Veeco Instruments Inc: Form 10-Q for the period ended Jun 30, 2025

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to facilitate an understanding of our business and results of operations. This MD&A should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-Q. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements and should also be read in conjunction with the cautionary statement set forth at the beginning of this Form 10-Q.

The following section generally discusses 2025 and 2024 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2025 and 2024. Discussions of 2024 items that are not included in this Form 10-Q can be found in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Item 2 of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the interim period ended June 30, 2024, filed on August 6, 2024.

Executive Summary

We are an innovative manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Our proven ion beam, laser annealing, lithography, MOCVD, and single wafer wet processing technologies play an integral role in the fabrication and packaging of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to optimize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds leading technology positions in the markets we serve. To learn more about Veeco’s systems and service offerings, visit www.veeco.com (http://www.veeco.com).

Business Update

The Semiconductor industry has historically demonstrated cyclicality based on fluctuations in global chip demand and production capacity. Sales in the Semiconductor industry are estimated to have increased year-over-year in 2024 to around $650 billion. Looking ahead, industry analysts are forecasting long-term growth of the industry, driven by secular growth trends such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, mobile connectivity, and the electrification of the automotive industry. Additionally, government investments in the Semiconductor industry are projected to accelerate global spending in next-generation technologies.

Growth in the Semiconductor industry, coupled with increasing technological complexity of Semiconductor chips, are expected to drive long-term growth in WFE spending. In an effort to improve chip performance, optimize power consumption, and reduce costs, today’s most advanced Semiconductor manufacturers are shrinking device geometries, investing in more complex transistor designs such as Gate-All-Around and exploring 3D architectures. As a result, growth of the WFE market is forecasted to keep pace with long-term growth of the Semiconductor industry, which we believe should benefit semiconductor capital equipment providers, including Veeco.

Our strategy of investing in advanced logic and memory has enabled our Semiconductor business to outperform WFE growth for four consecutive years. Veeco’s technologies are at the forefront of enabling new technical innovations in the manufacture of high-performance AI chips and High-Bandwidth Memory (“HBM”). We continue to invest in new technologies to expand our SAM to a broad range of new applications.

While the long-term outlook of the Semiconductor industry remains favorable, recently enacted tariffs, foreign and domestic, have resulted in uncertainty across Veeco’s business. The tariffs have resulted in an increase in certain of our costs and those of our customers and could impact future end market demand. Given the dynamic nature of the situation, we continue to evaluate the potential impacts to our business, and our team is working diligently with our suppliers and customers to assess, manage and mitigate the related impacts.

Semiconductor revenue increased by 13% in the second quarter from the comparable prior year period, comprising 75% of total revenue. Growth was primarily driven by an increase in system shipments of our Ion Beam Deposition LDD system for mask blanks and our Advanced Packaging wet processing systems.

Our laser annealing solutions continue to gain traction at advanced logic nodes, highlighted by recent order activity and shipments to leading-edge logic customers Gate-All-Around nodes. In the memory market, we continue to ship LSA systems to a Tier 1 customer for high volume production of HBM and advanced DRAM devices. While our growth strategy is predominately focused on advanced node logic and memory, LSA shipments to mature node customers increased in 2023 and 2024, predominantly driven by new greenfield fabs and capacity additions in China.

We have two next generation laser annealing systems under evaluation at Tier 1 foundry and logic customers. This next generation system, the NSA500, covers the nano-second annealing regime and complements our LSA product. This new system is part of our continued effort to enable our customers’ product roadmap by providing annealing solutions and driving higher device performance. Nanosecond annealing provides Veeco with an opportunity to expand our laser annealing SAM for new advanced node logic and memory applications, including low thermal budget anneals for Gate-All-Around transistors and advanced 3D devices.

The ongoing adoption of EUV Lithography for advanced node semiconductor manufacturing continues to drive demand for our Ion Beam Deposition LDD system for mask blanks. Leading logic and memory customers expect EUV and High Numerical Aperture (“High-NA”) lithography to be integral to their future roadmaps, which our Ion Beam Deposition technology is a key enabler of. Our product roadmap is well positioned as the industry adopts next-generation High-NA EUV lithography, and we are expanding our EUV related business to new mask blank applications.

We also have two Ion Beam Deposition “IBD300” systems under evaluation at leading DRAM memory customers. Our IBD300 system provides Veeco with another opportunity to expand our SAM to advanced node applications where low resistance films are critical. These initial systems are being evaluated for advanced memory applications, such as DRAM bitline.

In Advanced Packaging, our Wet Processing systems are used for several applications, and we continue to see strong demand driven by Heterogenous Integration and 3D Packaging for AI. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we announced over $50 million in orders for our Wet Processing systems from a leading foundry, a HBM manufacturer, and OSATs driven by AI and high-performance computing. In the first quarter of 2025, we announced that our wet processing systems were qualified by an IDM for two new applications, and the customer also placed initial orders for these applications. Both applications represent key Served Available Market expansion opportunities for our Wet Processing systems at separate Tier 1 customers.

