Netlist Q2 2026 Earnings Report

Netlist EPS Results

• Actual EPS: N/A
• Consensus EPS: $0.01
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Netlist Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: N/A
• Expected Revenue: $90.00 million
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Netlist Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q2 2026
• Date: 7/30/2026
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Thursday, July 30, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 12:00PM ET

Netlist (OTCMKTS:NLST) is a technology company specializing in the design and development of high-performance memory and storage subsystems for enterprise and data center applications. The company’s product portfolio encompasses advanced memory modules, nonvolatile memory express (NVMe) solid-state drives and intelligent memory expansion systems. These solutions are engineered to boost memory density, bandwidth and overall system performance in hyperscale, cloud computing and high-performance computing environments.

Headquartered in Irvine, California, Netlist serves customers across the Americas and Asia through a combination of direct sales and channel distribution partners. The company markets its offerings under brands such as HyperCloud memory subsystems and HyperVault storage SSDs, delivering plug-and-play modules that integrate with leading server and storage platforms. Netlist’s engineered memory architectures aim to address growing demands for faster data access, reduced latency and improved system utilization in modern IT infrastructures.

Founded in 2000, Netlist has built a portfolio of issued and pending patents covering its proprietary memory interconnects and module designs. Over the years, the company has pursued strategic agreements and legal actions to protect its intellectual property and support technology licensing opportunities. In late 2016, Netlist initiated a Chapter 11 restructuring to realign its balance sheet and emerged in 2017 with a renewed focus on operational efficiency and growth in target markets.

Led by founder and Chief Executive Officer Charles Liang, Netlist’s management team combines backgrounds in semiconductor design, system architecture and enterprise computing. The company continues to invest in research and development to evolve its memory and storage offerings, collaborating with original equipment manufacturers and system integrators to integrate its solutions into next-generation server and storage platforms.

Netlist Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Strong financial performance: Second-quarter revenue rose 163% year over year to $109.8 million, while first-half revenue reached $214.7 million and gross profit increased sharply to $45.3 million.
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects third-quarter product revenue to be similar to the second quarter, based on bookings and shipments to date, despite not providing formal guidance.
• Positive Sentiment: Netlist’s Lightning DDR5 products are shipping and generating double-digit millions in revenue; its CXL NVvault and MRDIMM technologies are being developed with hyperscalers, OEMs, and semiconductor companies.
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported $40.7 million in cash and restricted cash, minimal debt, $10 million of working-capital capacity, and approximately $74 million remaining on its equity line, supporting continued financial flexibility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Netlist advanced multiple patent disputes involving Samsung and Micron, including upcoming appellate and ITC proceedings that could potentially lead to damages or import restrictions, although outcomes and timing remain uncertain.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good day, welcome to the Netlist second quarter 2026 earnings conference call and webcast. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's remarks, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your touchtone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note that this event is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the over to Mike Smargiassi, investor relations. Please go ahead, sir.

[Mike Smargiassi, Investor Relations at Netlist]

Thank you, Cole, good day everyone. Welcome to Netlist's second quarter 2026 conference call. Leading today's call will be Chuck Hong, Chief Executive Officer of Netlist, and Gail Sasaki, Chief Financial Officer. As a reminder, you can access the earnings release and a replay of today's call on the investors section of the netlist.com website. Before we start the call, I would note that today's presentation of Netlist results and the answers to questions may include forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations. The actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements because of the number of risks and uncertainties that are expressed in the call, annual and current SEC filings, and the cautionary statements contained in today's press release. Netlist assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements. I will now turn the call over to Chuck.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

Thank you, Mike, hello everyone. We delivered another strong quarter with continued momentum in both product revenue and profitability. Revenue for the first half of 2026 exceeded $200 million, while product gross margins were over $45 million, fueled by robust demand, strong execution by our sales and operation teams, and a generally constrained supply for memory products, which analysts project will continue through next year. While much of the revenue came from resale of difficult-to-source DRAM products, we saw growth in our own portfolio of products during the quarter, starting with Netlist's Lightning portfolio of overclock, low latency DDR5 RDIMM and UDIMM solutions, which continue to gain market traction. Our next generation CXL NVvault is currently sampling with SoC vendors, hyperscalers, and major OEMs for future hardware platforms.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

To support market adoption, we have partnered with the CXL Consortium and Storage Networking Industry Association to deliver industry education and technical thought leadership. We look forward to showcasing these collaborative efforts at CXL Mini DevCon 2026 in Santa Clara next week. We are also committed to working with our industry partners to help validate and scale advanced CXL memory architectures for enterprise production. Our development work continues full bore for MRDIMM and high-performance server memory architecture designed to overcome the bandwidth limits of conventional DDR5 RDIMMs. Industry analysts forecast MRDIMM to be a $100 billion market by 2030 from small volumes today. Netlist holds over a dozen seminal patents that read on MRDIMM and have asserted them at the ITC against infringing MRDIMM products currently being imported by Samsung.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

