New York, Feb 6, 2026, 09:15 EST — Premarket.
- KLIC edged up roughly 0.4% in premarket, following Thursday’s sharp 19.3% gain.
- The chip-assembly tool maker expects second-quarter revenue around $230 million, with a $10 million margin on either side.
- Needham’s Charles Shi bumped up his price target to $70 from $64, maintaining a “Buy” rating.
Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. shares nudged higher by roughly 0.4% to $66.66 in premarket action Friday, building on a strong rally from the day before after the company issued a positive outlook. 1
The stock jumped 19.27% to close at $66.40 on Thursday, hitting close to the peak of its 52-week range. That rally pushed the $3.5 billion company back into focus for traders ahead of Friday’s session. 2
Why it matters now: Kulicke & Soffa provides gear for assembling and packaging chips, a segment that often rebounds fast once utilization picks up and clients scramble for capacity. The sharp one-day jump indicates investors are betting the slump in assembly tools is loosening, particularly in areas like memory and broad semiconductors.
Kulicke & Soffa reported fiscal Q1 net revenue of $199.6 million on Feb. 4, with a gross margin of 49.6%. Diluted GAAP earnings came in at $0.32 per share. The company projects Q2 revenue around $230 million, give or take $10 million, and non-GAAP diluted EPS near $0.67, plus or minus 10%. (Non-GAAP figures exclude items like stock-based compensation.) Interim CEO and CFO Lester Wong said, “As we continue preparing to support customers’ higher near-term capacity requirements, we remain committed to broadening our market reach in parallel.” 3
During Thursday’s earnings call, Wong highlighted that demand is picking up faster than anticipated, with utilization rates—how intensively customers use their installed tools—exceeding 80% in general semiconductors and surpassing 85% for ball bonding in memory. He reported a 27% jump in general semiconductor revenue from the previous quarter and a surge of over 90% compared to last year. The company also delivered its first high-bandwidth memory system to a major memory client this quarter. “We think the second half of FY ’26 should be about 15% to 20% better than the first half,” Wong added. 4
On Friday, Needham analyst Charles Shi lifted his price target on Kulicke & Soffa from $64 to $70, maintaining a “Buy” rating, according to GuruFocus. 5
On Thursday, the company filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, covering the period ended Jan. 3. Investors are sifting through the details following a sharp shift in the stock’s valuation. 6
Kulicke & Soffa’s lineup features ball bonders and various assembly tools designed to link chips to packages. The company also offers newer thermocompression bonding systems, which apply heat and pressure to join components as packaging grows more intricate.
But the setup carries risks. Premarket trading tends to be thin, causing prices to swing sharply on low volume. Management also warned of ongoing weakness in the automotive segment. Plus, the company posted negative operating cash flow for the quarter, underscoring that a demand rebound doesn’t always translate immediately into cash.
On Friday, traders will be watching to see if KLIC can maintain most of Thursday’s gains once regular trading kicks off, and whether the chatter around utilization and memory demand actually leads to stronger orders. The next major test comes with execution against the company’s Q2 outlook, covering the period through April 4, 2026.
