PDF Solutions Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Buying today means paying roughly 9 times sales for a company that reported a $0.640 million net loss in 2025 and had negative free cash flow most recently. Waiting means checking four lines in the next quarterly report (10-Q): the catch-up adjustment for prior periods in Note 2 (last reading: plus $6.5 million), volume-based revenue (Q1 2026: $9.2 million, down 12 percent), revenue from Advantest (last reading: $0.5 million) and free cash flow. If growth arrives without catch-up entries and with cash, the valuation is explainable. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
PDF Solutions supplies the chip industry with the tools it uses to measure its own yield, and has grown for five straight years, from $111.1 million to $219.0 million in revenue. The four consecutive earnings beats that carry the stock to rank 8 in our Big Earnings Surprise ranking hold up only partially under close reading: they are measured on adjusted figures, and $6.5 million of first-quarter 2026 revenue was a catch-up entry from prior periods. Add interest expense that consumed all of 2025 operating income, three customers accounting for 53 percent of revenue, and a strategic partner that sold its whole stake at a discount in May 2026. Buying here is a bet that a 72 percent gross margin eventually becomes a visible net margin. Not investment advice.
Growth & market position
Five years of revenue growth without a setback: from $111.1 million (2021) to $219.0 million (2025), and another 26 percent to $60.1 million in the first quarter of 2026. As of December 31, 2025, the secureWISE network linked more than 300 manufacturing sites with more than 100 equipment makers — a position that is not quickly replicated.
Quality of the earnings beat
The four beats rest on an adjusted earnings figure (Q1 2026: $0.31 versus $0.12 per share under U.S. accounting rules), and $6.5 million of the quarter's $60.1 million in revenue was a catch-up adjustment for prior periods (year-ago quarter: $0.2 million). Auditor BPM LLP flagged revenue recognition as a critical audit matter in 2025.
Earnings power & balance sheet
In 2025, $5.847 million of operating income turned into a $0.640 million net loss after $3.955 million of interest expense and $3.841 million of tax. Free cash flow was negative in 2025 (negative $8.7 million) and in the first quarter of 2026 (negative $8.8 million); goodwill and intangibles tie up $145.1 million of the $280.5 million of equity (03/31/2026).
Owners & partners
Advantest America sold its entire 3,306,924-share stake (8.29 percent) on May 13, 2026 at $44.00, against a last reported sale price of $50.95 on May 12, 2026. Revenue from Advantest fell from $12.7 million (2024) to $8.8 million (2025) to $0.5 million in the first quarter of 2026, after $3.6 million a year earlier.
Concentration risk
Three customers accounted for 53 percent of 2025 revenue and two customers for 64 percent of gross receivables (12/31/2025); in the first quarter of 2026, customer A alone supplied 28 percent of revenue and 40 percent of open invoices. China contributed 15 percent of 2025 revenue, with export and tariff risks named explicitly in the annual report.
Valuation
A market capitalization of roughly $2.1 billion equals about 9 times trailing revenue, about 8 times book value and roughly 70 times the 2026 earnings estimate (as of 07/25/2026) — on a 2.7 percent operating margin in 2025. Roughly $81.8 million of fresh equity from the May offering takes pressure off the balance sheet.
Worth Noting
PDFS reached our research list as rank 8 of 81 U.S. hits in the in-house Big Earnings Surprise ranking (as of July 25, 2026, relative strength rating 95) — part of our series filling the top 50 of that ranking with analyses. The scanner lists are recalculated daily.
The ranking evaluates reported earnings surprises over the last four quarters. It measures an adjusted earnings figure against the estimate for that same adjusted figure — not earnings under U.S. accounting rules. In the first quarter of 2026 that was $0.31 adjusted against $0.12 diluted in the quarterly report.
Recency note: the latest quarterly report (10-Q) is dated May 7, 2026. Filings made after that have been reviewed — in particular the share offering of May 13 to 15, 2026 (S-3ASR, 424B5, 8-K) and the annual meeting of June 16, 2026 (8-K filed June 18, 2026). Balance sheet effects of the offering will first appear in the second-quarter 2026 report; fundamental data list August 6, 2026 as the expected reporting date (as of July 25, 2026).
