Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Cohu reported Q1 revenue of $125.1M (up 29.3% YoY) and orders +57% YoY but missed EPS at $0.01 vs a $0.03 consensus, and raised Q2 guidance to about $144M with full‑year revenue growth now targeted at 20%–25%.
• Operating expenses climbed to $55M as Cohu scales for HPC and Eclipse production, and management expects near‑term gross margins to be pressured toward the mid‑40% range, leaving a negative net margin of -16.4%.
• The balance sheet shows $489M in cash and investments versus $305M total debt (including $288M convertible debt); shares jumped to $47.35 on the news and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $40.50 price target.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $125.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.07 million. Cohu had a negative net margin of 16.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.76%. Cohu's quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.02) earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Cohu's conference call:

• Orders increased 57% year‑over‑year and Q1 revenue of $125.1M beat guidance; management raised Q2 guidance to about $144M and now expects full‑year revenue growth of 20%–25%.
• Cohu cites an approximately $750M computing segment opportunity (about $650M test handlers and $100M HBM inspection) and raised its FY2026 HPC revenue outlook to $80M–$100M, with 12 customers engaged and multiple qualifications underway.
• The company is building recurring, high‑margin software revenue (ARR ~$1.2M, targeting ~$3M software revenue in 2026), citing examples where a $20M system carries ~$330k/year of subscription that could translate to roughly $5M lifetime recurring revenue.
• Operating expenses rose to $55M as Cohu scales resources for HPC, and higher initial supply‑chain and production costs for the Eclipse platform (plus elevated component, energy and freight costs) are expected to pressure gross margins toward the mid‑40% range near term.
• Balance sheet shows cash and investments of $489M (cash from operations ~$10M) but total debt of $305M, which includes $288M of convertible debt; no share repurchases were executed in Q1.

Cohu Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COHU traded up $2.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,466,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,469. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 5.69 and a current ratio of 6.88. Cohu has a 12 month low of $15.34 and a 12 month high of $48.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.78 and a beta of 1.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Bohrson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 175,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,657,676. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 3.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cohu

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COHU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cohu by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Cohu during the first quarter valued at about $276,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Cohu by 2,042.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 162,674 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 155,082 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cohu by 4.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 114,361 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,200,000 after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cohu by 478.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,175,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,612,000 after acquiring an additional 972,088 shares during the period. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COHU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Cohu from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cohu from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cohu in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cohu has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.50.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc is a global provider of semiconductor test and inspection solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed to support chip manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers, and electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company's product lineup includes automatic test handlers, wafer probers, test sockets, thermal subassembly systems and burn-in boards, all engineered to optimize throughput, accuracy and reliability in semiconductor production and final test.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Poway, California, Cohu has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to become a recognized leader in test handling and interconnect technologies.

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