6.50
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 16.41
• 1Y Price Target: $68.33
• Price Target Upside: 46.63% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 4
• EPS Forecast (FY): 2.05
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $1.14B

• Rating: 58 Neutral
• Price Target: $48.00 ▲(3.00% Upside)
• Action: Downgraded Date: 03/03/26
• Date: Action: Downgraded 03/03/26

The score is held back mainly by volatile/weak cash flow consistency and recent margin compression despite strong revenue growth and a low-leverage, liquid balance sheet. Technicals are mixed with near-term softness, and valuation is relatively expensive (high P/E), while the earnings call supports the outlook with robust 2026 growth guidance but meaningful execution and competitiveness risks.

Positive Factors

Revenue growth and diversification

Consistent multi-year revenue growth and a 2026 guidance implying ~25% YoY growth indicate expanding end-market demand and successful product adoption. Coupled with rising advanced packaging and plating mix, this durable top-line momentum supports scale, R&D funding and market position over the medium term.

Technical leadership and differentiated products

Demonstrated best-in-class SPM nozzle performance and lower-consumption supercritical CO2 tech reflect meaningful product differentiation and likely IP protection. Superior uptime and lower consumable usage strengthen customer TCO, aiding qualification at fabs and supporting sustainable competitive advantage across nodes and packaging segments.

Strong balance sheet and funding for expansion

A sizable net cash position, boosted by recent Shanghai offerings, provides durable financial flexibility to fund Lingang capacity, U.S. onshore Oregon operations and ~$200M 2026 capex. This liquidity reduces refinancing risk, supports qualification cycles, and enables targeted investments to scale manufacturing and global service footprint.

Negative Factors

Inconsistent cash generation

Chronic negative operating and free cash flow in several years means earnings have not reliably converted to cash. This raises execution risk: growth and capex may require external funding or equity monetization, and working-capital swings or inventory builds can magnify liquidity stress during slower shipment periods.

Gross margin compression and inventory hits

A sharp step-down in gross margin and substantial inventory provisions indicate pricing pressure, adverse mix or one-time write-downs. If margin recovery stalls, the company may face constrained operating leverage and diminished ability to fund R&D and capex internally, increasing reliance on external capital or yield-lowering pricing strategies.

Customer concentration and rising competitive pressure

Heavy revenue concentration among a few customers increases downside if priorities shift. Simultaneously, numerous local entrants in China create structural pricing pressure and margin erosion risk. Sustaining share will demand ongoing R&D, service investment, or concessions that could compress returns over the medium term.

ACM Research Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

ACM Research, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells single-wafer wet cleaning equipment for enhancing the manufacturing process and yield for integrated chips worldwide. It offers space alternated phase shift technology for flat and patterned wafer surfaces, which employs alternating phases of megasonic waves to deliver megasonic energy in a uniform manner on a microscopic level; timely energized bubble oscillation technology for patterned wafer surfaces at advanced process nodes, which provides cleaning for 2D and 3D patterned wafers; Tahoe technology for delivering cleaning performance using less sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide; and electro-chemical plating technology for advanced metal plating. The company markets and sells its products under the Ultra C brand name through direct sales force and third-party representatives. ACM Research, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

How the Company Makes Money

ACM Research makes money primarily by selling semiconductor capital equipment for wafer cleaning and wet processing. Its key revenue stream is product revenue from the sale of tools and systems (e.g., single-wafer wet cleaning equipment and related wet process platforms, including plating and other wet-processing applications) delivered to semiconductor manufacturers. The company also generates revenue from services and support associated with its installed base, such as customer support, maintenance, spare parts, upgrades, and other after-sales services. Revenue is generally recognized when equipment is delivered/accepted (depending on contract terms) and when services are performed. Significant factors influencing earnings include customers’ capital expenditure cycles in semiconductor fabrication, technology transitions that drive demand for more advanced cleaning and process steps, competitive positioning in wafer wet processing, and the company’s ability to qualify tools at customer fabs and scale manufacturing and service capabilities. Specific partnership details: null.

