EL7.AI
StocksMedium•13 November 2026•
3 min read

SUMCO revenue rises 18.6% to 117.5 billion yen in third quarter

Key Facts

1SUMCO revenue was 117.5 billion yen in the third quarter, up 18.6% year on year.
2Operating margin was 1.7% against an analyst estimate of 0.5%, and EBITDA margin was 29.8%.
3The company forecast comparable revenue to increase by 6 to 7 billion yen in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter.
4SUMCO forecast fourth-quarter operating profit of 1.0 billion yen, compared with analysts’ estimate of a 0.9 billion yen loss.

SUMCO reported revenue of 117.5 billion yen in the third quarter of 2026, up 18.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to an Investing.com report attributed to Reuters. Sales were close to analysts’ expectations, putting revenue growth at the forefront of the company’s results for the period. Operating margin was 1.7%, above the average analyst estimate of 0.5%. EBITDA margin also reached 29.8%, 1.2 percentage points above the company’s guidance. These figures point to improved margins during the quarter, alongside year-on-year sales growth.

Management said customer inventories and inventory coverage continued to decline, with the clearest improvement in logic chips. It pointed to some memory customers increasing inventories out of concern that chips might not be available, while customer inventories continued to fall overall. This divergence across customer segments places inventory developments in the context of demand for different types of chips. Management did not provide a figure for the decline or the coverage period in its statement. The improvement in logic chips remains the main point it cited in describing inventory movements during the period.

At the end of the third quarter, interest-bearing debt was 250.8 billion yen after Formosa Sumco Technology was removed from consolidation, and net debt to equity improved to 0.23 times, according to the report. The first figure reflects the debt balance after the change in the scope of consolidation, while the second indicator relates net debt to equity. The company said the debt comparison followed FST’s removal from consolidation. The report did not specify the change from the previous quarter in these figures. Debt data and the leverage ratio provide context on the balance sheet at period-end, alongside operating results.

SUMCO forecast fourth-quarter revenue, excluding the effect of FST’s removal from consolidation, to increase by 6 to 7 billion yen from the previous quarter. This is an increase in comparable revenue, not a disclosed figure for total sales expected in the quarter. For profitability, the company guided to operating profit of 1.0 billion yen, while analysts estimated an operating loss of 0.9 billion yen. It also guided to an EBITDA margin of 30.0%. The company’s outlook for the coming quarter therefore includes an improvement in comparable revenue and a margin slightly above the third-quarter level of 29.8%.

Management said lower depreciation is expected to support earnings in 2027 and could decline by tens of billions of yen compared with the 2026 level adjusted to exclude FST. This forms part of the company’s outlook for the following year, while management did not specify an exact figure for the depreciation decline. On agreements, it said it was in no hurry to sign long-term contracts. It added that upcoming negotiations would be considered customer by customer and would address pricing, duration and potential risks such as inflation. This means the terms of agreements, according to management, will be set based on each customer’s circumstances and the negotiation topics cited.