We continue to make significant progress in defending Netlist's patent portfolio against unauthorized use while continuing to invest in the expansion of the portfolio through the development of next-generation technologies and the issuance of additional patents in key areas. Our commitment to protect the value of our IP is reflected in the expanded legal actions we announced against Samsung in June. The new proceedings in the U.S. International Trade Commission, or the ITC, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas are based on the infringement of Netlist's recently issued 537 and 937 patents, which read on high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, and DDR5 RDIMMs and MRDIMMs respectively. In July, the ITC voted to institute the second case against Samsung and its customers Google, Nvidia, Supermicro, and Broadcom.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

The investigation has been assigned to the administrative law judge, and we expect to receive the procedural schedule in August, which will include dates for the Markman hearing and evidentiary hearing. In the first ITC case against Samsung, where Netlist is asserting six patents that collectively read on DDR5 memory modules such as DDR5 RDIMM, UDIMM, SO-DIMM, and MRDIMM, and HBM. The Markman hearing was held in April and discovery closed on July 8th. The evidentiary hearing is currently scheduled to start in late November. As a reminder, a favorable ruling in either of these ITC cases would block the importation of billions of dollars of Samsung products that infringe on our patents. Result in a cease and desist order prohibiting commercial activities by named customers including Google, Supermicro, Nvidia, and Broadcom.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

We believe we have a strong position in the first ITC case against Samsung, and the case is progressing well, while we have just added a second case with additional HBM and memory module patents. It is important to note that three new commissioners were recently confirmed and appointed at the ITC, filling all six seats at the commission. Previous to these appointments, there were only three commissioners which resulted in limited bandwidth and delays in the ITC proceedings. From all accounts, the three new Republican appointees are strong advocates for IP, committed to upholding the rights of the American IP owner against both U.S. and foreign entities that illegally import infringing products into the U.S.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

We believe they will take note of the biggest memory companies in the world that are making some of the highest profits recorded in the history of human commerce, and yet continue to defy jury verdicts, hold out from licensing in order to get a free ride. This efficient infringement by Big Tech is one of the areas that we believe will be addressed by the new ITC commissioners through rapid and strict enforcement of Section 337. In the appeal of the Eastern District of Texas 2023 jury verdict awarding Netlist $303 million for Samsung's willful infringement of five Netlist patents. The Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in March on Samsung's appeal of the verdict and Netlist's appeal of the IPR challenges to the asserted patents in the case. We look forward to the court's decision, which we believe will come in the near future.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

In the appeal of the breach of contract case against Samsung, appellate briefing has concluded. We remain on track for a hearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, likely in the coming months. This is a case that Samsung has lost on three separate occasions based on the facts presented. This includes a summary judgment ruling and two subsequent federal district court jury verdicts in separate trials. In each of these instances, it was found that Samsung materially breached the joint development and license agreement, and therefore, the license to Netlist patent portfolio was rightfully terminated. In Micron's appeal of the Eastern District of Texas 2024 jury verdict awarding Netlist $445 million for Micron's willful infringement of the Netlist '912 and the '417 patents. The Federal Circuit has scheduled oral arguments or a hearing for September 9th, which is in the next five to six weeks.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

Netlist's appeal of the IPRs against these patents are also scheduled to be heard on the same day. The '912 has been upheld in the PTO multiple times and by the appellate court itself. Yet, this recent PTAB panel and the appellate court ruling, was allowed to be re-examined again by a new PTAB panel. This patent's 15 years of history, a 15-year history of being subjected to serial IPRs, has become a poster child in the IP community and at Capitol Hill for patent re-exam abuse and holdout by the biggest companies in the world. We believe we have a strong case for overturning this egregious PTAB finding at the appellate court come September. We look forward to the ruling by the court that corrects this inconsistent finding of invalidity of the '912 patent and upholds the $445 million jury verdict.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

Netlist remains committed to protecting patent owners' rights by engaging with government officials and encouraging Congress to act on proposed patent reform legislation, including RESTORE, PREVAIL, and PERA. Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property, their annual conference, where I participated on the IP and the U.S. Global Competitiveness panel. As some of you are aware, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed two statements of interest that have been supportive of Netlist's matters involving Samsung. At the ITC, this was the first time in history where the DOJ and the PTO combined supported the position of a complainant. The DOJ has continued to reference these statements of interest in public forums as examples of the current administration's broader efforts to promote robust intellectual property protection.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

We believe these statements and public remarks underscored continual federal support for U.S. innovation and effective enforcement of patent rights. In summary, we had a strong first half of 2026. We generated record product revenue, secured additional confirmation of the validity of our patents, received newly issued patents which read on high bandwidth memory and DDR5 products, and advanced enforcement actions covering new generation of DDR5 and HBM technologies that are foundational to AI computing. I'll turn the call over to Gail for the financial review.

