$先科电子(SMTC)$ Earnings: The AI Data Center Inflection Is Accelerating
$SMTC delivered a much stronger quarter than many expected.
Revenue came in at $341.9M vs $328M guidance, with EPS at $0.71 vs $0.61 expected. But the real story is not just the beat — it is the acceleration in Data Center.
Data Center revenue trajectory:
• Q1: $71.6M
• Q2: $100M+
• Q3 guidance: ~$145M
That represents roughly 45% sequential growth and a significant year-over-year acceleration.
Management also highlighted that FY27 Data Center capacity is already fully booked, while FY28 demand visibility has exceeded 70%. This shows hyperscaler demand for AI infrastructure continues to expand.
The biggest catalyst: 1.6T optical connectivity.
$SMTC reached 1.6T qualification earlier than expected. Management previously remained conservative because qualification timelines are unpredictable, but customer demand is now moving much faster.
Q3 could become the first meaningful 1.6T revenue quarter.
Another key point is FiberEdge:
• ~18% share at 800G two years ago
• Now above 50% share
• Designed into major module providers
• Several sole-source positions
The company expects 1.6T market share to exceed 50% by fiscal year-end.
Beyond optics, NPO programs are expanding, HieFo gain chips are shipping in volume, and CopperEdge 1.6T deployment with a major hyperscaler is expected to begin in Q4.
Margins are also improving:
Q3 adjusted gross margin guidance: 58.3%
Excluding the divested cellular business: 63.9%
A $500M FY27 Data Center revenue target now looks increasingly achievable.
The AI infrastructure buildout is moving from GPUs to the entire ecosystem — memory, networking, optical connectivity, and advanced components.
$SMTC’s latest results reinforce one thing:
The 2027 AI infrastructure cycle may only be beginning. 📈
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- HilaryWilde·08-26 23:521.6T qualification is the tell here, not just the beat. Once optics starts scaling with that 50% plus share path, the AI networking leg looks very realLikeReport