AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6) announced on April 14, 2026, that it is raising its guidance for fiscal year 2026, citing stronger-than-expected demand for Optoelectronics equipment in the first quarter. The company reported preliminary order intake of approximately EUR 171 million for Q1 2026, a year-over-year increase of about 30% from EUR 132.2 million in Q1 2025. More than 65% of equipment orders were attributed to the Optoelectronics segment.
Preliminary revenues for the quarter were approximately EUR 59 million, within the guided range of EUR 65 million plus or minus EUR 10 million, but down from EUR 112.5 million in the prior-year period. Gross profit was negatively impacted by a mid-single-digit million euro one-off charge related to a personnel measure, resulting in a preliminary gross profit of about EUR 11 million (Q1 2025: EUR 34.1 million) and a gross margin of approximately 18% (Q1 2025: 30%). The preliminary operating result (EBIT) totaled roughly EUR -22 million (Q1 2025: EUR 3.3 million), translating into an EBIT margin of about -38% (Q1 2025: 3%). The company attributed the low margins to negative operating leverage from low volume, in addition to the one-off expenses.
Despite the weak profitability, AIXTRON’s cash position strengthened. Preliminary cash and cash equivalents, including other current financial assets, increased to approximately EUR 273 million at quarter-end, up from EUR 224.6 million on December 31, 2025, due to continued positive cash flow development.
Based on current market developments and an exchange rate assumption of 1.20 USD/EUR, AIXTRON raised its full-year 2026 guidance. The company now expects revenues of around EUR 560 million in a range of plus or minus EUR 30 million, up from the previous guidance of EUR 520 million plus or minus EUR 30 million. The EBIT margin is now forecast at 17% to 20%, compared to the prior range of 16% to 19%. Gross margin is expected to be around 42%, versus the earlier expectation of 41% to 42%.
“The significantly stronger-than-expected demand from the Optoelectronics sector in the first quarter is a very encouraging development. We expect this trend to continue and have therefore raised our guidance for the year. With our G10-AsP system, we have the tool of record for the next generation of photonic components, which are the basis for chip-to-chip, rack-to-rack and datacenter-to-datacenter communications in the AI era,” said Dr. Felix Grawert, CEO of AIXTRON SE.
AIXTRON plans to publish its full Q1 2026 report on April 30, 2026. The company’s technology solutions are used in advanced electronic and optoelectronic applications, including laser and LED applications, display technologies, data transmission, and power management. For more information, visit www.aixtron.com.