ACM Research Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Strong historical revenue growth and generally healthy profitability, supported by a conservative balance sheet and sizable net cash. However, cash generation is inconsistent (often negative operating and free cash flow) and recent margin compression increases risk around earnings quality and cash conversion.

Income Statement

Revenue growth has been very strong over the period (notably 2021–2023) and still positive in 2024, showing solid demand momentum. Profitability is healthy with gross margin generally in the mid-to-high 40% range and net margin around ~10–14% historically. The main concern is 2025 showing a sharp margin step-down versus 2024 (lower gross and net margins), suggesting higher costs, mix shift, or pricing pressure even as revenue rises.

Balance Sheet

Leverage looks conservative overall, with debt-to-equity generally low and still manageable in 2024–2025, providing financial flexibility. Equity and total assets have grown meaningfully over time, consistent with scaling operations. The trade-off is returns on equity have moderated from stronger levels in earlier years, and 2025 profitability softening reduces the ability to compound equity at prior rates.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is the weak spot: operating cash flow is negative in most years shown (2020–2023 and again 2025), and free cash flow is also negative in most years, implying earnings quality and/or working-capital and investment demands are pressuring cash. 2024 was a clear positive outlier with strong operating and free cash flow, but the relapse to negative cash flow in 2025 raises volatility and execution risk around converting profits into cash.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	901.31M	782.12M	557.72M	388.83M	259.75M
Gross Profit	400.07M	391.55M	276.21M	183.62M	114.86M
EBITDA	158.47M	180.42M	126.99M	74.38M	41.05M
Net Income	94.08M	103.63M	77.35M	39.26M	37.76M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.87B	1.86B	1.49B	1.24B	1.05B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.17B	444.10M	283.93M	338.65M	592.05M
Total Debt	302.98M	188.78M	99.10M	79.50M	39.14M
Total Liabilities	941.68M	759.82M	564.75M	423.33M	240.51M
Stockholders Equity	1.46B	904.63M	767.39M	674.86M	676.20M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-66.61M	69.99M	-139.66M	-154.71M	-49.80M
Operating Cash Flow	-10.32M	152.45M	-75.32M	-62.19M	-40.09M
Investing Cash Flow	-390.33M	-11.96M	-6.75M	-265.67M	-11.28M
Financing Cash Flow	742.49M	92.48M	18.53M	45.87M	538.77M

ACM Research Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 46.60
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ACMR, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 46.6 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 53.74, below the 50-day MA of 55.27, and above the 200-day MA of 38.19, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -3.22 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 38.58 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 48.82 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for ACMR.

ACM Research Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
ACLS	74 Outperform	$2.63B	21.10	11.72%	―	-20.69%	-37.67%
FORM	73 Outperform	$7.49B	82.61	5.43%	―	2.29%	-69.81%
VECO	62 Neutral	$1.87B	47.89	4.13%	―	-3.90%	-41.66%
Sector *	61 Neutral	$37.18B	12.37	-10.20%	1.83%	8.50%	-7.62%
KLIC	61 Neutral	$3.44B	37.65	-7.72%	1.77%	-7.38%	99.38%
ACMR	58 Neutral	$3.06B	26.91	7.79%	―	20.77%	26.08%
UCTT	57 Neutral	$2.70B	-6.51	-24.06%	―	6.65%	-4652.36%

ACM Research Corporate Events

ACM Research completes partial share sale in Shanghai unit

On January 30, 2026, ACM Research (Shanghai), Inc. notified the Shanghai Stock Exchange that ACM Research, Inc. intended to sell 4,801,648 ACM Shanghai shares via an inquiry-based transfer, and on February 2, 2026, it set a preliminary transfer price of RMB 160 per share (about $23.05). On February 6, 2026, ACM Shanghai announced that the full 4,801,648 shares had been sold at RMB 160 per share, reducing ACM Research, Inc.’s aggregate ownership in ACM Shanghai—together with its concert parties—from 74.84% to 73.72%, a change described as a shareholding reduction and passive dilution that does not alter ACM Shanghai’s controlling shareholder or actual controller and therefore is not expected to affect control of the company.

