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    Shane Brett • Morgan Stanley

    Shane Brett's questions to Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) leadership

    Shane Brett's questions to Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Shane Brett questioned the reduction in the full-year Gate-All-Around (GAA) revenue forecast from $5 billion to $4.5 billion, asking for characterization of Applied's market share and assurance that the reduction was not a share issue.

    Answer

    CEO Gary Dickerson responded with 'super high confidence' that the change is not a share issue. He reiterated that the transition to GAA and backside power increases Applied's revenue opportunity by 30% per wafer start. He emphasized that deep customer engagements and demand for integrated systems position the company to outperform and gain share as these critical AI-enabling nodes ramp.

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    Shane Brett's questions to MKS Instruments Inc (MKSI) leadership

    Shane Brett's questions to MKS Instruments Inc (MKSI) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Shane Brett of Morgan Stanley asked if strong E&P growth has changed long-term expectations, how a potential industry shift from COWAS to COWAP would impact the business, and what leading indicators exist for the Specialty Industrial segment.

    Answer

    President and CEO John Lee stated that while the long-term model isn't being updated, the AI-driven growth validates their strategy. He noted a shift to COWAP would be a tailwind, playing to MKS's strengths in complex HDI boards. For the industrial segment, he highlighted that while the overall market is muted, Defense has been a 'bright spot' and Life & Health Sciences remains stable.

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    Shane Brett's questions to MKS Instruments Inc (MKSI) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Shane Brett of Morgan Stanley inquired about the impact of tariffs on gross margins, mitigation strategies, and any resulting changes in customer order patterns. He also asked for a preliminary outlook on the second half of the year, given the stronger-than-expected first half.

    Answer

    CFO Ram Mayampurath explained that MKS is mitigating tariff impacts through its global manufacturing footprint, resilient supply chain, and potential selective commercial actions, noting no top-line impact so far. CEO John Lee clarified the guidance incorporates a potential tariff impact of *up to* 100 basis points, not the full amount. Regarding the second half, Lee expressed satisfaction with first-half double-digit growth in Semi and E&P but noted that macroeconomic uncertainty from tariffs clouds the outlook for what would otherwise be a stable to improving demand environment.

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    Shane Brett's questions to MKS Instruments Inc (MKSI) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Shane Brett from Morgan Stanley asked about the recent reduction in balance sheet inventory and the company's capacity to support a potential surge in demand given the increase in within-lead-time orders.

    Answer

    CEO John Lee expressed satisfaction with the progress made in reducing inventory toward more normalized levels. He explained that inventory was previously held at higher levels for strategic components to mitigate shortages seen in the last upturn. He affirmed that MKS is prepared to use working capital to build inventory ahead of any significant demand ramp.

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    Shane Brett's questions to MKS Instruments Inc (MKSI) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Shane Brett, on for Joseph Moore, asked about the idiosyncratic gross margin tailwinds and headwinds envisioned for 2025. He also inquired about how MKS is positioned for the next NAND CapEx upcycle relative to the last one.

    Answer

    President and CEO John Lee identified higher volume as a key tailwind, expecting 50% gross margin flow-through, and noted the Atotech business continues to support profitability. He mentioned that while inflationary cost pressures have stabilized, they are not yet a tailwind. For the next NAND cycle, Lee affirmed MKS's leadership position in RF power for critical etch, expressing confidence they will benefit as they have in past cycles.

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    Shane Brett's questions to KLA Corp (KLAC) leadership

    Shane Brett's questions to KLA Corp (KLAC) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Shane Brett of Morgan Stanley asked for clarification on the September quarter's business mix, noting the sequential decline in memory seemed counterintuitive, and inquired about the company's progress towards its 2026 revenue target set at the 2022 Analyst Day.

    Answer

    EVP & CFO Bren Higgins clarified that the memory mix is a matter of timing, confirming that DRAM revenue will be stronger in the December quarter than in September. Regarding the 2026 target, President & CEO Rick Wallace explained that due to strong market share gains and growth in packaging, KLA does not need the original $125B WFE assumption to achieve its $14B revenue goal, suggesting WFE in the mid-$110s could be sufficient.

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    Shane Brett's questions to KLA Corp (KLAC) leadership • Q4 2025

    Question

    Shane Brett from Morgan Stanley asked for clarification on the September quarter's business mix, specifically the sequential decline in memory revenue, and inquired about progress towards the 2026 revenue target set at the 2022 Analyst Day.

    Answer

    EVP & CFO Bren Higgins explained the memory mix was simply a matter of project timing and revenue recognition, and that he expects to see an uptick in DRAM revenue in the December quarter. Regarding the 2026 target, Higgins stated that due to strong share of WFE and packaging growth, KLA does not need the originally assumed $125B WFE to hit the $14B revenue plan. He noted their share of WFE is approaching 8% (ex-packaging) versus the 7.25% originally modeled, and the underlying financial model is performing as expected, absent tariff effects.

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    Shane Brett's questions to Teradyne Inc (TER) leadership

    Shane Brett's questions to Teradyne Inc (TER) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Shane Brett of Morgan Stanley sought to clarify the confidence level in the GPU opportunity, asking if it was a concrete win or still in discussion. He also asked about the customer breadth within the VIP compute business and visibility into further market share gains.

    Answer

    President & CEO Greg Smith reiterated it is not a win yet but an opportunity to compete where they have strong customer sponsorship for a dual-vendor strategy. He emphasized success depends on proving their value proposition. He described the VIP compute business as being driven by a few key customers ('less than six, more than one'), with the main prizes being CPU and AI accelerator designs.

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    Shane Brett's questions to Teradyne Inc (TER) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Shane Brett asked about the catalysts needed to drive a recovery in NAND test demand and inquired about the current utilization levels of VIP testers, specifically at what point customers would need to buy new systems instead of upgrading existing ones.

    Answer

    CEO Greg Smith outlined that a NAND recovery would be driven by higher mobile unit volumes, increased storage in AI phones, and new interface standards. On utilization, he noted a clear upward trend, with an increase in new system orders for AI accelerators and a significant reduction in the number of idle, upgradable mobile testers compared to six months ago.

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    Shane Brett's questions to Teradyne Inc (TER) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Shane Brett asked for finer details behind the revenue assumptions in the 2028 long-term model and questioned the visibility given the company's history of setting high targets.

    Answer

    CFO Sanjay Mehta outlined the model's CAGR assumptions of 12-17% for Test and 18-24% for Robotics, driven by AI-enabled SAM expansion in robotics and a segment-by-segment TAM analysis for test. CEO Greg Smith added that SOC growth is expected to be more linear, while memory growth will be lower due to the large 2024 increase. They also highlighted share gains and the growth of system-level test as key drivers supporting the model.

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