--- title: "Lam Research's China revenue was 35% of sales and is guided lower; ACM Research reports Nov. 5" description: "Lam's China revenue hit 35% of sales, then its CFO guided that share significantly lower for December. ACM Research, the China-heavy toolmaker on NASDAQ, reports on November 5 and settles which face of Chinese demand is real." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Chips" published: 2026-10-22T13:11:47.380Z modified: 2026-10-22T13:11:47.380Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/lam-research-s-china-revenue-was-35-of-sales-and-is-guided-lower-acm-research-reports-nov-5 language: en keywords: "Chip Equipment, China, Earnings, Semiconductors" --- # Lam Research's China revenue was 35% of sales and is guided lower; ACM Research reports Nov. 5 > Lam's China revenue hit 35% of sales, then its CFO guided that share significantly lower for December. ACM Research, the China-heavy toolmaker on NASDAQ, reports on November 5 and settles which face of Chinese demand is real. [Lam Research](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/lam-research) just showed both faces of China's chip-equipment market in one report. [Its September quarter was a record on every line](https://www.deraktionaer.de/artikel/medien-ittk-technologie/lam-research-aktie-rekord-aber-72-prozent-minus-warum-20422126.html): $8.22 billion in revenue, up 54% year over year, with the AI memory buildout doing the lifting [1][5]. China alone supplied 35% of that revenue, up from 26% the quarter before [1][5]. Then chief financial officer Doug Bettinger told investors that share would drop significantly in the December quarter, driven mainly by Chinese chipmakers [1]. [The stock fell 7.2% after hours to $242](https://coincentral.com/why-lam-research-lrcx-stock-is-falling-after-an-earnings-beat/) [1]. The only listed way to test which face is real before year-end is [ACM Research](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/acm-research) (NASDAQ: ACMR), [the Fremont-based cleaning and plating toolmaker whose revenue comes mostly from Mainland China](https://theinference.org/article/acm-research-s-2-5-billion-backlog-comes-with-fine-print-and-an-october-28-test). It [reports third-quarter results before the US open on November 5](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/acm-research-release-third-quarter-200500787.html), against consensus of $0.51 earnings per share, up 41.67% year over year, and $308.99 million in revenue, up 14.8% [2][4]. The stock has already paid for the doubt: $54.96 at the close on October 20, [down 22.92% in a month while its sector lost 2.28%](https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/acm-research-inc-acmr-stock-204503275.html) [4]. ## The record says demand is not the problem yet [ACMR's June quarter brought in $292.92 million](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001680062), up 36% year over year, with net income of $88.98 million, up 199% [6]. The argument for keeping domestic orders while Lam is guided out is cost. [On October 21 ACM announced a single-wafer hot sulfuric acid cleaning tool validated across more than 50 process layers at a foundry customer](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/22/3385992/0/en/acm-research-enhances-single-wafer-hot-spm-system-with-sulfuric-acid-recycle-capability.html), recycling 70% of its sulfuric acid, roughly 400 tons per tool per year [3]. *Chart: **ACMR revenue grew 36% in the June quarter, before the China test** ACM Research quarterly revenue over eight quarters, with year-over-year growth* *ACMR revenue grew 36% in the June quarter, before the China test [6]* So the November 5 print answers one question: is Chinese equipment spend a durable domestic-substitution story, or a pull-forward that ends with Lam's December guide-down? Consensus already prices growth, not a slowdown. If ACMR lands near $308.99 million, China's fabs are still equipping with Chinese-listed tools. If it misses, Lam's call was the tell, not the exception. Two weeks settle it. *Chart: **Consensus asks for another record quarter, not a China slowdown** ACMR revenue in the last two reported quarters beside the consensus estimate for the November 5 third-quarter print* *Consensus of $308.99 million for the September quarter, marked as an estimate, sits above the June quarter's $292.92 million. Sources: ACM Research SEC filings (Q1 and Q2), analyst consensus via Zacks/Yahoo Finance (Q3). [6][4]* ## What to watch The EPS line carries the most information, not the top line: $0.51 is a 41.67% jump, so a miss means margin, not demand, broke first [4]. The full-year bar is $2.05 per share on $1.17 billion, up 27.33% and 29.5% [4]. Deep dive in below to learn more. ## Takeaway Lam Research hit a record $8.22 billion quarter with China at 35% of sales, then guided that share down significantly for December; ACM Research's November 5 results, with consensus of $0.51 EPS and $308.99 million revenue, show whether Chinese equipment demand is durable domestic substitution or a pull-forward. ## Sources 1. [DER AKTIONÄR, Lam-Research-Aktie: Rekord, aber 7,2 Prozent Minus – warum?, 22 October 2026](https://www.deraktionaer.de/artikel/medien-ittk-technologie/lam-research-aktie-rekord-aber-72-prozent-minus-warum-20422126.html) 2. [GlobeNewswire via Yahoo Finance, ACM Research to Release Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results on November 5, 2026, 19 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/acm-research-release-third-quarter-200500787.html) 3. [GlobeNewswire, ACM Research Enhances Single-Wafer Hot SPM System with Sulfuric Acid Recycle Capability, 21 October 2026](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/22/3385992/0/en/acm-research-enhances-single-wafer-hot-spm-system-with-sulfuric-acid-recycle-capability.html) 4. [Zacks Equity Research via Yahoo Finance Singapore, ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains, 20 October 2026](https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/acm-research-inc-acmr-stock-204503275.html) 5. [CoinCentral, Why Lam Research (LRCX) Stock Is Falling After an Earnings Beat, 22 October 2026](https://coincentral.com/why-lam-research-lrcx-stock-is-falling-after-an-earnings-beat/) 6. [ACM Research, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 22 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001680062) --- Lam Research's China revenue was 35% of sales and is guided lower; ACM Research reports Nov. 5 — The Inference. 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