Winway Technology, a Taiwan-listed maker of semiconductor test interfaces, reported first-half earnings per share of NT$38.24 on August 6, setting a record for the comparable period as accelerating demand for AI and high-performance computing chip testing drove consolidated revenue to NT$6.504 billion, up 70.27% from a year earlier.
The momentum has carried into the third quarter. The company's preliminary consolidated revenue for July reached NT$1.6 billion, a 9.6% monthly gain and a 155.57% year-on-year surge, extending a streak of consecutive monthly records that began in June.
Expansion Costs Squeeze Margins Even as Revenue Soars
Second-quarter consolidated revenue reached NT$3.523 billion, up 18.22% from the first quarter and up 131.47% year-on-year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit sequential growth. The profit picture, however, was more complicated. Gross margin fell to 38% from 43% in Q1, and was down 11 percentage points from 49% in the year-ago quarter. The operating margin slipped to 24%, down two percentage points sequentially and six percentage points year-on-year.
Net profit attributable to parent company shareholders came in at NT$672 million for the quarter, a 3.86% sequential decline despite a 227.8% year-on-year surge. Quarterly EPS was NT$18.7, below Q1's NT$19.54 but sharply higher than the NT$5.76 posted in the same period of 2025.
Winway said the margin compression reflects simultaneous investment across two growth platforms: new production capacity for high-end test sockets serving AI and HPC chip customers, and the build-out of in-house research and manufacturing infrastructure for MEMS probe cards. The company characterized the margin pressure as a deliberate short-term trade-off, with profitability expected to recover as new capacity utilization rises and economies of scale take hold.
AI Chip Evolution Raises the Bar for Test Interfaces
Winway's two core product lines, high-end test sockets and MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) probe cards, sit at a critical junction in the semiconductor supply chain: the point at which a finished chip must be validated before it reaches a system. The company said AI customers have expanded both procurement volumes and technical requirements across both product lines.
The driver is structural. As AI processors evolve toward larger package dimensions, higher power consumption, and denser contact arrays, the demands placed on test interfaces have grown substantially more complex. A modern AI chip test interface must now manage signal integrity, thermal dissipation, high pin counts, and high-frequency transmission simultaneously, covering wafer testing, final testing, system-level testing, and burn-in testing stages. Winway said this rising technical threshold is expanding the addressable market for its products and lifting the value each unit commands.
July Revenue Record Points to Strong Q3 Order Pipeline
July's NT$1.6 billion brought cumulative revenue for the first seven months of 2026 to NT$8.104 billion, up 82.29% from the same period a year earlier. The figure follows June's NT$1.4602 billion, which had itself set a then-record, confirming back-to-back monthly highs as the third quarter opens. Winway attributed the sustained run to rising demand from global AI customers, increased shipments of high-end products, and the progressive contribution of new production capacity.
Looking ahead, the company said improving order visibility and new capacity additions underpin its expectation that "performance will remain strong" in Q3. The broader industry environment offers additional support: the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) projects global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales will grow 23.2% in 2026 to US$165.9 billion, driven by investment in AI, high-bandwidth memory, 2-nanometer process technology, and advanced packaging, all segments where Winway's products are directly relevant.
The critical variable heading into the second half is whether rising revenue translates into a recovery in profitability. July's preliminary figure carries no margin disclosure, leaving the trajectory of gross margins and whether Winway's capacity expansion is beginning to generate operating leverage to be assessed when quarterly results are published. Markets will be watching whether the company's buildout shifts from a drag on earnings to a driver of them. （Related： TSMC Posts Third Straight Monthly Revenue Record on AI Demand ｜ Latest ）
