Bruker Sees AI-Fueled Semiconductor Demand, Targets Critical Q4 Revenue Rebound

Revenue timing weighed on second-quarter results, with semiconductor-metrology shipments expected to shift into Q4. Bruker is targeting more than €1 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, making year-end execution critical. Semiconductor-metrology orders grew more than 15%, supported by AI demand and advanced packaging, and management expects the momentum to continue into 2027. China also returned to growth, while U.S. academic markets remained weak. Bruker expects significant margin improvement from cost savings, targeting more than 250 basis points of operating-margin expansion in 2026 and over 100 additional basis points in 2027. Aftermarket revenue now contributes about 40% of sales, with a long-term goal of an approximately 50/50 mix with instruments.

Bruker CFO Gerald Herman said the company’s second-quarter results reflected stronger-than-expected organic order bookings and earnings per share, while revenue came in later than anticipated. He attributed the revenue timing primarily to a mixed demand environment and shipment timing, including semiconductor-metrology orders that are expected to shift into the fourth quarter. Herman said China returned to growth during the period, with order growth exceeding 20%, while biopharma demand was strong globally, including in the United States. The company’s semiconductor-metrology business also posted more than 15% order growth in the second quarter, driven by artificial intelligence demand, advanced packaging and other industry tailwinds.

However, Bruker saw weakness in U.S. academic markets, particularly among academic customers facing a more constrained funding environment. Herman also cited broader industrial weakness. He said diagnostics orders grew at a high-single-digit rate and that the company expects continued growth in that business.

Bruker expects some semiconductor-related revenue that had been anticipated for the third quarter of 2026 to move into the fourth quarter, increasing the importance of year-end execution. Herman said the company expects more than €1 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, a level he said is achievable given Bruker delivered close to that amount in the fourth quarter of 2024. The fourth-quarter outlook includes a gigahertz-class NMR system as well as the delayed semiconductor shipments. Herman said the revenue mix, volume leverage and planned cost-saving actions should support operating-margin and earnings performance, provided the anticipated revenue converts as expected.

On U.S. government and academic funding, Herman said Bruker has begun seeing signs of improvement in high-end research tools. Funding releases at the end of September have begun to generate orders, though he said most of those orders would likely affect fourth-quarter bookings rather than create upside for 2026 revenue because of the time required to convert orders into shipments. “I would expect that we will, however, see an improvement in 2027 revenue performance coming out of this,” Herman said. He clarified that U.S. academic and government research represents about 8% of Bruker’s total revenue, rather than 40%. Outside the U.S., the company has seen improved academic and government order activity in Europe, China, South Korea and Japan, he said. Herman added that China’s ability to direct funding quickly toward selected sectors has supported demand for high-end research tools.

Herman said semiconductor metrology accounts for about 9% of Bruker’s revenue and that order growth remained strong into the third quarter. He said demand appears sustaina...