At a glance. A record test year — FY 2025 revenue NT$349.33bn, net income NT$110.15bn, EPS NT$9.01 — and a CoWoS-adjacent claim that is about time, not about running the package: next-generation AI chips take more than 70% longer to test, AI capacity is full, and 2026 capex of NT$393.72bn is what customers are demanding for NVIDIA Rubin and CSP ASIC. KYEC does not run CoWoS. The call never said 800 V.
What changed this quarter
The mix kept lifting the margin. Q4 revenue NT$9.97bn, +7.3% QoQ, gross margin 37.7% from 36.0%. FY gross margin 35.84%. EPS in Q4 was NT$1.84, a touch below Q3's NT$1.88, even as EBITDA rose — depreciation from the capex ramp is already in the print.
Capex was dated to named platforms. The NT$393.72bn 2026 budget, already a record, was described on the call as customer-driven for Rubin and for CSP-house AI ASICs (AWS, Google and peers). Existing testers cannot cover the spec. A later April 2026 board raised the same year to NT$500bn; that figure is not in this note.
AI test is full. Further growth waits on cleanroom. Dividend for 2025: NT$1.00 cash plus NT$0.50 stock.
The numbers
| Q4 2025 | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | NT$9.97bn (~US$316m) | +7.3% QoQ |
| Gross margin | 37.7% | +1.7pp QoQ |
| SG&A | NT$684m (~US$21.7m) | +7.4% QoQ |
| R&D | NT$258m (~US$8.2m) | +18.4% QoQ |
| EBITDA | NT$5.00bn (~US$159m) | +13.8% QoQ |
| Basic EPS | NT$1.84 (~US$0.06) | vs NT$1.88 in Q3 |
| FY 2025 | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | NT$349.33bn (~US$11.1bn) | +30.1% YoY |
| Gross profit | NT$125.22bn (~US$3.98bn), margin 35.84% | +34.0% YoY; +1.05pp |
| Operating profit | NT$90.02bn (~US$2.86bn), margin 25.77% | +45.9% YoY; +2.79pp |
| Net income (parent) | NT$110.15bn (~US$3.50bn) | +41.6% YoY |
| EPS | NT$9.01 (~US$0.29) | record |
Q4 capex NT$9.75bn; FY 2025 capex NT$32.36bn (2024 was NT$14.86bn; 2023 NT$7.73bn). 2025 service mix from the investor-update deck: FT 58.7% (SLT inside FT), CP 30.6%, burn-in 7.7%.
NVIDIA 800V read-through
KYEC is not on NVIDIA's 800 VDC list and this call never said 800 V. The read-through is test of the CoWoS-class GPU, not the rail and not the interposer.
What the call actually adds:
- KYEC does not run CoWoS. It probes, burns in and final-tests the AI GPU and ASIC that come off 2.5D packages. Industry practice for those AI GPUs is one burn-in plus two FT loops; that is why cleanroom and high-power ovens, not bumping lines, are the spend.
- Test time +70%+ on the next GPU generation versus the last. KYEC bills time. That is the CoWoS-adjacent P&L: larger, hotter, longer parts.
- Named platforms on the capex sentence: NVIDIA Rubin and CSP self-design ASICs. That is a test-capacity claim, not a foundry or ODM share claim.
- Self-made high-power burn-in is the stated edge on AI GPU final test. Graphene and microchannel heat-spreaders for higher TDP are in development; microchannel was said to be in validation.
Do not back-fill the April NT$500bn capex raise, later Rubin-TDP broker notes, or the May 1Q26 slide deck into this Q&A.
Segments that moved
Final test is already most of the company. The AI argument is that FT, burn-in and SLT all get longer and more expensive as GPU TDP and ASIC TDP rise — not that CP disappears.
Burn-in is 7.7% of 2025 sales and the piece management wants AI ASIC to grow into, on top of GPU. Self-made ovens are the capacity bottleneck the capex is meant to break.
CPO final test was discussed by brokers after the call as a 2H 2026 small contributor. It is not treated here as a management mix number from 19 March.
Guidance
- 2026 capex (this call): NT$393.72bn, with room to revise up as customer test demand rises. Sites named around the same print: Miaoli Toufen, Taoyuan Yangmei, Singapore in 2026; Miaoli Tongluo and Zhunan in 2027.
- AI capacity: full. Sequential growth depends on cleanroom coming on.
- Dividend: NT$1.00 cash and NT$0.50 stock for 2025.
- No formal group revenue or margin guide was given as a numbered company outlook on this call. Broker year-ahead mix figures are not restated as management guidance.
Management Q&A
Q: Why is 2026 capital expenditure a record NT$393.72bn?
A: The spend is customer-driven, not discretionary. It is to cover NVIDIA Rubin and CSP self-design AI ASIC (including AWS and Google) test specifications that the current tester fleet cannot meet. The money is meant to lock in capacity for the next several years of those programmes.
Q: What happens to test time on the next AI chips?
A: Next-generation AI devices take more than 70% longer to test than the prior generation. KYEC charges for time, so longer loops raise the amount billed per device as well as the kit and cleanroom needed.
Q: Is AI test capacity still able to take more orders?
A: AI-related test capacity is full. Further growth depends on when new cleanroom comes on, and on executing the capex. The NT$393.72bn budget can still be revised up.
Q: How is 2025 being paid out?
A: NT$1.00 cash dividend and NT$0.50 stock dividend for 2025.
Q: What is the company doing about higher AI-chip TDP and heat during test?
A: Graphene heat-spreaders and microchannel heat-spreaders are in development for higher-power AI devices. Microchannel was described as in validation, ahead of peers on that path.
Disclaimer
English notes on KYEC's investor conference of 19 March 2026, covering Q4 and FY 2025, from the company's investor-update deck and contemporaneous quotes of management. Figures and statements are as presented by management, are unaudited, and have not been independently verified. A later April 2026 board raise of 2026 capex to NT$500bn is not part of this call. USD equivalents are approximate at about NT$31.5 to the dollar. For reference only; not investment advice.