The most recent analyst rating on (ACMR) stock is a Buy with a $68.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on ACM Research stock, see the ACMR Stock Forecast page.

ACM Research Addresses Outlook, Expands Overseas Semiconductor Footprint

On January 27, 2026, ACM Research (Shanghai), Inc. held targeted investor meetings and an investor conference call, later summarized in a filing posted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on January 29, 2026, to address questions about its recent performance and outlook. Management attributed a quarter‑over‑quarter revenue decline in the fourth quarter of 2025 primarily to delayed equipment deliveries and revenue recognition timing, and explained that differences in 2026 revenue guidance versus its U.S. parent stem from divergent accounting standards and revenue recognition rules. The company reaffirmed expectations for a 2026 gross margin of 42%–48% and R&D expenses at 14%–19% of revenue, highlighted strong and growing demand from both memory and logic customers, and emphasized continued investment in differentiated technologies and patent‑protected innovation to defend its competitive position amid ongoing market competition, particularly in cleaning equipment. ACM Shanghai detailed progress in expanding overseas sales, including deliveries to customers in Singapore and the United States and active expansion into Taiwan and South Korea, supported by an overseas manufacturing footprint in South Korea aimed at mitigating geopolitical and tariff risks. It also underscored advanced packaging and electroplating tools as key growth drivers—together contributing roughly 30% of estimated 2025 revenue—with advanced packaging expected to be a core revenue growth segment in 2026, alongside newly introduced platform-based products such as vertical furnace, Track, PECVD, LPCVD, and ALD systems and new panel-level packaging platforms targeted at the Taiwan market.

The most recent analyst rating on (ACMR) stock is a Buy with a $68.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on ACM Research stock, see the ACMR Stock Forecast page.

ACM Research Sets Price for ACM Shanghai Share Transfer

On January 30, 2026, ACM Research (Shanghai), Inc. notified the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its parent, ACM Research, Inc., planned to sell 4,801,648 shares of ACM Shanghai through an inquiry-based share transfer. On February 2, 2026, ACM Shanghai announced that the preliminary transfer price was set at RMB 160.00 per share (approximately $23.05), based on quotations from 38 institutional investors, with valid subscriptions totaling about 5.64 million shares, or roughly 1.17 times the shares on offer, and 30 institutional investors preliminarily identified as transferees for the fully subscribed block. The company emphasized that the transfer remains subject to completion of registration with the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation’s Shanghai branch and potential risks such as judicial freezing or compulsory disposition, but noted that the transaction will not result in any change of control at ACM Shanghai or affect its corporate governance structure and ongoing operations.

The most recent analyst rating on (ACMR) stock is a Hold with a $64.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on ACM Research stock, see the ACMR Stock Forecast page.

ACM Research Plans Institutional Sale of ACM Shanghai Stake

On January 30, 2026, ACM Research, Inc. notified the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it plans to sell 4,801,648 pre-IPO shares of its operating subsidiary ACM Research (Shanghai), Inc. through an inquiry-based transfer, representing about 1.34% of ACM Research’s stake in ACM Shanghai and roughly 1% of ACM Shanghai’s total shares outstanding as of that date. The sale, organized by Guotai Haitong Securities and limited to institutional investors, is driven by ACM Research’s capital needs and is structured outside centralized bidding or block trading, meaning it will not constitute a secondary-market share reduction, and proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes, signaling a modest equity monetization that leaves the parent’s controlling position in ACM Shanghai largely intact.

The most recent analyst rating on (ACMR) stock is a Hold with a $55.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on ACM Research stock, see the ACMR Stock Forecast page.