Photronics, Inc.
PLAB 5Price and target zones价格与目标区间
What the company does公司做什么
Photronics makes photomasks — the master stencils used to print circuit patterns onto silicon chips and onto display glass. A photomask carries the pattern for one layer of a chip; light copies that pattern onto the wafer.Photronics 制造光罩——用来把电路图案印到硅芯片和显示玻璃上的"母版模板"。一张光罩承载着一颗芯片其中一层的图案；光会把这个图案复制到晶圆上。
Earns from营收来源 selling custom photomasks. Each new chip or display design needs a fresh set, so orders follow new design activity.出售定制光罩。每一款新芯片或新显示屏设计都需要一套全新的光罩，所以订单会跟着新的设计活动走。
Read the full description查看完整介绍
Photronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europe, and internationally. It offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and FDP substrates. The company also provides electrical and optical components. It sells its products to semiconductor and FPD designers, manufacturers, and foundries through its sales personnel and customer service representatives. The company was formerly known as Photronic Labs, Inc. and changed its name to Photronics, Inc. in 1990. Photronics, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is based in Brookfield, Connecticut.
What the company sells公司卖什么
Masks for semiconductors. FY2024 revenue was $638 million.用于半导体的光罩。FY2024 收入为 $638 million。
- How they are used它们如何使用
- A chip needs many masks, one per layer. The masks are custom to each design and need very expensive equipment to make.一颗芯片需要许多张光罩，每一层用一张。这些光罩针对每个设计定制，制造它们需要非常昂贵的设备。
Plus:此外： FPD photomasks平板显示光罩 (26%) — Masks for flat-panel displays used in televisions and phones. FY2024 revenue was $229 million用于电视和手机的平板显示器的光罩。FY2024 收入为 $229 million.
Company facts公司资料
- Founded成立时间
- 1969
- Employees员工人数
- 1,900
- Industry行业
- Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
- Country国家
- United States
Investment thesis投资逻辑 from the watchlist来自关注列表
What's working
- Fortress balance sheet: zero debt (D/A 0.33%), $486M net cash ($8.44/sh = 30% of price), 1.31x book, 5.4x EV/EBITDA, bought back 5.9% of float at $20-24
Red flags
- But op margin 26.4%→20.1%→18-20% guided in 5 quarters, GM 37.7%→31.3% in 10 quarters, ROIC only 11.3% (≈WACC), and FY26 FCF goes NEGATIVE (≈−$85M) on reaffirmed $330M capex — Korea 8nm revenue not until FY2028
- −36% in one day on 5/28; 5 insiders sold $5.0M at $44.77-46.70 six weeks prior (chairman Macricostas $2.27M), zero buying at $28; class action (Dec 10–May 27 period) on the "record high-end IC" claim
- Watchlist premise was wrong twice: EV/EBITDA is 5.4x not 3.5x, and "only 3 merchant players" masks that ~60%+ of masks are captive — PLAB is excluded from leading-edge EUV and is spending to reach 8nm while DNP demos beyond-2nm. Segment actually carrying revenue is FPD (+13%), not AI. FV $30-34 (Graham $33.74 normalized, but only $28.40 on guided trough EPS = no MoS today); floor $21-25 (book $21.34); bull $38-42 by FY28. Bogle ER ≈8%/yr
Watch
- Resolved 7/29: neither value nor trap — an adequate cyclical at a modestly cheap price. Fails this sleeve's "fixable problem" test.
- Gate: ~8/26 Q3 print — op margin ≥20% = upgrade 6.0; <18% = downgrade 4.0 + exit.
🔴 7/29 结论：既非价值也非陷阱 —— 一家在略偏便宜价位上还算过得去的周期股。未能通过本板块“问题可修复”的测试。 ✅ 堡垒级资产负债表：零负债（负债/资产 0.33%），$486M 净现金（每股 $8.44 = 股价的 30%），1.31 倍账面价值，5.4x EV/EBITDA，在 $20-24 回购了 5.9% 的流通股。🚩 但 5 个季度内营业利润率 26.4%→20.1%→指引 18-20%，10 个季度内毛利率 37.7%→31.3%，ROIC 仅 11.3%（≈WACC），并且在重申 $330M 资本开支的情况下，FY26 自由现金流转为负值（≈−$85M） —— 韩国 8nm 营收要到 FY2028 才有。🚩 5/28 单日 −36%；六周前 5 名内部人在 $44.77-46.70 卖出 $5.0M（董事长 Macricostas $2.27M），在 $28 却无人买入；就“创纪录高端 IC”的说法有集体诉讼（12 月 10 日–5 月 27 日期间）。🚩 观察清单当初的前提两处都错了：EV/EBITDA 是 5.4x 而非 3.5x，而“只有 3 家商用厂商”掩盖了约 60%+ 的光罩是自制的 —— PLAB 被排除在前沿 EUV 之外，正在花钱追赶 8nm，而 DNP 已在演示 2nm 以下。真正贡献营收的部门是 FPD（平板显示，+13%），而不是 AI。合理价值 $30-34（Graham 正常化后 $33.74，但按指引的周期谷底 EPS 只有 $28.40 = 今天没有安全边际）；底部 $21-25（账面 $21.34）；乐观情形到 FY28 为 $38-42。Bogle 预期回报 ≈8%/年。⚠️ 关键观察点：约 8/26 的 Q3 财报 —— 营业利润率 ≥20% = 上调至 6.0；<18% = 下调至 4.0 并退出。 🟢
Historical results历史业绩 past fiscal years — these values do not change过去财年——这些数值不会变动
Profit margins利润率 the share of revenue that stays as profit营收中留存为利润的比例
of every $1 of revenue每 $1 营收中的占比
- Return on equity净资产收益率
- 13%
- Revenue growth营收增长
- -0%
Competitors竞争对手
Why customers stay客户为什么留下
It is one of the few independent mask makers, and mask-making needs heavy, specialised equipment that raises the barrier to entry. The ceiling is honest: most masks for the most advanced chips are made in-house by the chipmakers themselves, so the independent market Photronics serves is the minority of the total.它是为数不多的独立光罩制造商之一，而制造光罩需要笨重的专用设备，这抬高了进入门槛。它的天花板也很坦白：最先进芯片所需的光罩大多由芯片厂自己在内部制造，所以 Photronics 所服务的独立市场只占整个市场的一小部分。