Easily confused: "PDF" here stands for the company name PDF Solutions (process design for manufacturability) and has nothing to do with the PDF file format.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at PDFS since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 20.10 $ to 70.80 $ · Last price: 43.70 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Software - Application
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF Solutions Inc PDFS | 1.8 | 249.8 | 47.8 | 71.5 | 10.5 | 22.0 | 118.0 |
| Salesforce.com Inc CRM | 194.7 | 24.2 | 14.3 | 77.3 | 21.8 | 9.6 | 1.1 |
| Uber Technologies Inc UBER | 144.3 | 18.9 | 19.7 | 40.8 | 14.6 | 18.3 | -23.8 |
| ServiceNow Inc NOW | 138.5 | 82.3 | 40.2 | 74.8 | 13.3 | 20.9 | -27.2 |
| Snowflake Inc. SNOW | 115.4 | – | -76.6 | 67.0 | -22.2 | 29.2 | 55.3 |
| Automatic Data Processing Inc ADP | 108.8 | 25.1 | 16.4 | 48.7 | 30.2 | 7.1 | -3.0 |
| Adobe Systems Incorporated ADBE | 99.2 | 14.3 | 9.8 | 89.3 | 35.3 | 10.5 | -30.2 |
| Intuit Inc INTU | 86.0 | 20.0 | 12.2 | 81.0 | 47.0 | 15.6 | -52.2 |
| Datadog Inc DDOG | 84.3 | 631.8 | 268.8 | 79.5 | 0.8 | 27.7 | 75.8 |
| Median of companies shown | 108.8 | 24.6 | 16.4 | 74.8 | 14.6 | 18.3 | -3.0 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 107 | 13 | 9 | 0.28 | 2 | 199 | 222 |
| 2017 | 102 | 0 | -1 | -0.04 | 11 | 198 | 224 |
| 2018 | 86 | -10 | -8 | -0.24 | 13 | 200 | 226 |
| 2019 | 86 | -7 | -5 | -0.17 | 25 | 196 | 240 |
| 2020 | 88 | -17 | -40 | -1.17 | 22 | 235 | 288 |
| 2021 | 111 | -17 | -21 | -0.58 | 4 | 220 | 274 |
| 2022 | 149 | -3 | -3 | -0.09 | 32 | 210 | 279 |
| 2023 | 166 | -1 | 3 | 0.08 | 15 | 229 | 290 |
| 2024 | 179 | -1 | 4 | 0.10 | 10 | 246 | 315 |
| 2025 | 219 | 6 | -1 | -0.02 | 24 | 271 | 419 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q2 | 0.18 | -5.30 | 42 | 0.10 | 4.10 | 1 | -5 |
| 2024: Q3 | 0.25 | 25.00 | 46 | 9.60 | 4.80 | 9 | 5 |
| 2024: Q4 | 0.01 | -50.00 | 50 | 21.80 | 1.10 | 2 | -4 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.21 | 40.00 | 48 | 15.70 | -6.30 | 9 | 0 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.06 | -66.70 | 52 | 24.20 | 2.20 | -5 | -14 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.64 | 156.00 | 57 | 23.10 | 2.30 | 3 | -3 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.00 | -100.00 | 62 | 24.60 | -0.10 | 17 | 8 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.12 | -42.90 | 60 | 25.90 | 8.00 | 2 | -9 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.10 | 66.70 | 62 | 19.00 | 7.00 | 16 | 2 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 16 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Earnings & Surprises
Momentum & Trend
- 21-EMA Trend
- Above the 50- & 200-SMA
- CANSLIM Type RS
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- High ADR (≥5%)
- Mark Minervini: Trend Criteria — 1 Month
- Oliver Kell: Strength on Down Day
- RS Leader (≥90)
- Richard Moglen: Top Performers 3/6 Month
- Stage 2 Leader
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 2
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 1.29 | 1.25 – 1.35 | 264 | 37.7% | 7 |
| 12/31/2027 | 1.65 | 1.48 – 1.77 | 319 | 27.4% | 7 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Free cash flow over the past twelve months is negative, which rules out a serious reverse calculation. Any growth rate only makes a negative cash flow more negative; no present value comes out of it. What the price reflects here is therefore not a stream of cash flows, but the expectation that there will be one at all.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
KI- und ML-Algorithmen sind fester Bestandteil der lizenzpflichtigen Exensio-Analysesoftware; der Geschäftsbericht 2025 beschreibt ausdrücklich, dass Foundry- und OSAT-Kunden genau diese KI-/ML-Anwendungen der Software einsetzen — KI ist damit Bestandteil der Umsatzquelle, nicht nur internes Werkzeug.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„As a final example, our foundry and OSAT customers use the AI and ML applications of our software to help optimize for process control, assembly, and/or testing."
Ein letztes Beispiel: Unsere Foundry- und OSAT-Kunden nutzen die KI- und ML-Anwendungen unserer Software, um Prozesskontrolle, Montage und/oder Test zu optimieren.
10-K · 2026-02-24 · View SEC filing
„By integrating silos of data and applying AI and ML, Exensio products are designed to resolve the limitations of local optimization and provide better visibility across the entire production process, and to reduce the time it takes to make critical decisions that can drive higher product yield, quality and reliability."
