Let me share my view on the next two quarters.
The first key assumption is ongoing product mix optimization. Gross margin in 2026Q1 has already hit 39.9%, up a full 2 points from 37.9% a year ago. Behind this is the rising revenue contribution from CCP/ICP etch at advanced nodes—5nm logic, 3D NAND high-aspect-ratio, and HBM-related etch processes are all ramping, and structural ASP and gross margin are both moving higher. I assume gross margin continues to creep up modestly to 40.2%–40.5% in Q2 and Q3.
The second assumption is seasonality. The semiconductor equipment industry has a fairly clear cadence: Q1 is typically soft (Lunar New Year plus customer acceptance timing), Q2 starts to warm up, Q3 is the traditional shipping peak, and Q4 is usually the strongest. For 2026Q2, I assume roughly 15% revenue growth QoQ, reaching 3.35B; Q3 then steps up to 3.8B. The main logic is that mainland fab Capex delivery and overseas customer order fulfillment both get booked out in Q3.
Why is net income running so "steep"? Honestly, when I look at that jump in operating margin in 2026Q1, part of me wonders whether I should "ease off a bit." Scale effects are a factor, but a 33% operating margin does feel like it's "running ahead too fast"—there's likely some one-off product mix tailwind, pre-shipments ahead of the tariff window, and some deferred tax noise. So I dialed operating margin back a touch for Q2 and Q3, to something like 31%-ish. That's a more sustainable pace—it's not a step down, just stepping it from a quarterly peak back to a steady-state high.
The biggest risk, hands down, is the "chokepoint" on overseas equipment components. If some critical part—say, a high-precision RF generator or a specialty ceramic component—gets pinched again, our delivery cadence gets disrupted and gross margin comes under pressure. The other one is qualification cycle. As process nodes move past 5nm, iteration gets increasingly complex; if the window from demo to HVM stretches out, the revenue recognition "bathtub" keeps filling up, but the near-term reported numbers don't necessarily reflect it immediately. I've baked this layer into my assumptions as well.
To sum it up in one line: I have no doubt revenue is heading up, and earnings elasticity is the most attractive piece at this stage—but keeping the pace and not getting "carried away" by any single quarter's margin print is the biggest discipline I hold myself to.