AEM shares soar for second day after company reports strong demand from AI customer

SINGAPORE - Semiconductor testing equipment maker AEM Holdings on Feb 27 saw its shares soar for a second day after it reported strong demand from a second AI/high-performance computing customer.

The stock surged as much as 21 per cent to $2.99 in the morning before closing at $2.90, up 43 cents or 17.4 per cent from the previous day. About 22.2 million shares changed hands.

A day earlier, AEM shares rallied 21.7 per cent after the company reported that net profit for the year ended Dec 31 surged 47.8 per cent to $17.1 million, from $11.6 million in the previous year.

AEM said in its results statement that growth was primarily driven by the successful ramp-up to high-volume manufacturing for the second artificial intelligence customer, which more than offset a decline in revenue attributed to another of its customers.

Based on current visibility, demand from that customer is robust, and revenue contribution is anticipated to grow significantly in 2026, said the company. It added that the ramp-up is in response to strong demand for next-generation chips.

AEM guided for 2026 revenue in the range of $460 million to $510 million. For 2025, revenue rose 5 per cent to $399.3 million.

“With AI semiconductor sales expected to achieve a year-on-year increase of more than 50 per cent, according to Bank of America, AEM is well positioned to benefit from sustained demand tailwinds,” the company said in its Feb 25 filing after trading closed.

It added that structural growth is underpinned by the robust, long-term expansion trajectory of the AI chip business. Growth will also come on the back of rising testing requirements, and the increased value proposition of the group’s high-parallel test solutions in addressing test needs at a lower cost of testing compared with competing platforms, AEM said.

DBS Bank analyst Amanda Tan said AEM’s performance came in above expectations and maintained her “buy” call on the stock.

She added that the company is well positioned to benefit from multi-year AI demand, with legal uncertainty likely to take a back seat.

In October, US semiconductor test equipment supplier Advantest Test Solutions made allegations of patent infringement against AEM and its subsidiaries. The alleged infringements relate to US patents linked to a specific wafer-level test system.

AEM has denied these allegations.

Ms Tan also noted that AEM is diversifying into the memory test segment, with initial production shipments slated for late 2026.

This positions the segment to contribute materially to revenue from 2027 onwards, she added.

“While litigation remains ongoing and has previously weighed on earnings, we expect it to take a back seat as stronger 2026 guidance supports revenue-driven operating leverage and a sharper earnings recovery,” Ms Tan said.