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CFO Brice Hill asserted that the DRAM strength is not a temporary pop but a sustainable trend. He attributed the strong, ongoing demand to the growth of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which creates a significant and durable pull for DRAM capacity.

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CEO Gary Dickerson addressed the question by highlighting Applied's strong position and higher share in the 28nm node, which is a growing portion of China's investment. He expressed confidence in the company's ability to 'run faster than competitors' due to a strong, six-year-old ICAPS innovation pipeline that is expanding its addressable market and improving cost-competitiveness.

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President & CEO Gabriel Waisman reiterated that 2026 GAA revenue will be stronger than 2025, but declined to provide a specific quantitative progress update for the current year. Regarding regional demand, he explained that Nova's diversified portfolio creates different dynamics than its peers, and CFO Guy Kizner affirmed that the company has seen a more or less similar upside from both ex-China and China regions.

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Executive Gabriel Waisman stated that Nova does not necessarily share the same views as its peers for the second half, citing a different market position. Regarding China, he expects the nominal revenue value to be flat or slightly down year-over-year, with a lower share of total revenue. While full-year visibility is still lacking, he noted a good backlog for the coming quarters, with any softness in China being offset by strength in other regions.

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President and CEO Gabriel Waisman cited three reasons for confidence: unique technology value, an expanding position in advanced packaging, and the Sentronics acquisition. Regarding GAA, management reiterated their commitment to the $500 million cumulative revenue target through 2026 and stated that more details would be shared at the upcoming Investor Day.

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Gabriel Waisman, executive, explained that Nova historically models its outperformance of WFE at a 1.5x ratio and expects this to continue, though it's too early to predict the exact WFE growth for next year. On China, he confirmed Nova's exposure is within the range of its peers and that the share will moderate as advanced node revenue grows elsewhere. Waisman declined to comment on a specific customer but affirmed that Nova works closely with all global GAA customers and sees no major changes to their plans, highlighting strong traction for platforms like METRION.

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CEO William Miller attributed their traction in GaN on Silicon to product upgrades that offer competitive productivity and cost of ownership while meeting performance specs. CFO John Kiernan addressed the China outlook, explaining that Veeco's business there is focused on 28nm and 40nm fabs, which are not seeing the same investment pace as in the last two years, leading to a moderated but expected level of business.

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CFO Lester Wong explained that confidence in the December outlook stems from high utilization rates, increased order intake, and recovery in key end markets, which are expected to offset typical seasonality. President & CEO Fusen Chen clarified the TCB technology, stating their leadership is in chemical-based processes. He added that they have now developed and integrated physical preparation capabilities in-situ, allowing them to offer a combined solution that provides customers with more flexibility and lowers the barrier to entry for new applications.

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CEO Fusen Chen confirmed that future volume production is expected to be dual-head and that the memory customer engagement is for next-generation HBM, with a system shipment targeted for year-end and a potential production ramp in 18-24 months. Regarding VFO, Chen expressed confidence in securing a position with all three leading DRAM customers, citing KLIC's strong market position and VFO's technical benefits.

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CEO Fusen Chen confirmed the order is for production and that their system, which uses a chemical clean process, is well-suited for large die assembly. Regarding HBM, he stated it is a top priority for fiscal 2025, with significant customer engagement underway, and he expects to provide a more detailed update in the coming quarters. He also noted progress in vertical wire for low-power DDR, targeting low-volume production by late 2025.

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CEO David Wang affirmed that full-year shipment growth is still achievable, with a strong outlook for Q3 and H2 2025. He also detailed the company's multi-sourcing strategy for key components. CFO Mark McKechnie added that ACM Research has made strategic inventory purchases to mitigate supply chain risks and support future production.

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CEO Jeffrey Andreson explained that the reduced upside was due to lower-than-expected EUV build rates in Q4 and a push-out of some shipments by a large US OEM. He attributed the slightly lighter second-half forecast to the timing of a Q2 revenue pull-in. Regarding tariffs, he confirmed the costs from the second wave of Section 232 are being passed on to customers, as they do not allow for duty drawbacks.

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EVP & CFO Bren Higgins stated that the full-year China mix is expected to be around 30%, implying a higher percentage in the second half since the first half was lower. President & CEO Rick Wallace provided a detailed explanation for the intensity decoupling, attributing it to the proliferation of advanced designs, the rise of large die for AI, advanced packaging, and HBM, all of which drive process control needs independently of traditional lithography cycles.

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EVP & CFO Bren Higgins confirmed the full-year China mix outlook remains around 30%, implying a higher percentage in the second half after a lower first half. He noted the overall China business is now expected to be down 10-15% for the year, an improvement from the prior 15-20% estimate. President & CEO Rick Wallace explained the intensity decoupling is due to a proliferation of advanced designs, large die sizes for AI, and growth in advanced packaging and HBM. These factors increase process variability and the need for process control, independent of traditional lithography drivers.

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CEO Luis Müller clarified that the $28 million order was not influenced by tariffs but was driven by customer product cycles, specifically related to edge AI deployment in mobile and expansion in ADAS and infotainment for automotive. Regarding Q4, Müller indicated it was too early for formal guidance but suggested a potential mid-single-digit sequential decline would not be surprising in the current environment.

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CEO Michael Slessor acknowledged the point but stressed the need for cleaner execution. He stated that while they have a strong share with their top HBM customer, there is significant opportunity to grow share with the other two. Regarding the microprocessor customer, Slessor noted no significant change in the day-to-day relationship but highlighted the importance of diversifying across all major customers to buffer against individual customer volatility.