[Gail Sasaki, CFO at Netlist]

Thanks, Chuck. We delivered our second consecutive quarter of strong top-line and bottom-line performance. Second quarter revenue was $109.8 million, an increase of 163% as compared to the second quarter of 2025. For the first six months of the year, revenue was $214.7 million, a threefold increase from the same period in 2025. Second quarter gross profit was $22.9 million, an increase of 1,544% as compared to the second quarter of 2025. For the first six months of the year, gross profit was $45.3 million, an increase of 1,582% compared to the same period in 2026. Operating expenses reflect continued investment in R&D, IP initiatives, and SG&A to support revenue growth. Operating income was $1.3 million, an improvement of $8 million compared to the second quarter of 2025.

[Gail Sasaki, CFO at Netlist]

While we do not formally guide, given booking and shipping for the third quarter of 2026 to date, and subject to the visibility we have today, we currently expect third quarter product revenue to be similar to the second quarter of 2026. We ended the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash of $40.7 million with minimal debt. In the second quarter, we received $10.5 million in proceeds from the cash exercise of issued and outstanding warrants. With a $10 million working capital line of credit and approximately $74 million still available on the equity line of credit, we continue to maintain significant financial flexibility and liquidity. As always, we manage the operational cash cycle very carefully.

[Gail Sasaki, CFO at Netlist]

Day sales outstanding continues to be less than three days, and our inventory turn an average of 10 days between quarters, which drives an optimal cash cycle of an average of 15 days. Operator, we are now ready for questions.

[Operator]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Our first question today will come from Suji Desilva with Roth Capital. Please go ahead.

[Suji Desilva, Analyst at Roth Capital]

Hi, Chuck. Hi, Gail. Congratulations on the strong results here.

[Gail Sasaki, CFO at Netlist]

Thank you.

[Suji Desilva, Analyst at Roth Capital]

Progress, yeah. Chuck, maybe I can come back to the Hynix agreement. I know it's post the five-year anniversary of the prior license. I am wondering if you could give us some color on the status today of the Hynix license itself and maybe any renewal discussions and perhaps maybe broader renewal discussions. Any color would be helpful.

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

Yeah. We conduct discussions with our licensees as well as potential licensees on a regular basis. I think we are making good progress across the board with all of these discussions, but I cannot get into the specific details because they are privileged.

[Suji Desilva, Analyst at Roth Capital]

Okay. Chuck, appreciate the color where you have it. Just curious from the litigation perspective, is there any connection between the court cases for Samsung and the ITC hearing for Samsung, or should I consider those separate in their efforts?

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

They are connected. We probably have a dozen outstanding cases against Samsung, in the Eastern District of Texas at the ITC and in the District of Delaware. The relationship between all of these cases are the patents. There are some different patents, but mostly overlapping patents in each of these venues. The Delaware case, which really Samsung has, where they are the plaintiff, in a declaratory judgment action. Most of those, I believe all of those are stayed. Nothing going on. We have cases at the Eastern District of Texas with overlapping patents at the ITC. Once ITC institutes their proceedings, the cases with the same patents in the Eastern District of Texas become stayed. That is the relationship between all of these cases against Samsung.

[Suji Desilva, Analyst at Roth Capital]

Okay. Very helpful, Chuck. Thanks. Going to the products, Chuck, I'm trying to understand what % of your revenue now is coming from the Netlist products. Of the opportunities you listed, Lightning, NVvault, things like that, which one is perhaps the nearest revenue opportunity, and what will be the timing for an inflection in the ones that are nearer?

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

Well, as I indicated, we're in production mode. We're shipping. We're making good traction. We're probably in the double-digit millions with our product line, the Lightning. Some of the other products, Netlist branded products. Making good progress on all of that. As I indicated, our development work on the MRDIMM, low power MRDIMM, CXL NV, those continue, and we're working with potential customers, major OEMs, as well as hyperscalers on those technologies.

[Suji Desilva, Analyst at Roth Capital]

Okay. Helpful. Chuck, one last question. Your resell revenue is strong. Your guidance, as per Gail, was strong. Is there any risk to your ability to source these products given the supply constraints, or do you just have a sense of how you're able to continue to source products in what is obviously a very tight market?

[Chuck Hong, CEO at Netlist]

Yeah. I think it helps, Suji, that we've been in this industry for 25 years, we've got a very strong network throughout the world for sourcing products. We've done very well compared to others. We've had the supply agreement with Hynix. We continue to get support from Hynix on the supply both for DDR4, which is in very short supply, and also on DDR5. We're relatively better off than most in our ability to procure tight DRAM, short DRAM products.

[Suji Desilva, Analyst at Roth Capital]

Okay. Helpful color. Thanks, Chuck. Thanks, Gail.

[Gail Sasaki, CFO at Netlist]

Thanks, Suji.

[Operator]

This will conclude our question and answer session, also concluding today's conference. We'd like to thank you for attending today's presentation. At this time, you may now disconnect your lines.

Participants

Executives

• Mike Smargiassi, Investor Relations
• Chuck Hong, CEO
• Gail Sasaki, CFO

Analysts

• Suji Desilva, Analyst at Roth Capital