Durch die Zusammenführung von Dateninseln und den Einsatz von KI und ML sollen die Exensio-Produkte die Grenzen lokaler Optimierung überwinden, eine bessere Sicht auf den gesamten Produktionsprozess geben und die Zeit bis zu kritischen Entscheidungen verkürzen, die zu höherer Ausbeute, Qualität und Zuverlässigkeit führen können.
10-K · 2026-02-24 · View SEC filing
„Such aligned data can then be analyzed with our machine learning (“ML”) and artificial intelligence (“AI”) algorithms, which are designed to predict downstream manufacturing issues and result in shorter time for designs to meet performance requirements with fewer iterations and faster time-to-market."
Diese abgeglichenen Daten lassen sich anschließend mit unseren Algorithmen für maschinelles Lernen (ML) und künstliche Intelligenz (KI) auswerten, die nachgelagerte Fertigungsprobleme vorhersagen sollen und dazu führen, dass Entwürfe mit weniger Iterationen und schnellerer Markteinführung die Leistungsanforderungen erreichen.
10-K · 2026-02-24 · View SEC filing
„a privately-held provider of automated image analysis and feature extraction machine learning and artificial intelligence (“AI”) software for critical inspection and metrology steps at battery cell development and manufacturing processes for the electric vehicle industry"
ein nicht börsennotierter Anbieter von Software für automatisierte Bildanalyse und Merkmalsextraktion auf Basis von maschinellem Lernen und künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) für kritische Inspektions- und Messschritte in der Entwicklung und Fertigung von Batteriezellen für die Elektrofahrzeugindustrie
10-K · 2025-02-27 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-07 · 10-Q 2025-11-06 · 10-Q 2025-08-07 · 10-Q 2025-05-08 · 10-K 2026-02-24 · 10-K 2025-02-27
Rated on July 25, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 13.8%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year -69.2%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year 1.8%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 18.1%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 72.3%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 22.7%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 1.9 x EBITDA
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 42 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 1.7%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 10.7%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
4/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 8.2%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 20.6%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% -8.5%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 20.6%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT 5.9x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 3
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% -0.5%
- ROCE > 15% 1.7%
- Expected return > 10% 20.1%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2026 | Strojwas Andrzej | Chief Technology Officer | Sell | 3,394 | 44.41 | 150,728 |
| Aug 12, 2026 | Zhang Shuo | Director | Sell | 1,501 | 51.47 | 77,256 |
The company
About the Company
PDF Solutions, Inc. provides proprietary software, physical intellectual property for integrated circuit designs, electrical measurement hardware tools, proven methodologies, and professional services in the United States, Japan, China, and internationally. The company offers Exensio software, such as Manufacturing Analytics, which uses a proprietary database schema to store collected data; Process Control, which provides failure detection and classification capabilities for monitoring, alarming, and controlling manufacturing tool sets; Test Operations, which offer data collection and analysis capabilities; and Assembly Operations, which provide device manufacturers with the capability to link assembly and packaging data, including fabrication and characterization data across the product life cycle. It also provides Sapience Data Platform, which unifies fragmented data from diverse equipment and protocols across the factory floor; Sapience Manufacturing Hub enterprise, a connectivity platform between enterprise applications; DirectScan systems, such as Proprietary Software and eProbe Non-Contact E-Beam Tool; and Characterization Vehicle (CV) system, which includes CV Test Chips, pdFasTest Electrical Tester, and Exensio characterization software. In addition, the company offers Cimetrix software products that enable equipment manufacturers to provide standard interfaces on their products for equipment communication, control, and data collection; equipment factory connectivity products, such as Cimetrix CIMConnect, Cimetrix CIM300, and Cimetrix CIMPortal Plus; equipment factory connectivity testing and control products; secureWISE systems, including software, servers, and networks; software-as-a-service; software and hardware installation and configuration; system/data integration, and value realization; and technical support and maintenance for hardware and software. PDF Solutions, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
- Employees
- 600
- Headquarters
- Santa Clara, CA
- Address
- 2858 De La Cruz Blvd., 95050 Santa Clara, United States
- Phone
- 408 280 7900
- Website
- pdf.com
- IPO Date
- 07/31/2001
- ISIN
- US6932821050
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| John K. Kibarian Ph.D. | Co-Founder, President, CEO & Director | 1964 |
| Kimon W. Michaels Ph.D. | Co-Founder, Executive VP of Products & Solutions and Director | 1966 |
| Adnan Raza | Executive VP of Finance & CFO | 1973 |
| Andrzej Strojwas Ph.D. | Chief Technology Officer | 1953 |
| Peter Cohn | Secretary | – |
| P. K. Mozumder | Vice President of WW Sales | 1963 |
| Jeffrey David | Vice President of AI Solutions | – |
| Said Akar | General Manager | – |
| Michael Yu | Vice President of Sales & Operations - Asia | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/06/2026 PDF SOLUTIONS INC (PDFS): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.