FormFactor(US:FORM)2025-02-05 22:25Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q4, revenues were $189.5 million, a decrease of 9% from the record revenues in Q3 and an increase of 12.7% year-over-year from Q4 2023 [16] - Non-GAAP gross margin for Q4 was 40.2%, down 0.8 percentage points from the midpoint of the outlook range [16] - Non-GAAP EPS for Q4 was $0.27, down from $0.35 in Q3 [24] - For fiscal 2024, total revenues were $764 million, up 15.2% from $663 million in fiscal 2023 [16] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Probe card segment revenues in Q4 were $150.3 million, a decrease of 12.7% from Q3, driven by lower Foundry and Logic and Flash revenues, partially offset by record DRAM revenue [17] - DRAM revenues reached a record $63.3 million in Q4, accounting for 33.4% of total quarterly revenues [18] - Foundry and Logic revenues were $83 million in Q4, a decrease of 22.5% from Q3, representing 44% of total revenues [18] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The semiconductor industry is experiencing contrasting dynamics, with strong growth in generative AI and high bandwidth memory (HBM) while facing weak demand in client PCs and mobile handsets [5][6] - HBM revenues for fiscal 2024 totaled $126 million, nearly a $100 million increase from fiscal 2023 [19] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company announced the acquisition of FICT Limited to enhance its capabilities in advanced packaging and strengthen its supply chain [7][8] - Partnerships with Advantest Corporation aim to accelerate innovation in wafer-level testing for high-performance computing applications [8] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expects a sequential reduction in demand for non-HBM DRAM probe cards due to export controls affecting shipments to China [10] - The company anticipates an overall increase in demand for its products as it moves through 2025, driven by HBM and new customer qualifications [11][55] Other Important Information - The company generated free cash flow of $28.8 million in Q4, an increase from $20 million in Q3 [25] - The company repurchased shares worth $16.1 million during Q4, with $20.5 million remaining under the buyback program [26] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you unpack the foundry logic DRAM between non-HBM and HBM? - The largest component of the non-HBM DRAM reduction in Q1 is associated with advanced DRAM probe cards shipping into China, which is expected to be zero due to export controls [33][34] Question: What is the outlook for non-HBM DRAM? - Non-HBM DRAM continues to operate at cyclical lows around $20 million per quarter, with limited activity expected [38] Question: Why is volume impacting the business in the near term? - Volume is impacted due to the need for new design releases to ramp in volume, which is currently limited by weak demand in markets like PCs and mobile [42][45] Question: What is the impact of the large U.S. customer not appearing on the 10% list? - There is broad-based weakness across foundry and logic, particularly in the microprocessor business, which did not contribute significantly to revenue [48] Question: What is the outlook for HBM and foundry logic business? - HBM and the transition to HBM4 are expected to drive growth, with a reasonable assumption of returning to $100 million levels in foundry and logic [55] Question: Can you elaborate on the hyperscalers' engagement? - The company is engaging with hyperscalers developing custom ASICs for AI applications, which is a new growth area [65] Question: What are the growth drivers in the systems business? - Growth in the systems segment is expected from the transition of silicon photonics and co-package optics to pilot production, alongside investments in quantum computing [76] Question: What is the margin outlook for HBM versus traditional DRAM? - HBM revenue has higher margins compared to traditional DRAM, but specific margin breakdowns were not provided [78]