AXT

AXTI · Nasdaq · Information Technology · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

AXTI · Last close · November 6, 2026

$38.88

AXT's revenue fell 11.1% to $88 million in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was −24.9%, down from −14.9% a year earlier. Free cash flow was −$19 million. The diluted share count rose 1.8%.

AXT INC Latest fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 10-K filed March 17, 2026 · 0001437749-26-008612 Updated November 6, 2026

Revenue

$88M

11.1%

Operating margin

−24.9%

10.0 pts

Net income

−$21M

Free cash flow

−$19M

Return on equity

−9.1%

3.3 pts

Market cap

$2.5B

Nov 6 close

P/E

—

Over 200x

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on equity is net income as a share of shareholders' equity. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What AXT does

AXT makes wafers, called substrates, that serve as the base layer for chips that cannot use ordinary silicon. It says it does not design or make the chips themselves. It has two product lines: specialty material substrates and the raw materials used to make them.

Its substrates are made from indium phosphide, gallium arsenide and germanium. Indium phosphide goes into fiber optic and 5G equipment and data center connections, where the company says AI is raising the need for fast data transfer. Gallium arsenide goes into phone power amplifiers, satellite communications, LEDs and lasers. Germanium goes into solar cells for space and ground use.

Some of AXT's consolidated subsidiaries make raw materials, such as boron nitride crucibles used to grow crystals and purified gallium. It uses these in its own production and also sells them to other companies. Its customers are chip makers, and it names loss of its top-tier substrate customers as a significant risk.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Trade tariffs and export limits, such as China's requirement of export permits for indium phosphide.
Losing one or more of its tier one substrate customers.
Silicon wafers, which cost much less, replacing specialty materials in some uses.
Falling selling prices and a gross margin that has varied and may decline.
Strong competition from rivals that may develop better products.

From AXT's annual report on Form 10-K, filed March 17, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2016 to 2022, earnings per share grew 13.8% a year and net income 18.9% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 30% and diluted each share's earnings. AXT then lost money in fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	42	44	40	23	120
Debt incl. finance leases	—	—	—	—	—
Net debt (negative means net cash)	—	—	—	—	—
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	—	—
Debt to equity	—	—	—	—	—
Interest coverage	—	—	−14.1x	−11.1x	−17.5x
Current ratio	3.4x	2.4x	2.1x	2.1x	2.7x
Quick ratio	2.0x	1.2x	1.0x	1.0x	1.8x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project AXT's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open AXT's projections

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026, no insider bought AXT shares on the open market, and 5 insiders sold $76.3 million.

Buys and sells by month

US$ millions, open-market purchases (up) and sales (down) by officers, directors and 10% owners in each month.

BoughtSold

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Aug 17, 2026	Leonard J LeblancDirector	Sold	4,000	$96.07	$384,280	Form 4
Aug 7, 2026	Leonard J LeblancDirector	Sold	2,000	$88.32	$176,640	Form 4
Jun 15, 2026	David C ChangDirector	Sold	8,333	$111.17	$926,380	Form 4
Jun 15, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	6,172	$115.24	$711,261	Form 4
Jun 12, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	13,000	$95.77	$1.2 million	Form 4
Jun 11, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	9,000	$88.55	$796,950	Form 4
Jun 10, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	9,000	$86.73	$780,570	Form 4
Jun 10, 2026	Leonard J LeblancDirector	Sold	500	$89.59	$44,795	Form 4
Jun 9, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	1,500	$93.30	$139,950	Form 4
Jun 8, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	6,000	$94.00	$564,000	Form 4
Jun 4, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	6,133	$108.28	$664,081	Form 4
Jun 3, 2026	Jesse ChenDirector	Sold	4,000	$111.36	$445,440	Form 4

The latest 12 of 45 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	—	—	—
Rule of 40	−55.6%	13.1%	−32.4%
Altman Z''	3.60	3.60	4.67
Accruals ratio	−5.8%	0.1%	−2.2%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Fail	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Fail	Fail
Return on assets rose	Fail	Pass	Fail
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Fail	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	—	—	—
Current ratio rose	Fail	Pass	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	Fail	Pass	Fail
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Pass	Fail
F-score	—	—	—

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put AXT side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
AXT	FY25	−11.1%	−24.9%	−21.3%	—	—	—
Aehr Test Systems	FY26	−15.2%	−28.3%	−10.8%	−11.1%	—	2	Compare
PDF Solutions	FY25	22.0%	2.7%	−3.9%	1.4%	2.5x	4	Compare
Cohu	FY25	12.7%	−15.4%	2.4%	−9.1%	—	5	Compare
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	FY25	−7.4%	−0.5%	14.7%	—	—	—	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	81	99	102	83	95	137	141	76	99	88
Revenue growth	5.0%	21.3%	3.8%	−18.7%	14.5%	44.1%	2.7%	−46.3%	31.1%	−11.1%
Gross profit	26	34	37	25	30	47	52	13	24	11
Research and development	6	5	6	6	7	10	14	12	14	9
Operating income	6	13	12	−0	4	13	13	−22	−15	−22
Net income	6	10	10	−3	3	15	16	−18	−12	−21
Diluted EPS (US$)	0.17	0.26	0.24	−0.07	0.07	0.34	0.37	−0.42	−0.27	−0.49
Diluted shares (millions)	33	39	40	40	41	43	43	43	43	44
Cash flow
Cash from operations	12	9	3	13	6	−3	−9	3	−12	−13
Capital expenditure	3	21	40	22	20	30	28	10	6	6
Free cash flow	10	−13	−37	−9	−14	−33	−37	−7	−18	−19
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Acquisitions	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	1	1	2	2	3	4	4	4	3	3
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	48	64	39	36	73	42	44	40	23	120
Debt incl. finance leases	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total assets	154	211	224	223	299	332	370	359	339	434
Total liabilities	17	23	29	31	43	52	80	90	84	99
Shareholders' equity	133	184	191	188	193	212	222	204	193	273
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	32.4%	34.9%	36.2%	29.8%	31.8%	34.5%	36.9%	17.6%	24.0%	12.7%
Operating margin	7.9%	12.8%	11.9%	−0.4%	4.1%	9.4%	8.9%	−28.5%	−14.9%	−24.9%
Net margin	6.9%	10.3%	9.4%	−3.1%	3.4%	10.6%	11.2%	−23.6%	−11.7%	−24.1%
Free cash flow margin	12.0%	−12.9%	−36.5%	−11.0%	−14.7%	−24.0%	−26.4%	−9.3%	−18.0%	−21.3%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	17.0%	8.4%	−32.7%	−29.7%	−0.1%	20.1%	−23.7%	−55.6%	13.1%	−32.4%
Return on capital	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Return on equity	4.2%	6.4%	5.2%	−1.4%	1.7%	7.2%	7.3%	−8.4%	−5.9%	−9.1%
Return on assets	3.7%	5.5%	4.4%	−1.2%	1.2%	4.6%	4.5%	−4.9%	−3.3%	−5.5%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: AXT's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with AXT.