After AI Hyperscaler Deal, Is Aehr Test Systems Stock on Sale?
After posting its largest single-day gain of 2025, small-cap chip stock Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR) just took a huge hit. On Oct. 7, shares closed down by more than 17% as the market reacted to the company’s latest earnings report. The drop follows a critical announcement Aehr made in late August, which sent shares up by almost 36% in one day. The firm said it had received follow-on orders for its Sonoma systems from a major artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscaler. This excited markets, positioning Aehr as a small company that could ride the AI wave in a big way.
Below, we’ll detail the key points from the company’s latest earnings that investors need to be aware of. Ultimately, did an opportunity just open up for investors in this headline-grabbing stock?
Aehr Beats Estimates, But Lack of Guidance Disappoints
Aehr released its fiscal Q1 2026 financial results on Oct. 6, with its revenues coming in at $11 million. This was a 16% drop from $13.1 million in the same period a year ago. However, it came in slightly better than Wall Street estimates of $10.8 million or a drop of more than 17%. The firm also posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 1 cent, matching analysts' estimates. Despite these estimate beats, the stock saw a sharp sell-off—a reaction that may seem puzzling at first glance, but becomes clearer when examining several underlying factors.
Notably, Aehr did not provide guidance for next quarter or the full fiscal year. The firm noted that tariff-related uncertainties were a key contributor to this decision. This isn’t overly surprising given that 63% of Aehr’s revenues came from Asian customers in fiscal year 2025. Notably, the United States and China have delayed the implementation of massive tariffs until Nov. 10 to allow for negotiations. Additionally, 40% “transshipment” levies are impacting countries in Southeast Asia. With huge uncertainty surrounding these issues, it makes sense that Aehr is not currently confident in providing financial forecasts. Still, the lack of visibility Aehr provided disappointed markets, contributing to its drawdown.
Aehr’s Hyperscale Orders Fail to Make a Big Impact
Additionally, the company’s hyperscaler order didn’t seem to have a huge impact on its bookings or backlog. The figures came in at $11.4 million and $15.5 million, respectively. This was only a slight improvement over $11.1 million and $15.2 million in fiscal Q4 2025. Because shares soared so much on the order announcement, markets likely wanted to see a much more significant improvement in these figures.
The firm is still somewhat early on in its journey of capitalizing on AI growth. Through acquiring Incal in July 2024, the company gained the Sonoma product that is attracting hyperscaler interest. With the acquisition just over a year old, the firm may still need more time to see a material improvement in its business. This comes even though AI represented 40% of total sales last year, expanding significantly from 0% the year before. However, the company's other markets, like silicon carbide customers, have been declining. This has cast a bit of a shadow over its AI revenues, which are still small in absolute terms. Still, Aehr believes its AI opportunity is three to five times larger than its silicon carbide opportunity, providing a path to long-term upside.
AEHR: Valuation Comes Closer to Earth, But Isn’t Highly Attractive Yet
Overall, Aehr was a highly valued stock going into its earnings release. Without revenue visibility or a significant uptick in bookings, justifying Aehr's nearly 17x price-to-sales (P/S) ratio was difficult. That was a top ten figure among 80 U.S. chip stocks with last 12 months' revenues of $50 million or more. This ratio came as shares surged an additional 22% after the company’s 36% single-day gain.
As of the Oct. 7 close, the stock trades at approximately a 14x P/S ratio. That’s surely a significant drop, but it is still high compared to many chip stocks. Aehr has made exciting announcements, but they haven't yet led to exciting financial results. Thus, the firm is still in the proving stage of its AI journey. Aehr’s value proposition of helping customers save money by testing chips for failure before they enter real-life usage remains compelling. Together, these factors make Aehr a stock to watch closely going forward. It’s possible the company could really take off down the road if it can gain more widespread traction in the AI market.
Learn more about AEHR
