Layer 6 · AEHR — Aehr Test Systems
Live: USD 105.72 · Earnings (last): Q3 FY26 — EPS -$0.05 (beat -$0.07); rev $10.3M (miss $10.8M); AH -5.67% · Next earnings: not within 60d · Conviction: 5/10
Bottleneck context
Aehr makes wafer-level burn-in systems — the equipment that stress-tests chips before they ship. The AI angle is real and specific: hyperscale AI ASICs (custom inference chips for Google, AWS, Meta) require burn-in to validate sub-1ppm defect rates, and Aehr's WaferPak system is one of two industry-standard solutions. Bookings of $92M for H2 FY26 vs prior $60-80M guide confirm a step-function order increase, anchored by a $41M follow-on burn-in order from a lead hyperscale customer for AI ASICs.
Why Tier C
The reason Aehr is not Tier B yet: revenue is still down 44% YoY and gross margin compressed to 36.5% from 42.7%. Lumpy order patterns mean Q3 revenue lagged the booking surge significantly, and Aehr has historically been a feast-or-famine name. Stock is +144% in the last month and hit a 52-week high May 11 — entry now means buying at the order-momentum peak. The setup is asymmetric in the wrong direction: any quarterly miss between now and FY27 ramp visibility will get punished.
Watch trigger
FY27 outlook from management explicitly above $200M revenue run-rate.
Position guidance
No position. Strong watch-list candidate; would prefer to re-enter after a 20%+ pullback or on FY27 guide.