Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company achieved a record quarterly revenue of $264 million in Q4 2024, representing a 5% increase from Q3 and a 21% increase year-over-year [7][17] - Gross margins improved to nearly 55% in Q4, marking a 300 basis point improvement since the beginning of the year [8][20] - Operating income for Q4 was $75 million, which is 29% of revenue, compared to 28% in Q3 [20] - Full year 2024 revenue growth was 21%, with operating income growth of 37% and cash from operations and EPS both achieving 43% growth [18][19] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Specialty devices and advanced packaging markets grew 30% for the calendar year, with Q4 revenue from this segment reaching a record $170 million, representing 64% of total revenue [9][19] - Advanced nodes revenue was $48 million in Q4, increasing 12% over Q3 and representing 18% of total revenue [19] - Software and Services revenue decreased by 4% compared to Q3, totaling $46 million, also representing 18% of total revenue [19] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - AI packaging was the largest market in Q4, driven by strong demand for 2.5%D Logic packaging, while inspection revenue for AI packaging more than doubled for the year [9][10] - Power revenue grew 10% for the year, despite soft end market demand [12] - The company noted a significant increase in interest in the panel market, particularly for glass panels used in enterprise server and AI applications [11] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company plans to continue focusing on driving gross and operating margin improvements throughout 2025 [8] - New product launches are aimed at strengthening opportunities in advanced packaging, advanced nodes, and power semiconductors, with expected incremental revenues starting later in 2025 [15] - The company sees three secular end markets driving growth: AI demand, gate all around DDR5 memory and high stack 3D NAND, and the electrification of everything [29][30][32] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about strong growth in advanced nodes, particularly in DRAM and NAND, with expectations for increased orders in 2025 [26][28] - The company anticipates that AI will be a multi-year growth driver, with significant revenue growth expected from AI accelerators and related infrastructure projects [29] - Management acknowledged the challenges in visibility for the outer quarters but indicated a healthy demand across advanced nodes and AI packaging [54][56] Other Important Information - The company ended Q4 with cash and short-term investments of $852 million and executed $25 million in share buybacks [22] - Inventory levels decreased to $287 million, achieving six consecutive quarters of decline [23] - The company expects Q1 2025 revenue to be between $260 million and $274 million, with gross margins projected at 54% to 56% [24] Q&A Session Summary Question: Insights on HBM demand and growth potential for 2025 - Management noted that HBM demand is picking up as customers begin to expand and place orders, with an estimated 230,000 wafer starts per month added in 2024, half of which was required by the market [36][38] Question: Expectations for advanced nodes in 2025 - Management indicated that while they may not reach prior peak levels, they are getting close, with growth expected in gate all around and DRAM [40] Question: Revenue growth expectations in relation to industry growth - Management expects to outperform the industry growth rate of 5%, driven by new products and strong secular growth drivers [44] Question: Contribution of new products in 2025 - Management anticipates incremental revenues from new products, with significant contributions expected in 2026 as these products ramp up [87][90] Question: Insights on NAND market expectations - Management acknowledged a surprising increase in NAND demand, particularly from primary customers ramping for high stack 3D NAND applications [93] Question: R&D expenses outlook for 2025 - Management confirmed that R&D expenses will continue to increase incrementally to support customer-driven innovation requirements [97]

Financial Performance - Record revenue of $264 million in Q4 2024, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of growth[3] - Full year revenue reached $987 million, a 21% increase over 2023[3] - GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.98 in Q4 2024, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share at $1.51, exceeding guidance[3] - Full year GAAP diluted earnings per share grew by 65% to $4.06, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share increased by 43% to $5.34[3] - Revenue for the three months ended December 28, 2024, was $263,939 thousand, representing a 20.6% increase from $218,856 thousand for the same period in 2023[25] - Net income for the twelve months ended December 28, 2024, reached $201,670 thousand, a significant increase of 66.5% from $121,159 thousand in 2023[31] - Non-GAAP net income for the three months ended December 28, 2024, was $74,831 thousand, compared to $52,443 thousand for the same period in 2023, reflecting a 42.7% increase[31] - The company reported a diluted earnings per share of $0.98 for the three months ended December 28, 2024, compared to $0.61 for the same period in 2023, representing a 60.7% increase[25] Revenue Growth - AI packaging revenue surged by 180% compared to 2023[3] - Cash generated from operations improved by 43% year-over-year, totaling $246 million for the full year[3] - Advanced nodes revenue has shown improvement for four consecutive quarters, with positive momentum expected to continue into 2025[3] Guidance and Projections - Guidance for Q1 2025 revenue is projected between $260 million and $274 million[6] - Estimated non-GAAP net income per diluted share for the first quarter of 2025 is projected to be between $1.40 and $1.54[33] Operating Performance - Gross profit for the twelve months ended December 28, 2024, was $515,308 thousand, up 22.6% from $420,254 thousand in 2023[25] - Operating income for the three months ended December 28, 2024, was $42,460 thousand, a 50.3% increase compared to $28,230 thousand in the same quarter of 2023[25] - The gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the three months ended December 28, 2024, improved to 55%, up from 52% in the same quarter of 2023[27] - Operating expenses for the twelve months ended December 28, 2024, totaled $328,205 thousand, up from $304,176 thousand in 2023, marking an 8% increase[25] Research and Development - Research and development expenses for the three months ended December 28, 2024, were $34,892 thousand, an increase of 45.3% from $24,021 thousand in the same period of 2023[25] Product Development - New products launched to support next generation 3D interconnect technology and inspection tools[3]

Onto Innovation (ONTO) is set to report fourth-quarter 2024 earnings on Feb. 06, after the closing bell.Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) has been steady at $1.39 in the past 60 days, suggesting growth of 31.1% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The company expects non-GAAP EPS in the $1.33-$1.48 range.The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $259.4 million, indicating a rise of 18.5% from th ...

