SCHMID Group N.V. Class A Ordinary Shares (SHMD) | The Buildout — AI Infrastructure
The Verdict
SCHMID Group supplies equipment, software, and services for PCB, substrate, glass, and photovoltaic manufacturing, focused on the highest end of those markets. Its wet-process and panel-level packaging tools are used to make the larger substrates and boards that AI and high-performance computing demand. It does not own data-center infrastructure; its role is as a capital-equipment supplier to the companies that build substrate and PCB capacity.
| Market Cap | — |
| Revenue (TTM) | $164M |
| Revenue Growth | −1.9% |
| EBITDA Margin (TTM) | -8.0% |
| Net Debt | $101M |
| P/E (TTM) | — |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | — |
What We Like
- Order intake reached €96.6M YTD through mid-August 2026, including €52.3M in roughly eight weeks of Q3.
- Order backlog rose to €89M, called 'pretty much a record,' versus €51M at end-2025 and €49M at Q1 2026.
- AI infrastructure and optical modules were about 60% of trailing-12-month order intake, guided toward about 70% by end-2026.
- Debt was reduced from €53M to about €23M via a €30.8M debt-to-equity swap, with €33M of new net capital raised.
- The China campus consolidation targets effective capacity from roughly €50M to roughly €100M of revenue capability at about €11M investment, operational by Q4 2027.
What We’re Watching
- FY2026 adjusted EBITDA margin guidance was cut to 6-9% from 'significantly above 12%' in the same window that order-intake guidance was raised.
- H1 2026 gross margin was 21.2%, below expectations, and management's expected H2 reversal to more German production is untested.
- H1 2026 operating cash outflow was €29.3M, including €26M of working-capital investment, against a May guide of about €20M for the full year.
- Customer concentration is high: two customers were about 19% of FY2025 revenue and ten were about 60%, with the order surge tied to flip-chip BGA substrate and AI server board capacity.
The demand side is strengthening, but the earnings conversion is weakening. The thesis depends on whether H2 2026 gross margin reverses and whether the €89M backlog converts in 2027 at better contribution margins. The open question is whether the margin shortfall is temporary mix and scale, as management says, or structural.
Earnings
In the financial facts block's latest trailing quarter, Q2 FY2026, revenue was $53.6M, gross margin was 25.2%, and EBITDA was -$2.7M.
| Metric | Q2 FY2026 | Q4 FY2025 | Q2 FY2024 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $54M | $58M | $16M | +237.1% |
| Gross margin | 25.2% | 35.5% | 19.0% | +620bps |
| EBITDA | −$3M | $7M | −$37M | −92.7% |
| EPS | $-0.87 | $-1.64 | $-1.20 | −27.2% |
| Order intake (Q3 to date, ~8 weeks) | €52.3M | €13.6M (Q1 2026) | n/a | — |
| Order backlog | €89M | €49M (Q1 2026) | n/a | — |
We now expect 6% to 9% margin EBITDA margin adjusted EBITDA margin for the full year.— Arthur Schütz, CFO, 2026-08-25
Management tone: On the May 2026 call, management was confident and technology-forward, reaffirming guidance around AI, panel-level packaging, and glass core. On the August 2026 H1 call, management stayed constructive on orders but was more sober on profitability, stating the adjusted EBITDA guide cut in plain language and leaning into concrete mechanics like capacity, capex, and working capital. The medium-term margin target from May was not restated in August.
Management Guidance
Management guided FY2026 revenue of at least €100M, gross margin >12%, adjusted EBITDA margin of 6-9%, and order intake of €125-150M, expecting the upper half. It also said Sprint 2 targets at least 5% of purchasing expenses, with most savings by year-end 2026, and that China campus construction should start in about one to two months with the facility operational by Q4 2027.
Trajectory
The trailing data show a business with volatile revenue and negative EBITDA. TTM revenue is $164.3M, TTM EBITDA is -$13.2M (-8.0%), TTM net income is -$147.7M, and TTM free cash flow is -$37.6M. In Q2 FY2026, revenue was $53.6M with a 25.2% gross margin and -$2.7M EBITDA, compared with Q2 FY2024 revenue of $15.9M, 19.0% gross margin, and -$37.0M EBITDA. The order side is inflecting, with €96.6M YTD order intake, €52.3M in roughly eight weeks of Q3, and an €89M backlog. Management attributes the H1 2026 gross-margin miss to lower scale and a shift toward China, expecting a reversal in H2.
The Model
The model's locked projections are FY+1 revenue of 112M and EBITDA of 9M (8.0%), and FY+2 revenue of 145M and EBITDA of 19M (13.0%). The near-term anchor is the order book, including the €89M backlog and €125-150M FY2026 order-intake guidance. FY+2 assumes conversion of that backlog and new panel-level packaging demand, with management's mix benefit framed as a 2027 story.
| Metric | TTM | Next FY (E) | Following FY (E) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $164M | $112M | $145M |
| YoY Growth | — | −31.8% | +29.5% |
| EBITDA | −$13M | $9M | $19M |
| EBITDA Margin | -8.0% | 8.0% | 13.0% |
Projections are the median of 5 independent model runs.