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CEO Mike Slessor clarified that probe cards are device-specific consumables with different growth cycles than capital equipment like testers. He confirmed the HBM4 transition is a positive driver for FormFactor, as higher die stacks increase test intensity and the number of probe cards required. Slessor attributed the Q3 China revenue increase to a non-sustainable 'last time buy' from a domestic DRAM customer, given the geopolitical environment.

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EVP and CFO Douglas Bittinger did not provide a direct year-over-year comparison for domestic China but confirmed that the company's total China WFE forecast was raised slightly. He added that Lam's revenue mix from the region for the full year is now expected to be flat to slightly down, an improvement from prior expectations.

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EVP and CFO Doug Bittinger did not break down the domestic China numbers year-over-year but reiterated that the company's overall WFE view was increased due to stronger China spending. He described Lam's view of the China market composition for the year as being flat to slightly down, which is an improvement from prior expectations.

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CEO Bertrand Loy declined to provide specific Q4 guidance but stated he expects a stronger second half, driven by wafer starts and node transitions in NAND and Logic. Regarding the differing tones, Loy explained that while some customers are optimistic, many still hold high inventory levels. He noted a disconnect between customer revenue stories and their actual fab production volumes, which is the primary driver for Entegris.

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CEO Bertrand Loy explained the discrepancy by noting that MSI tracks bare wafer shipments, which will likely outpace actual wafer starts in 2025 as customers rebuild inventory. He confirmed 2025 will be second-half weighted, with steady sequential growth and an acceleration in outperformance in H2 as key logic and 3D NAND node transitions ramp up.

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SVP & CFO John Wall explained the dip was a temporary effect of record upfront hardware revenue coinciding with a pause in some ratable China revenue. He stated that on a rolling annual basis, the company still expects a normalized split of approximately 80% recurring and 20% upfront revenue, driven by the strong growth in the IP and hardware businesses.

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CFO John Wall affirmed that the company consistently targets double-digit growth for Core EDA. He explained that the 2024 result was impacted by the down year in China and a hardware product transition. CEO Anirudh Devgan added that despite the transition, Q4 hardware performance was exceptionally strong and the overall Core EDA portfolio is better positioned than ever.

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Chairman & Interim CEO Clarence Granger attributed the Q2 upside to stronger-than-expected business from China, increased shipments from a U.S. site, and higher services revenue. He confirmed the positive outlook for China, expecting a $40-50 million quarterly run rate. Granger also noted a potential upward bias for Q4 revenue, driven by new business wins and cost reduction impacts, expressing cautious optimism for the end of the year.

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Chris Cook, President of the Products Division, ranked the China headwinds as: 1) a specific customer's ramp issue, followed by 2) a combination of inventory digestion and softer demand. He stated the ex-China business is expected to be "flattish" sequentially in Q1. CFO Sheri Brumm attributed the gross margin pressure to an unfavorable product and regional mix, particularly lower high-margin China sales, and year-end inventory adjustments.

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CEO Michael Plisinski confirmed the Q3 low point applies to total company revenue. He acknowledged this shifts the outlook to performing in line with the market (WFE) rather than outperforming it. He also affirmed that the primary reason for the change in outlook compared to 90 days prior was the tool allocation situation in 2.5D packaging.

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CEO Michael Plisinski acknowledged that outer quarters have less visibility but stated that directional trends show continued healthy investment in advanced nodes (gate-all-around, DRAM, and 3D NAND). For HBM, he clarified that of the ~230k WSPM capacity added in 2024, about half was utilized. With demand doubling, he expects another 115k+ WSPM to be added in 2025.

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CFO Mark Slicer repeated the Q4 guidance, which projects revenue of $253-$267 million and EPS of $1.33-$1.48. CEO Michael Plisinski attributed the litho pushout to cyclical factors in the substrate market rather than specific customer issues. For AI packaging, he revised the H2 2024 outlook to be down only ~5% from H1 (better than the prior ~10% forecast) and noted that while logic packaging looks healthy for H1 2025, the HBM outlook remains a question mark.

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CEO Russell Low acknowledged the backlog is high relative to historical norms and expects it to normalize over time. While not providing a specific geographic breakdown of the backlog, he stated its composition mirrors the revenue profile, which is predominantly general mature and power. He also noted that U.S. revenue growth was broad-based, driven by general mature and power device applications, including silicon carbide.

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CFO Megan Faust explained that a typical year has a 45/55 first-half/second-half revenue split, but 2025 could be amplified to a 40/60 split due to the communications socket recovery. CEO Giel Rutten reiterated high confidence in regaining the socket, emphasizing the long-standing partnership and well-defined mass production milestones for a Q3 2025 ramp.

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CFO Jason Child clarified the Qualcomm lawsuit has no financial impact, as forecasts assumed no win and continued royalty payments at historical rates. Regarding Arm China, he confirmed its contribution was 25% of royalties, explaining that while the percentage is flat, the absolute dollar amount grew significantly with overall royalty growth. CEO Rene Haas added that the v9 transition rate is proceeding as expected, driven by OEM product cycles.

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CEO Sassine Ghazi stated that China's growth has decelerated due to a shrinking pool of serviceable customers from restrictions and a slowing economy, and he expects its growth to be in line with the corporate average. CFO Shelagh Glaser attributed the 45-55 split to a $100 million headwind from 10 fewer days in H1 and the timing of upfront IP and hardware deliveries being more second-half weighted. Ghazi added that the increasing mix of upfront revenue (29% in FY24 vs. 26% in FY23) naturally creates more quarterly lumpiness.

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CEO Sassine Ghazi stated there was no unusual pull-in from China and that quarterly strength can be due to product mix (e.g., hardware or IP), reaffirming the company's cautious stance. CFO Shelagh Glaser attributed the lower OpEx guidance to prudent expense management, driving efficiencies through internal AI and digital transformation, and some benefits from interest and other income, while still investing in product innovation.

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