Onto Innovation (ONTO) closed at $183.56 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.16% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.92%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.31%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 2.03%.Shares of the maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment witnessed a gain of 9.22% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its loss of 2.99% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.81%.The investment community ...

Onto Innovation Inc. (ONTO) stock has proved to be resilient amid a volatile market environment with a 29.9% gain in the past month, outperforming its industry growth of 27.8%. Headquartered in Wilmington, MA, Onto Innovation specializes in design, development, manufacture and support of metrology and inspection tools primarily for semiconductor device fabricators, silicon wafer manufacturers and advanced packaging manufacturers in the semiconductor space.It has also outperformed the Zacks Computer and Tech ...

Onto Innovation Inc. (ONTO) recently inked a $69 million volume purchase deal with a top DRAM manufacturer. The deal spans ONTO’s rich portfolio of common films, optical critical dimension and integrated metrology solutions. Apart from this, the company announced key advancements in its product suite for 3D interconnect process control, unveiling the 3Di technology on the Dragonfly G3 system and the new EchoScan system.ONTO’s relentless efforts to stay on top of the game with lucrative deal wins and signifi ...

Onto Innovation (ONTO) closed the latest trading day at $193.56, indicating a +0.61% change from the previous session's end. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.11%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.42%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.89%.Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment had gained 13.85% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.83% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.7% in that time.Ma ...

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the reliability of brokerage recommendations, particularly focusing on Onto Innovation, and emphasizes the importance of using independent research tools like the Zacks Rank for making investment decisions [1][11]. Brokerage Recommendations - Onto Innovation has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.14, indicating a strong buy to buy sentiment, with 85.7% of recommendations being Strong Buy and 14.3% being Buy [12]. - Brokerage analysts tend to exhibit a strong positive bias in their recommendations, often leading to an overestimation of stock performance [2][6]. Zacks Rank vs. ABR - The Zacks Rank is a quantitative model based on earnings estimate revisions, providing a more reliable indicator of near-term stock performance compared to the ABR, which is solely based on brokerage recommendations [4][5]. - The Zacks Rank is timely and reflects the latest earnings estimates, while the ABR may not always be up-to-date [8]. Onto Innovation's Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Onto Innovation's earnings for the current year is $5.22, which has remained unchanged over the past month, suggesting stable analyst views on the company's earnings prospects [9]. - Due to the unchanged consensus estimate and other factors, Onto Innovation holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), indicating a cautious approach despite the positive ABR [10].

Onto Innovation Inc. (ONTO) reported third-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.34 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line compared favorably with the prior-year quarter's 96 cents.Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.Revenues of $252 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%. The top line expanded 21.7% year over year, driven by advanced nodes recovery and steady growth in advanced packaging technologies, which are critical in supportin ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q3 2024 reached $252 million, a 4% increase from Q2 and a 22% increase year-over-year, setting a new quarterly record for inspection [5][15] - Gross margin improved to 54.5%, and operating margin increased to 28%, resulting in record cash generation from operations of $67 million [5][15] - EPS for Q3 increased 2% sequentially to $1.34 and up 40% compared to the prior year [15] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Specialty devices and advanced packaging remained the largest market, generating $161 million, which is 64% of total revenue, though it saw a slight decline from Q2 [15] - Advanced nodes revenue was $42 million, a 32% increase over Q2, representing 17% of total revenue [15] - Software and services revenue reached $49 million, up 5% from Q2, accounting for 19% of total revenue [15] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The power devices market set a quarterly record, driven by metrology and inspection process control systems, despite muted end demand [9] - Advanced packaging was highlighted as a significant market for metrology, with expectations for increased volume in logic packaging [7][13] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is expanding its core inspection technology through acquisitions, including Lumina Instruments and the lithography business from Kulicke and Soffa, which are expected to enhance product capabilities and generate additional revenue [10][12] - The focus on yield improvements in power semiconductors is expected to sustain record revenue levels into the next year [9][40] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in revenue growth moving into the first half of next year, driven by demand in DRAM and gate-all-around expansions [24][25] - The company anticipates another solid year of growth in 2025, supported by new product launches and strong market demand [21][22] Other Important Information - The company ended Q3 with cash and short-term investments of $855 million, with inventory down to $308 million, marking five consecutive quarters of decline [18][64] - The fourth quarter revenue guidance is projected between $253 million and $267 million, with gross margins expected to be between 54% and 55% [66] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is the timing for TSMC's expansion? - Management is highly confident in revenue growth driven by DRAM capacity expansions and gate-all-around opportunities [24][25] Question: What caused the $10 million lithography delay? - The delay was customer-driven based on their needs, and the reschedule is still under discussion [26] Question: How does the company view the HBM capacity additions? - There is some conservatism in HBM expansion, but management expects an increase in capacity to support new logic coming on board [37][39] Question: What is the outlook for power semiconductors? - The focus on yield improvements is driving strong inspection revenues, despite downturns in the auto market [40][44] Question: What is the expected revenue from China and Korea? - The company expects to maintain sales from China in the 10% to 15% range and anticipates growth in Korea driven by DRAM [77][78]