TTM Technologies, Inc. (TTMI) | The Buildout — AI Infrastructure

The Verdict

TTM Technologies manufactures the printed circuit boards and substrates that sit under and between the chips in AI servers, networking switches and defense systems — the physical wiring that carries power and signal. The boards are hard to make: as AI systems get more complex, the boards get larger and denser, and management describes its asymmetrical boards as the most difficult technologies in the company. TTMI also runs a defense business that stretches from boards up through RF modules, multi-chip modules and complete radar and surveillance systems.

Earnings Beat

TTMI reported net sales of $1.0 billion in fiscal Q2 2026, its first quarter at that level, up 37% from $731 million a year earlier. Gross margin was 21.1%. The standout was the order book: 90-day backlog reached $901 million, up 81% year over year, and overall book-to-bill was 1.49.

Management tone: Management's commentary became more specific between the two calls on record without changing direction. The first call referenced the multi-year framework; the second quantified the current year and split a half-year N+M program by quarter. On the Wisconsin facility the language moved from a ramp timeline to deliberate patience — "we're not in a rush there." Management answered questions on N+M timing, 10% customers, Penang and materials supply directly, and said it could not discuss STG and ILFA revenue or price during a quiet period.

Management Guidance

For Q3 FY2026 management guided net sales of $1.10–1.14 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.21–1.27, both excluding pending acquisitions, and said it expects a sequential uptick in the fourth quarter. For the full year it guided to approximately $4.4 billion in sales and non-GAAP earnings approaching $5 per diluted share, a raise from the prior "at least $4 billion" framing. By end market for FY2026 it guided Aerospace & Defense to low-to-mid-teens growth, Data Center & Networking to more than double, MI&I to 35%–40%, and automotive down mid-single digits. Capital expenditure guidance was raised by around $45 million at the top and bottom end of the prior $300–320 million range, and the company pointed to 15%–20% revenue growth for 2027 and 2028, a plan it describes as "tracking well ahead."

Trajectory

Revenue has stepped up every quarter for a year — $731M, $753M, $774M, $846M, then $1.0 billion — and the year-over-year growth rate rose from 30% in Q1 FY2026 to 37% in Q2. The driver is AI data-center demand and the N+M board ramp. The code-computed signals read gross and operating margins as stable over the trailing period, with EBITDA margin slightly lower. Two offsets sit underneath: the Penang plant's drag was cut from 160 basis points to about 80, and automotive is guided down mid-single digits for the year, pressured by CCL producers shifting to higher-complexity materials.

The Model

The model projects FY+1 revenue of $4,450M with EBITDA of $690M, a 15.5% margin, and FY+2 revenue of $5,400M with EBITDA of $918M, a 17.0% margin. The near term is anchored on business already booked — the 90-day backlog and the N+M program management has split by quarter. The FY+2 step depends on whether the mix keeps rotating toward higher-layer-count data-center boards, where the company says complexity is lifting average selling prices, and on whether the defense pipeline converts into revenue.

Projections are the median of 5 independent model runs. The model’s revenue sits 15.6% above analyst consensus.

For Q3 FY2026 management guided net sales of $1.10–1.14 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.21–1.27, both excluding pending acquisitions, and said it expects a sequential uptick in the fourth quarter. For the full year it guided to approximately $4.4 billion in sales and non-GAAP earnings approaching $5 per diluted share, a raise from the prior "at least $4 billion" framing. By end market for FY2026 it guided Aerospace & Defense to low-to-mid-teens growth, Data Center & Networking to more than double, MI&I to 35%–40%, and automotive down mid-single digits. Capital expenditure guidance was raised by around $45 million at the top and bottom end of the prior $300–320 million range, and the company pointed to 15%–20% revenue growth for 2027 and 2028, a plan it describes as "tracking well ahead."

What Could Go Right — and Wrong

Looking Ahead

Over the next year the record points to three checkable markers: the next quarterly call, where the updated long-term plan is due; the STG and ILFA acquisition close; and Penang reaching breakeven. Around them sit the Q3 and Q4 numbers, where the N+M ramp and its yields show up first in gross margin, and the full-year outturn against approximately $4.4 billion in sales. The Syracuse Ultra-HDI plant continues to ramp volume.

Financials

Annual Summary

Key Ratios (Trailing)

The Company

TTM Technologies manufactures printed circuit boards, substrates, RF components, microwave assemblies and mission systems. Its boards sit inside AI servers, networking switches and defense systems, carrying power and signal between chips. The FY2025 Form 10-K describes TTM as "a leading global manufacturer of technology products," with approximately $2.9 billion in net sales in 2025, roughly 18,200 employees worldwide, and 24 specialized facilities in North America and Asia. As AI systems have grown more complex, the boards have grown larger and harder to build — management cited 40-plus layer boards and referenced 80, 100 and even 140 layers on the Q1 call.

The company reports through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Commercial, and RF&S Components. It fabricates in the United States, China, Malaysia and Canada, and the largest square footage sits in China. Two sites carry the current capacity narrative: the Penang, Malaysia plant, which is ramping toward breakeven after a period of losses, and a new Ultra-HDI plant in Syracuse, New York that begins volume ramp in Q3. The company has been adding capacity through brownfield expansions in China and the United States, and raised its capital expenditure guidance twice.

Business Segments

Competitive Landscape

TTM's competitive set is split by segment. In Commercial the 10-K names a group of mostly Asian board makers including AT&S, Unimicron, Victory Giant and WUS Printed Circuit; in Aerospace & Defense it names BAE Systems, Curtiss-Wright, Leonardo DRS, Mercury Systems and Sanmina; in RF&S Components it names AMD, IDT, MACOM, Microchip, Qorvo and Silicon Labs. Management has said on a call that it sits in the "top 4" of high-end data-center boards, a claim offered only when an analyst asked and one where the competitor names in the transcript are unreliable. The company also claims sole-supplier positions in some U.S. cases, and it disclosed transferring some asymmetrical-board IP to competitors so the industry could supply the whole business.

Supply Chain

TTM buys laminates, plating chemistries, drilling equipment and logistics, and sells finished boards, modules and systems to OEMs, hyperscalers, EMS companies and defense primes. Of the neighbors in the supply-chain record, one supplier names TTM on the tape; TTM's own filings do not name its suppliers.