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AI

AEye, Inc. (LIDR)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q2 2025 revenue was $0.022M, with GAAP EPS of $(0.48) and non-GAAP EPS of $(0.35); adjusted EBITDA was $(6.9)M, reflecting modest top-line but strengthening commercial traction and disciplined cost control .
  • Management highlighted a commercial inflection: Apollo fully certified on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX, tripling new business wins to 6, and securing a potential $30M transportation OEM program expected to begin contributing revenue in 2025 .
  • Guidance maintained for FY 2025 cash burn at $27–$29M, with CFO now expecting the high end; quarterly burn is expected to trend lower in H2 2025, and total potential liquidity increased to ~$126M with runway extended into 2027 .
  • Key stock-reaction catalysts: NVIDIA certification (ecosystem channel and Hyperion path), visibility to thousands of non-automotive units, and a signed $30M transportation OEM opportunity under active deployment .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

  • Apollo fully integrated and certified on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin, “paving the way for Hyperion integration” and accelerating OEM engagement channels .
  • Commercial momentum: “Tripled new business wins from 2 to 6,” active engagement with “more than 100” prospects, and “30” in advanced negotiations across smart infrastructure, aviation, rail, defense, and security .
  • Signed a potential $30M transportation OEM program expected to start contributing revenue this year; “we have people on the ground, and it’s ramping today” .

What Went Wrong

  • Revenue softness: Q2 revenue fell to $0.022M, down q/q from $0.064M and y/y from $0.032M; gross loss widened to $(0.086)M as cost of revenue outpaced sales .
  • Operating expenses increased sequentially (GAAP opex $8.6M vs. $6.8M in Q1), lifting GAAP net loss to $(9.3)M vs. $(8.0)M in Q1, driven by higher engineering, business development, and personnel costs .
  • Consensus estimates were unavailable from S&P Global for EPS and revenue, limiting beat/miss analysis; investors must focus on qualitative catalysts and liquidity runway until coverage normalizes (S&P Global data unavailable).*

Financial Results

MetricQ2 2024Q4 2024Q1 2025Q2 2025
Revenue ($USD Thousands)32 46 64 22
GAAP EPS ($USD)(1.16) (0.93) (0.46) (0.48)
Non-GAAP EPS ($USD)(0.91) (0.69) (0.33) (0.35)
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Thousands)(6,489) (6,712) (5,947) (6,891)
GAAP Operating Expenses ($USD Thousands)8,128 8,992 6,768 8,619
Gross Loss ($USD Thousands)(128) (3) (32) (86)

KPIs (operational and liquidity):

KPIQ1 2025Q2 2025
New Business Wins (#)2 6
Active Customer Engagements (#)20+ progressing to PoCs 100+ engaged
Advanced Negotiations (#)—30
Transportation OEM Program ($USD)—30,000,000 potential over 2–3 years
Cash Burn excl. net financing ($USD Millions)8.0 7.1
Net Cash Used in Operating Activities ($USD Millions)(7.8) (6.4)
Cash, Cash Equivalents, Marketable Securities (period-end, $USD Millions)25.9 19.2
Total Potential Liquidity ($USD Millions)~74 ~126

Estimates vs. Actuals:

MetricQ2 2025 ConsensusQ2 2025 Actual
Revenue ($USD Thousands)N/A*22
GAAP EPS ($USD)N/A*(0.48)

*Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Cash Burn ($USD Millions)FY 2025$25 (as of Q4 2024) $27–$29 (as of Q1/Q2 2025); CFO now expects high end Raised in Q1; Maintained in Q2 (tilt to high end)
Quarterly Cash Burn TrajectoryH2 2025Trend lower through 2025 Trend lower in back half of 2025 Maintained
Liquidity RunwayMulti-yearMid-2026 (as of Q4 2024) Into 2027 (post Q2 capital actions) Raised