Management guided FY2026 revenue of at least €100M, gross margin >12%, adjusted EBITDA margin of 6-9%, and order intake of €125-150M, expecting the upper half. It also said Sprint 2 targets at least 5% of purchasing expenses, with most savings by year-end 2026, and that China campus construction should start in about one to two months with the facility operational by Q4 2027.
What Could Go Right — and Wrong
- The €89M backlog converts into revenue at higher contribution margins in 2027.
- H2 2026 gross margin reverses as China mix shifts back toward German production.
- AI and optical module mix reaches about 70% of order intake by end-2026, supporting pricing.
- The China campus doubles effective capacity toward roughly €100M of revenue capability by Q4 2027.
- A glass-core qualification milestone or volume order arrives, validating the highest-value part of the panel-level packaging story.
- FY2026 adjusted EBITDA margin lands at the low end of 6-9%, showing the margin shortfall is structural rather than temporary.
- Working capital stays near 14% of LTM sales and European guarantees remain unavailable, keeping cash consumption high.
- Customer concentration and lumpiness cause order intake to swing sharply, as Q1 2026's €13.6M intake showed.
- Labor constraints in Germany and China capacity that is not solved until Q4 2027 limit the conversion of orders into revenue.
- Glass-core qualification slips, delaying the highest-value part of the panel-level packaging roadmap.
Looking Ahead
The next 12 months turn on whether H2 2026 gross margin reverses and whether order intake remains near the raised guidance level. Management's dated milestones include Sprint 2 purchasing savings by year-end 2026, China campus construction starting around Sept/Oct 2026, Nasdaq monitoring ending February 2027, and the China campus operational by Q4 2027. Glass-core qualification remains the key binary watch item, and management frames the mix benefit as a 2027+ story.
- H2 2026Margin mix reversal — Management expects China mix to reverse to more German production.
- Sept/Oct 2026China construction start — Zhongshan campus build expected to start; about €11M spend over about 12 months.
- Year-end 2026Sprint 2 savings — Most purchasing savings targeted by year-end 2026.
- February 2027Nasdaq monitoring ends — Higher filing requirements end after this period.
- 2027Mix-benefit inflection — Management frames the margin mix benefit from semiconductor customers as a 2027+ story.
- Q4 2027China campus operational — New capacity expected online; targets about €100M revenue capability.
Financials
Key Ratios (Trailing)
- P/E TTM—
- EV/EBITDA TTM—
- EV/Revenue TTM—
- Price/FCF TTM—
- Gross Margin (TTM)23.9%
- EBITDA Margin (TTM)-8.0%
- Net Margin (TTM)-89.9%
- ROIC-29.7%
- SBC / Revenue0.0%
The Company
SCHMID Group N.V. supplies equipment, software, and services for PCB, substrate manufacturing, glass, and photovoltaics, focused on the highest end of those markets. Its machines perform wet-process steps such as developing, etching, stripping, plating, and chemical mechanical polishing for panel-level packaging. AI and high-performance computing are driving larger compute packages and a shift from wafers to rectangular panels, and SCHMID sells the tools used to make those panels.
The company was founded in 1864 in Freudenstadt, Germany, and describes itself as a fifth-generation family-controlled business. It has production in Freudenstadt and Zhongshan, China, and a facility in Malaysia that is expanding. Capital intensity is low, with CapEx historically around €1M or less because the business does a lot of assembly work. It is consolidating two leased China sites into one owned campus.
Business Segments
Competitive Landscape
The 20-F names MKS Instruments, Inc. among its key competitors and Shenzhen SC New Energy Technology Corp in photovoltaics. It also says Process Automation International Limited, Top Creation Machines Co., Ltd., Universal Circuit Board Equipment Co., Ltd., Almex Technologies Inc., and Manz Asia offer products that compete with its plating equipment products. Management describes the company as a 'trusted equipment provider for the electronics industry' with more than 60 years in panel-level packaging.
- MKS Instruments, Inc.20-F names it among key competitors; described as a NASDAQ-listed multinational.
- Shenzhen SC New Energy Technology Corp20-F says it competes in the photovoltaics market.
- Process Automation International LimitedNamed in 20-F as offering products that compete with plating equipment; not discussed.
- Top Creation Machines Co., Ltd.Named in 20-F as offering products that compete with plating equipment; not discussed.
- Universal Circuit Board Equipment Co., Ltd.Named in 20-F as offering products that compete with plating equipment; not discussed.
Supply Chain
SCHMID sits upstream in the AI infrastructure chain as a capital-equipment supplier to substrate and PCB makers. It does not own data-center, power, or cooling infrastructure. No neighbor transcript in the evidence set mentioned SHMD by name.
More on SHMD: Earnings recap