Rubicon Technology, Inc. (RBCN), a provider of sapphire substrates to the lighting, optical and semiconductor industries, expects to return to profitability in the first quarter, on a more than four-fold increase in revenues. The outlook is more optimistic than the consensus estimates.
The company expects to post a first-quarter profit of around 3 cents per share, on $10.5 million in revenues. Analysts are looking for a penny a share profit, on $8.7 million in revenues.
If the company meets the first-quarter forecast, this will be its first profit after at least four quarters of losses. The revenue forecast represents a nearly five-fold increase in five quarters. In the last four quarters, the company has more than tripled its revenues from $2.3 million to $8.5 million.
For the fourth quarter, the company narrowed its net loss to $755 thousand or $0.04 per share from year-ago $1.79 million or $0.08 per share. Analysts were looking for a slightly bigger loss of 5 cents per share.
Revenues more than doubled to $8.5 million from $4 million last year and were also up 49% sequentially, thanks to strong demand from the LED market. The company sees continuing strength in the LED market, the demand for LED backlighting, in particular.
Light-emitting diodes or LEDs are much more energy-efficient than conventional lights and last for more than two decades, but are usually more expensive. However, the energy savings can usually help customers/users recoup the costs in a couple or more years.
The pricing environment is rapidly improving with the increasing demand from the LED market, the company noted, adding that pricing improved 7% sequentially during the fourth quarter. The company expects a pricing increase of at least 15% sequentially in the first quarter, although pricing is not yet back to pre-recession levels.
Insiders seem bullish about the stock, owning 37.4% of the company's outstanding float. The stock has more than doubled in the last 52 weeks, but about 32% off the 52-week intra-day high of $22 it hit on Dec 21 last year.
The downside risks include the high short percentage of the outstanding float, which means more people are betting that the stock may decline. About 31.9% of the company's outstanding float is shorted.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.