PhotonBull
Equity Researcher, Co-Runner of Retail Club
Soitec gains from co-packaged optics, which multiply its Photonics-SOI content about 4x per optical port, from roughly 50mm² in a pluggable to 200mm² in a CPO switch. Its proprietary Smart Cut process, with over 4,300 patents and 12-24-month foundry qualification lock-in, gives it over 95% of photonics substrates. Morgan Stanley upgraded it to overweight with a €70 target, up from €35, citing an underappreciated mix shift that should expand gross margins. x.com x.com x.com
Soitec is the most undervalued monopoly in tech, owning the material chips are built on. Its Smart Cut silicon-on-insulator wafers are in 100% of 5G phones, and it is extending that position to AI data centers with Photonics-SOI, EVs with SmartSiC and edge AI with FD-SOI. FY25 revenue was €891M against a €1.9B valuation, with no photonics, AI or monopoly premium priced in. Demand and income could rise meaningfully if auto and mobile recover and co-packaged optics scale. x.com x.com
Soitec holds a monopoly on the Photonics SOI wafers the AI photonics trade runs through, yet trades at just 3.6x forward EV/revenue. Silicon photonics chips in AI data centers, from transceivers to Nvidia switches and Broadcom ASICs, are built on it via its proprietary Smart Cut process; GlobalWafers exits by 2027 and Shin-Etsu sells little. Optical interconnect grows from about $10 billion to over $70 billion by 2030, and top customer Tower Semiconductor targets 5x capacity by end-2026. x.com
Soitec's chokepoint thesis is being validated as silicon photonics goes mainstream. UBS estimates it holds 95% of the substrate market for silicon photonics chips, and revenue usually flows through such a monopoly-like position. Soitec now expects 80% of more than 10 capacity reservation agreements within one to two weeks and calls $200M of photonics-SOI revenue absolutely a floor. TSMC sees silicon photonics topping 50% of the optical transceiver market in 2027. x.com x.com
Soitec now looks overextended after a rapid run, and a pullback is likely. The AI photonics bottlenecks behind the thesis are real, but it is hard to judge what premium each name deserves, which makes the stock hard to value at these levels. x.com
Soitec's Q1 shows its photonics wafer monopoly turning into growth. It makes the Photonics-SOI substrate under nearly every silicon photonics chip, from TSMC's COUPE to Applied Optoelectronics and Coherent transceivers and Nvidia and Broadcom CPO switches, with 95%+ share. Photonics-SOI sales doubled to over half the €65M Edge & Cloud AI segment. Revenue of €113M rose 23% at constant currency versus 15% guided, Q2 guidance is 30%+ versus 4% expected, and its Singapore 300mm fab qualified early. … Show more
Soitec's Q1 shows AI data-center demand for its Photonics-SOI wafers is now driving results. Photonics-SOI sales doubled to over half the €65M Edge and Cloud AI segment, revenue rose 23% to €113M versus 15% guidance, and Q2 guidance is 30%+ growth against 4% consensus. Per BofA, Soitec says the wafer is in every new AI data center past 800G. More than 10 customers hold deposit-backed capacity reservations past FY2027. Margins lag as fab loading fell to 48% and €30M of EU subsidies roll off. … Show more
Soitec remains a longer-term CPO story because it effectively has a monopoly on CPO-type substrates, even after weak FY26 results. Revenue fell 30% to €592M and EBITDA 49% as mobile and auto/industrial declined, and FY27 profits will suffer from low fab loading. But Photonics-SOI revenue topped $100M earlier than expected on growing CPO volumes, in line with TSMC's COUPE and Nvidia's optics timeline, and FD-SOI plus Photonics-SOI grew 25%. It must lift profits within about 18-24 months. x.com … Show more
Soitec has room to re-rate because it is one of the only photonics names not yet priced for perfect execution and market demand. Large investment banks made three target upgrades over the past month, with EUR 200-300 targets and buy ratings. x.com
Soitec's SOI wafers remain necessary no matter who builds optical engines if co-packaged optics standards take hold. Around 95% of these photonics wafers come from Soitec, so consolidation among module makers changes the buyer, not the need for wafers. Large buyers such as TSMC or Broadcom could pressure pricing and seek a second source, though none is apparent before 2030. That pricing risk is by far smaller than the module makers' architecture risk. x.com
Soitec's guidance shows AI optical demand turning into real revenue upstream, in the silicon-photonics substrate layer. It now expects $250M-$300M of Photonics-SOI revenue in FY2027, up from just over $100M, driven by AI data-center optical connectivity. Q2 Photonics-SOI revenue should triple and overall Q2 growth guidance rose to about 50% from over 30%. Planned multiyear deals with eight of about ten major customers suggest they see it as strategic supply. This isn't purely a CPO signal. x.com
Soitec's photonics-SOI business is accelerating sharply, making the stock cheaper on a bull case that still needs to play out. Q1 FY27 revenue rose 23% organically to €113m, with photonics-SOI up about 100%; Q2 is guided up over 30% and FY27 photonics revenue should more than double. If photonics becomes supply-constrained, near-idealistic 40-42% EBITDA margins on €750m revenue imply about 11x FY28 EV/EBITDA, versus 13.3x on prior consensus. Below about 70, confidence would return. x.com
