Richardson Electronics Sees Fiscal 2027 Growth as Semiconductor, Energy Demand Rises

Richardson Electronics expects fiscal 2027 growth in revenue, margins and operating income, driven by stronger semiconductor wafer-fabrication demand, wind-turbine products and battery storage.

The company is adding production capacity and could introduce a third shift if needed.

Fiscal 2026 revenue rose to approximately $228 million from $208 million, while net income improved to $6.4 million from a prior-year loss.

The company ended the year with nearly $32 million in cash and no debt.

Management expects semiconductor wafer-fab revenue to surpass $40 million in fiscal 2027, while its newer battery-storage business is focused on building its pipeline in fiscal 2027 and generating meaningful growth in fiscal 2028.

Richardson Electronics NASDAQ: RELL expects growth in fiscal 2027 as demand strengthens in semiconductor wafer fabrication, wind turbine power-management products and battery energy storage, Chief Operating Officer Wendy Diddell said during a company presentation.

The company, which will mark its 80th anniversary in roughly six months, reported fiscal 2026 revenue of about $228 million, up from $208 million a year earlier.

Net income totaled approximately $6.4 million for the year, compared with a loss in fiscal 2025.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $66 million and net income was $3.7 million, compared with $1.1 million in the prior-year quarter, Diddell said.

CEO Edward Richardson said the company began in 1947 as a seller of surplus electronics and later expanded through acquisitions of tube-business divisions.

He said the company has acquired 21 or 22 divisions of tube companies globally over its history.

Diddell said Richardson Electronics operates through 24 legal entities, employs about 430 people and has engineers and sales personnel in 60 locations worldwide.

More than half of employees are based at its La Fox, Illinois headquarters.

The company has more than 20,000 customers in its database and typically ships to 5,000 to 6,000 customers annually.

Management said more than 55% of revenue now comes from products manufactured by the company in Illinois or produced specifically for it by global factories, reflecting a strategy to increase its focus on engineered solutions rather than conventional distribution.

The company’s largest segment is its Power and Microwave Technologies business, which includes its legacy power-grid tube operations, a component distribution operation and semiconductor wafer-fab products.

The legacy tube business, called EDG, generates about $80 million in revenue and has remained stable, according to Diddell.

Unit volumes have declined somewhat annually, but pricing has offset those declines.

The company’s distribution business sells products from suppliers including Qorvo and MACOM into applications such as military and satellite communications.

Diddell said the business grew in fiscal 2026, though it carries distribution-style lower margins.

Its semiconductor wafer-fab business supplies high-mix, low-volume power subassemblies used exclusively by Lam Research.

Major customers in the broader market include MKS and Lam Research.

Richardson Electronics generated about $32 million of semiconductor wafer-fab revenue in fiscal 2026, Diddell said in response to an analyst question.

She said management expects fiscal 2027 revenue in that business to exceed the roughly $40 million generated in fiscal 2023.