Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>MKS Instruments delivered a strong start to fiscal 2026 with revenue, gross margin, operating margin, and earnings per share all landing at or above the high end of management’s expectations, supported by accelerating demand across semiconductor, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial markets.</li><li>The company continues to benefit from AI-driven capital spending trends, particularly in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, high-layer-count memory, advanced logic nodes, and increasingly complex printed circuit board architectures tied to AI servers, high-end smartphones, and data center infrastructure.</li><li>Semiconductor revenue grew strongly both sequentially and year-over-year, driven by vacuum, plasma, reactive gas, RF power, and photonics products tied to deposition, etch, lithography, metrology, and inspection applications.</li></ul>

MKS Instruments delivered a strong start to fiscal 2026 with revenue, gross margin, operating margin, and earnings per share all landing at or above the high end of management’s expectations, supported by accelerating demand across semiconductor, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial markets.The company continues to benefit from AI-driven capital spending trends, particularly in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, high-layer-count memory, advanced logic nodes, and increasingly complex printed circuit board architectures tied to AI servers, high-end smartphones, and data center infrastructure.Semiconductor revenue grew strongly both sequentially and year-over-year, driven by vacuum, plasma, reactive gas, RF power, and photonics products tied to deposition, etch, lithography, metrology, and inspection applications.

MKS Instruments: The Semiconductor Arms Race Is Intensifying—And Its Process Technology Footprint Keeps Expanding!

Equity Long-Short, Semiconductors, Fabricated Knowledge

Douglas O'Laughlin

Equity Long-Short, Semiconductors

Fabricated Knowledge

Learn more about the world's most important manufactured product. Meaningful insight, timely analysis, and an occasional investment idea.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>This is a very light note, given time constraints. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-28/us-readies-china-chip-curbs-that-stop-short-of-earlier-proposals?embedded-checkout=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It's rumored that on Monday, we will have new export controls</a>, which seem to be massively light.</li><li>Importantly, they are going to exclude CXMT altogether.</li><li>History is a pretty good guide. Almost every single export restriction has led to bad returns prior, bad returns on the week off, and positive returns almost 100% of the time 6 months after for SOXX. This applies doubly to Semicap.</li></ul>

This is a very light note, given time constraints. It's rumored that on Monday, we will have new export controls, which seem to be massively light.Importantly, they are going to exclude CXMT altogether.History is a pretty good guide. Almost every single export restriction has led to bad returns prior, bad returns on the week off, and positive returns almost 100% of the time 6 months after for SOXX. This applies doubly to Semicap.

Happy Thanksgiving Semicap & Semiconductors

<ul><li>The year 2023 began with a significant downturn in the semiconductor market.</li><li>Significant capacity additions were brought on after the historic shortages due to COVID-19, and then demand wobbled as interest rates quickly rose.</li><li>Supply outpaced demand, and the market turned into a period of oversupply.</li></ul>

The year 2023 began with a significant downturn in the semiconductor market.Significant capacity additions were brought on after the historic shortages due to COVID-19, and then demand wobbled as interest rates quickly rose.Supply outpaced demand, and the market turned into a period of oversupply.

Semiconductor Outlook 2024: AI's Adolescence

<ul><li><p>Semicap is strong, Subsystems are not. That will change.</p></li><li>I think <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mks-instruments-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5970" rel="noopener">Mks Instruments (MKSI US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ultra-clean-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19849" rel="noopener">Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT US)</a>, and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ichor-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26449" rel="noopener">Ichor Holdings (ICHR US)</a> are likely good 12+ month longs as NAND spending increases, and they blow out estimates for multiple quarters in a row.</li><li>The factor-driven size difference drives the opportunity, and they should benefit well on a relative basis next year.</li></ul>

Semicap is strong, Subsystems are not. That will change.I think Mks Instruments (MKSI US), Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT US), and Ichor Holdings (ICHR US) are likely good 12+ month longs as NAND spending increases, and they blow out estimates for multiple quarters in a row.The factor-driven size difference drives the opportunity, and they should benefit well on a relative basis next year.

<ul><li>MKS Instruments delivered a solid financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year 2025.</li><li>The company reported year-over-year revenue growth of 10% and a corresponding increase in EPS by 20%, with free cash flow surging over 20%.</li><li>Despite challenging trade policies and higher tariffs, MKS maintained robust gross margins, supported by a comprehensive product portfolio across its semiconductor and electronics & packaging segments.</li></ul>

MKS Instruments delivered a solid financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year 2025.The company reported year-over-year revenue growth of 10% and a corresponding increase in EPS by 20%, with free cash flow surging over 20%.Despite challenging trade policies and higher tariffs, MKS maintained robust gross margins, supported by a comprehensive product portfolio across its semiconductor and electronics & packaging segments.

MKS Instruments: Expanding Electronics and Packaging to Serve the Next Wave of AI Hardware!

United States

MKS Instruments, Inc. develops, manufactures, and supplies instruments and components used to control and analyze gases in semiconductor manufacturing and similar industrial manufacturing processes. The Company's products are used to manufacture flat panel displays, magnetic and optical storage devices and media, solar cells, fiber optic cables, and diamond thin films.

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Mks Instruments (MKSI US)

MKS Instruments: The Semiconductor Arms Race Is Intensifying—And Its Process Technology Footprint Keeps Expanding!

MKS Instruments delivered a strong start to fiscal 2026 with revenue, gross margin, operating margin, and earnings per share all landing at or...

Baptista Research

Happy Thanksgiving Semicap & Semiconductors

This is a very light note, given time constraints. It's rumored that on Monday, we will have new export controls, which seem to be massively...

Fabricated Knowledge

Semiconductor Outlook 2024: AI's Adolescence

Its time to jog your memory. We've gone through the downturn, what does an upturn look like? The year 2023 began with a significant downturn in the...

Fabricated Knowledge

Why Subsystems Now

I think MKSI, UCTT, and ICHR are likely good 12+ month longs as NAND spending increases, and they blow out estimates for multiple quarters in a row.

Fabricated Knowledge

MKS Instruments: Expanding Electronics and Packaging to Serve the Next Wave of AI Hardware!

MKS Instruments delivered a solid financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year 2025. The company reported year-over-year revenue...

Baptista Research

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