No revenue/margin guidance was provided in Q2 materials .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious Mentions (Q4 2024, Q1 2025)Current Period (Q2 2025)Trend
NVIDIA ecosystem integrationFinal testing phase for NVIDIA DRIVE; Apollo launched; building OEM engagement Apollo fully certified on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin; Hyperion integration path; expanded OEM channel support Strengthening
Physical AI / OPTIS platformEmphasis on capital-light scaling; early progress beyond automotive OPTIS launched; field deployments in airport safety, perimeter monitoring, logistics; open to third-party developers on Jetson Orin Expanding
Manufacturing & supply chain (LITEON)First Apollo B samples; ramp preparation Supply chain and LITEON line “primed to scale”; behind-windshield capability highlighted Scaling readiness
Pipeline & contracts20+ engagements moving toward PoCs 100+ engaged; 30 advanced negotiations; wins tripled to 6; visibility to thousands of units (non-auto) Accelerating
Liquidity & capital strategyLiquidity ~$80M; runway to mid-2026 Liquidity ~$126M; runway into 2027; H2 cash burn trending lower Improving
Transportation OEM program—$30M program signed; live integration; 2–3 yr revenue duration De-risking (execution)

Management Commentary

  • “AEye reached a critical inflection point in the second quarter as we moved beyond the development phase to deliver sustained growth... Apollo’s selection by a leading global transportation OEM... a potential $30 million opportunity which we expect to begin contributing to revenue this year.” — Matt Fisch, CEO .
  • “Excluding net financing proceeds, second quarter cash burn decreased by approximately $1 million to $7.1 million... total potential liquidity... approximately $126 million... we now expect full year 2025 cash burn to come in at the high end of... $27–$29 million.” — Conor Tierney, CFO .
  • On NVIDIA: “AEye Apollo lidar is at the top of the list... performance... and... ready for integration... we have support from their sales and marketing channels... paves the path... into their Hyperion platform.” — Matt Fisch .
  • On OPTIS and physical AI: “OPTIS... powered by NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin... deployed... enabling intelligent decision making... opening our platform to third parties... a global network of developers.” — Matt Fisch .

Q&A Highlights

  • NVIDIA integration: Management emphasized Apollo’s top performance on NVIDIA’s developer site and “special status” bringing sales/marketing support and Hyperion path, simplifying OEM conversations .
  • $30M transportation OEM: The program is signed and “ramping today” with AEye teams on-site; expected revenue spread over 2–3 years, starting in 2025 .
  • Pipeline maturity: 100+ active engagements, 30 advanced negotiations, and visibility to thousands of units in non-automotive verticals; smart infrastructure showing strongest pull initially .
  • Expense mix: Sales & marketing increases largely reflect reallocation from G&A/R&D to support deployments and biz dev; incremental spend minimal .
  • Go-to-market: Multi-pronged approach using integrators (e.g., DOTs) and direct relationships enabled by OPTIS; defense opportunities leveraging Apollo’s randomized scanning profile .

Estimates Context

  • S&P Global consensus was unavailable for Q2 2025 EPS and revenue; thus, formal beat/miss versus Wall Street estimates cannot be determined at this time (S&P Global data unavailable).*
  • We recommend monitoring for initiation/expansion of coverage post-NVIDIA certification and OEM wins, which should improve estimate visibility and comparability.

*Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • Commercial inflection: NVIDIA certification and a signed $30M transportation OEM program, plus tripled contract wins, materially improve revenue visibility despite current low reported sales .
  • Non-automotive ramp: Smart infrastructure, aviation, rail, defense, and security are near-term demand drivers with visibility to thousands of units, de-risking dependence on automotive timelines .
  • Capital discipline: Burn trended down (excl. financing) and is expected to decline in H2; liquidity expanded to ~$126M with runway into 2027, supporting scale-up without heavy capex .
  • Product differentiation: Behind-windshield 1550nm Apollo with long-range, high-resolution detection and software-defined configurability drives performance/cost advantages across use cases .
  • Execution watchpoints: Sequential opex increase and net loss reflect investment in engineering and biz dev; revenue conversion from PoCs and program ramp is the next catalyst to track .
  • Estimate normalization ahead: As commercial wins translate to shipments, expect better sell-side coverage and consensus formation; until then, focus on operational KPIs and signed programs (e.g., $30M OEM) .
  • Near-term trading lens: Headlines around additional OEM engagements, OPTIS deployments, and H2 burn trajectory could drive sentiment; any confirmation of Hyperion integration would be a significant upside catalyst .