Our Advanced Packaging lithography systems are used for packaging applications such as fan out wafer level packaging and other advanced packaging solutions. After two years of slow order activity driven by consumer markets, we’re seeing an increase in order activity from several customers.

Looking ahead, we anticipate seeing growth in leading-edge investment driven by new nodes and AI-related demand, including investment in Gate-All-Around nodes, High-Bandwidth Memory, and 3D packaging for AI. At the same time, engagement with customers in China has decreased quarter over quarter, and we expect a continued decline in China revenue for the second half of 2025.

Veeco also serves customers in the Compound Semiconductor, Data Storage, and Scientific & Other markets. We address the Compound Semiconductor market with a broad portfolio of technologies, including Wet Processing, MOCVD, MBE and Ion Beam, for Power Electronics, Photonics, and 5G RF applications. Sales in the Compound Semiconductor market declined in the second quarter from the comparable prior year period. In GaN Power, emerging use cases have driven some traditional silicon power electronics manufacturers to consider adoption of GaN at 300mm, and we have an evaluation system outstanding at a Tier 1 power device customer. We are also seeing photonics opportunities in areas such as solar driven by demand for low orbit satellites and MicroLEDs for applications such as luxury TVs, AR/VR, and automotive.

We address the Data Storage market with sales of our Ion Beam technology. Demand for our Ion Beam products is driven by demand for cloud-based storage. Revenue from our Data Storage declined in the second quarter from the comparable prior year period. Looking ahead, while customer utilizations are improving, they are not investing to expand new system capacity in 2025. As a result, we expect an approximate $60 to $70 million reduction in revenue in our Data Storage business in 2025.

Sales in the Scientific & Other market are largely driven by sales to government-funded laboratories, universities, and research institutions. We address the Scientific & Other market with several technologies, including MBE, ALD, MOCVD, Wet Processing, and IBD/IBE, which support scientific, optical coating and other applications, and sales in this market increased in the second quarter from the comparable prior year period.

Results of Operations

For the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024

The following table presents revenue and expense line items reported in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the indicated periods in 2025 and 2024 and the period-over-period dollar and percentage changes for those line items. Our results of operations are reported as one business segment, represented by our single operating segment.

(dollars in thousands)

* Not meaningful

Net Sales

The following is an analysis of sales by market and by region:

(dollars in thousands)

Sales decreased for the three months ended June 30, 2025 against the comparable prior year period driven by a decrease in sales in the Data Storage and Compound Semiconductor markets, partially offset by an increase in sales in the Semiconductor and Scientific & Other markets. By geography, sales decreased in the China, United States, and EMEA, partially offset by increased sales in the Rest of APAC region. Sales in the Rest of APAC region for the three months ended June 30, 2025 included sales in Taiwan, Singapore and Japan of $45.5 million, $23.4 million and $14.8 million respectively. Sales in the Rest of APAC region for the three months ended June 30, 2024 included sales in Taiwan and Japan of $21.0 million, and $8.8 million respectively. In light of the global nature of our business, we are impacted by conditions in the various countries in which we and our customers operate, including the recent tariff and trade dynamics. We expect there will continue to be year-to-year variations in our future sales distribution across markets and geographies.

Gross Profit

For the three months ended June 30, 2025, gross profit decreased against the comparable prior period primarily due to a decrease in sales volume, as well as a decrease in gross margins. Gross margins decreased principally due to lower volume and higher manufacturing costs partially offset by favorable product mix. Additionally other factors will cause our gross margins to fluctuate each period. We expect higher costs in future periods as we incur tariffs on imported materials from overseas suppliers, as well as higher costs from domestic suppliers incurring tariffs on their imports.

Research and Development

The markets we serve are characterized by continuous technological development and product innovation, and we invest in various research and development initiatives to maintain our competitive advantage and achieve our growth objectives. Research and development expenses remained consistent for the three months ended June 30, 2025 against the comparable prior period.

Selling, General, and Administrative

Selling, general, and administrative expenses remained consistent for the three months ended June 30, 2025 against the comparable prior period.

Amortization Expense

Amortization expense decreased compared to the comparable prior year period primarily due to changes in amortization expense to reflect expected cash flows of certain intangible assets, and certain other intangible assets becoming fully amortized, as well as the full impairment of the Epiluvac related intangibles in 2024.

Interest Income (Expense)

We recorded net interest income of $0.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to net interest income of $0.3 million for the comparable prior year period. The increase in net interest income was primarily due to reduced interest expense on the 2025 Notes as they matured on January 15, 2025 and the 2027 Notes that were settled on May 15, 2025.

