Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The semiconductor company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $506.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $503.34 million. Ultra Clean had a positive return on equity of 3.82% and a negative net margin of 8.82%.Ultra Clean’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Ultra Clean updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.180-0.340 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Ultra Clean’s conference call:

• The company says an AI-driven structural WFE expansion is underway and is modeling industry WFE growth of roughly 15–20% year‑over‑year, creating multi‑year demand tailwinds for etch, ALD, HBM, advanced packaging and >300‑layer NAND.
• Under its UCT 3.0 strategic push, management says ramp readiness is a top priority — UCT currently has capacity to support roughly $3 billion of revenue at ~65% utilization, plans to increase Asia capacity toward 60%, and targets a long‑term $4 billion run rate with only modest incremental clean‑room capex.
• Q4 results showed $506.6M revenue (flat), gross margin down to 16.1% driven by product mix, and EPS of $0.22; Q1 guidance of $505–545M revenue and EPS $0.18–0.34 reflects near‑term margin pressure and a back‑half‑weighted revenue ramp.
• Management is accelerating execution through an expanded NPX program (new product introduction, development, transition) and digital/AI‑compatible systems to shorten design‑to‑production cycles, improve responsiveness, and strengthen supply‑chain resilience for faster ramps and margin expansion.
• Balance sheet and cash flow remain adequate with cash of $311.8M and Q4 operating cash flow of $8.1M (FY operating cash flow $65.6M), giving runway but only modest near‑term free cash generation.

Ultra Clean Stock Performance

Shares of UCTT stock opened at $71.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Ultra Clean has a 52 week low of $16.66 and a 52 week high of $72.69.

Key Ultra Clean News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ultra Clean this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management signaled an AI-driven growth strategy and a $4 billion revenue run‑rate target tied to its UCT 3.0 expansion, which supports a longer‑term growth narrative for investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Street analysts stayed bullish: Needham raised its price target to $70 and maintained a Buy, and TD Cowen also kept a Buy — these upgrades/reiterated ratings helped lift sentiment despite near‑term weakness. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in roughly in line with expectations at $506.6M (mixed beats/misses across reporters) — shows business activity remains sizable but down versus last year. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company posted an earnings call and slide deck; management commentary (transcript) provides detail on backlog, fab bookings and the timing of recovery for leading‑edge demand. Investors should read the transcript for forward commentary. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.22 missed the consensus by ~$0.01 and EPS/earnings power is down materially versus the prior year; revenue is down ~10% YoY and net margin remained negative — near‑term profitability pressure is a concern. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance is wide (EPS 0.18–0.34; revenue $505M–$545M) and the lower end sits below consensus, creating near‑term execution risk and volatility; some headlines flagged the results as downbeat and the stock showed mixed reaction intraday. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Third‑party data summaries highlighted softer operating profit, lower cash from ops and a slim near‑term margin profile — factors that could pressure sentiment if demand recovery takes longer than expected. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UCTT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ultra Clean in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Ultra Clean from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ultra Clean from $35.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ultra Clean in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ultra Clean from $35.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David T. Ibnale sold 23,500 shares of Ultra Clean stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.63, for a total value of $625,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,767.83. This trade represents a 34.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultra Clean

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UCTT. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,399,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $86,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,407 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ultra Clean by 944.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 559,955 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,184,000 after buying an additional 506,363 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 360.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 271,843 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,135,000 after acquiring an additional 212,791 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ultra Clean during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,347,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Ultra Clean by 170.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 270,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,367,000 after acquiring an additional 170,240 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.06% of the company’s stock.

Ultra Clean Company Profile

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc is a global supplier of critical consumables and process tools for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company specializes in precision parts cleaning, chemical–mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries, surface conditioning pads, and specialty components used in wafer fabrication and advanced packaging. Ultra Clean also provides assembly and test hardware, tooling, and automated modules designed to support complex front-end and back-end processes in semiconductor fabs.

Ultra Clean’s product portfolio encompasses a range of cleaning systems and consumables aimed at particle and film removal, as well as CMP slurries and pads that are engineered for uniform material removal and planarization.