Income Taxes

At the end of each interim reporting period, we estimate the effective income tax rate expected to be applicable for the full year. This estimate is used to determine the income tax provision or benefit on a year-to-date basis and may change in subsequent interim periods.

Our tax expense for the three months ended June 30, 2025, was $0.9 million, compared to $2.1 million of tax expense for the comparable prior period. For the three months ended June 30, 2025, the effective tax rate was lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate primarily relating to tax benefits related to Foreign-Derived Intangible Income and research and development tax credits. For the three months ended June 30, 2024, the effective tax rate was favorably impacted by the tax benefits related to Foreign-Derived Intangible Income and research and development tax credits. Additionally, the effective tax rate was also lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate primarily relating to a discrete income tax benefit for share-based compensation windfall.

For the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024

The following table presents revenue and expense line items reported in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the indicated periods in 2025 and 2024 and the period-over-period dollar and percentage changes for those line items. Our results of operations are reported as one business segment, represented by our single operating segment.

(dollars in thousands)

* Not meaningful

Net Sales

The following is an analysis of sales by market and by region:

(dollars in thousands)

Sales decreased for the six months ended June 30, 2025 against the comparable prior year period driven by a decrease in sales in the Data Storage and Compound Semiconductor markets, partially offset by an increase in sales in the Semiconductor and Scientific & Other markets. By geography, sales decreased in the China, United States, EMEA, and the Rest of the World partially offset by increased sales in the Rest of APAC region. Sales in the Rest of APAC region for the six months ended June 30, 2025 included sales in Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan of $78.0 million, $29.4 million, and $28.7 million, respectively. Sales in the Rest of APAC region for the six months ended June 30, 2024 included sales in Japan and Taiwan of $41.8 million, and $40.3 million respectively. In light of the global nature of our business, we are impacted by conditions in the various countries in which we and our customers operate, including the recent tariff and trade dynamics. We expect there will continue to be year-to-year variations in our future sales distribution across markets and geographies.

Gross Profit

For the six months ended June 30, 2025, gross profit decreased against the comparable prior period primarily due to a decrease in sales volume, as well as a decrease in gross margins. Gross margins decreased principally due to lower volume, unfavorable product mix and higher manufacturing costs. Additionally other factors will cause our gross margins to fluctuate each period. We expect higher costs in future periods as we incur tariffs on imported materials from overseas suppliers, as well as higher costs from domestic suppliers incurring tariffs on their imports.

Research and Development

The markets we serve are characterized by continuous technological development and product innovation, and we invest in various research and development initiatives to maintain our competitive advantage and achieve our growth objectives. Research and development expenses remained consistent for the six months ended June 30, 2025 against the comparable prior period.

Selling, General, and Administrative

Selling, general, and administrative expenses remained consistent for the six months ended June 30, 2025 against the comparable prior period.

Amortization Expense

Amortization expense decreased compared to the comparable prior year period primarily due to changes in amortization expense to reflect expected cash flows of certain intangible assets, and certain other intangible assets becoming fully amortized, as well as the full impairment of the Epiluvac related intangibles in 2024.

Interest Income (Expense)

We recorded net interest income of $1.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to net interest income of $1.1 million for the comparable prior year period. The increase in net interest income was primarily due to reduced interest expense on the 2025 Notes as they matured on January 15, 2025 and the 2027 Notes that were settled on May 15, 2025.

Income Taxes

At the end of each interim reporting period, we estimate the effective income tax rate expected to be applicable for the full year. This estimate is used to determine the income tax provision or benefit on a year-to-date basis and may change in subsequent interim periods.

Our tax expense for the six months ended June 30, 2025, was $3.9 million, compared to $3.0 million of tax expense for the comparable prior period. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the effective tax rate was favorably impacted by tax benefits related to Foreign-Derived Intangible Income and research and development tax credits, partially offset by a discrete income tax expense resulting from the share-based compensation shortfall. For the six months ended June 30, 2024, the effective tax rate was favorably impacted by the tax benefits related to Foreign-Derived Intangible Income and research and development tax credits. Additionally, the effective tax rate was also lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate primarily relating to a discrete income tax benefit for share-based compensation windfall.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments are as follows:

(in thousands)

At June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents of $36.4 million and $45.1 million, respectively, were held outside the United States. As of June 30, 2025, we had $22.2 million of accumulated undistributed earnings generated by our non-U.S. subsidiaries for which the U.S. tax has previously been provided. Approximately $8.8 million of undistributed earnings will be subject to foreign withholding taxes if distributed back to the United States and we accrued $0.9 million for foreign withholding taxes for the undistributed earnings.

We believe that our projected cash flow from operations, combined with our cash and short-term investments, will be sufficient to meet our projected working capital requirements, contractual obligations, and other cash flow needs for the next twelve months, including scheduled principal and interest payments on our convertible senior notes, purchase commitments, and payments required under our operating leases.

A summary of the cash flow activity for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024 is as follows:

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

(in thousands)

Net cash provided by operating activities was $29.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and was due to net income of $23.7 million and adjustments for non-cash items of $30.2 million, partially offset by a decrease in cash flow from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $24.9 million. The changes in operating assets and liabilities were largely attributable to a decrease in contract liabilities and increases in accounts receivables, and inventories, partially offset by a decrease in prepaid expenses and accrued expenses.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

(in thousands)

The cash provided by investing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2025 was primarily attributable to net cash provided for investment activity, partially offset by capital expenditures. The cash provided by investing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2024 was primarily attributable to net cash provided by net investment activity and proceeds from the sale of productive assets, partially offset by capital expenditures.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

(in thousands)

The cash used in financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2025 was related to cash used to settle taxes related to employee equity programs, settlement of the 2027 Notes, and debt issuance costs associated with the execution of the Fourth Amendment of the Loan and Security Agreement, partially offset by cash received under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. The cash used in financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2024 was related to cash used to settle taxes related to employee equity programs and contingent consideration payment related to Epiluvac acquisition, partially offset by cash received under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Convertible Senior Notes

We have $230.0 million outstanding principal balance of 2.875% convertible senior notes that bear interest at a rate of 2.875% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year, and mature on June 1, 2029, unless earlier purchased by the Company, redeemed, or converted.

We believe that we have sufficient capital resources and cash flows from operations to support scheduled interest payments on this debt. In addition, in June 2025, we increased the total funds available to us through our revolving credit facility from $225 million to $250 million and extended the maturity until June 16, 2030, subject to a springing maturity date of March 2, 2029. The Company has no immediate plans to draw down on the facility. Interest under the facility is variable based on the Company’s secured net leverage ratio and is expected to bear interest based on SOFR plus a range of 125 to 200 basis points, if drawn. There is a yearly commitment fee of 20 to 30 basis points, based on the Company’s secured net leverage ratio, charged on the unused portion of the Facility.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

We have commitments under certain contractual arrangements to make future payments for goods and services. These contractual arrangements secure the rights to various assets and services to be used in the future in the normal course of business. We expect to fund these contractual arrangements with cash generated from operations in the normal course of business.

Interest Rate Risk

Our exposure to market rate risk for changes in interest rates primarily relates to our investment portfolio. We centrally manage our investment portfolios considering investment opportunities and risks, tax consequences, and overall financing strategies. Our investment portfolio includes fixed-income securities with a fair value of approximately $165.9 million at June 30, 2025. These securities are subject to interest rate risk and, based on our investment portfolio at June 30, 2025, a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would result in a decrease in the fair value of the portfolio of $1.0 million. While an increase in interest rates may reduce the fair value of the investment portfolio, we will not realize the losses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations unless the individual fixed-income securities are sold prior to recovery or the loss is determined to be other-than-temporary.

Currency Exchange Risk

We conduct business on a worldwide basis and, as such, a portion of our revenues, earnings, and net investments in foreign affiliates is exposed to changes in currency exchange rates. The economic impact of currency exchange rate movements is complex because such changes are often linked to variability in real growth, inflation, interest rates, governmental actions, and other factors. These changes, if material, could cause us to adjust our financing and operating strategies. Consequently, isolating the effect of changes in currency does not incorporate these other important economic factors.

Changes in currency exchange rates could affect our foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities and forecasted cash flows. We may enter into monthly forward derivative contracts from time to time with the intent of mitigating a portion of this risk. We only use derivative financial instruments in the context of hedging and not for speculative purposes and have not historically designated our foreign exchange derivatives as hedges. Accordingly, changes in fair value from these contracts are recorded as “Other, net” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. We execute derivative transactions with highly rated financial institutions to mitigate counterparty risk.

Our net sales to customers located outside of the United States represented approximately 87% and 86% of our total net sales for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, 76% and 80% for the comparable 2024 period. We expect that net sales to customers outside the United States will continue to represent a large percentage of our total net sales. Our sales denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar represented approximately 5% and 6% of total net sales for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively, and 5% and 4% for the comparable 2024 period.

A 10% change in foreign exchange rates would have an immaterial impact on the consolidated results of operations since most of our sales outside the United States are denominated in U.S. dollars.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our principal executive and financial officers have evaluated and concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective as of June 30, 2025. The disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that the information required to be disclosed in this report filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

During the quarter ended June 30, 2025, there were no changes in internal control that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect internal control over financial reporting.

Information regarding risk factors appears in the Safe Harbor Statement at the beginning of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and in Part I — Item 1A of our 2024 Form 10-K, and Item 1A of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for quarter ended March 31, 2025. There have been no material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed.