Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. Nova had a return on equity of 22.61% and a net margin of 29.87%. The business had revenue of $287.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. Nova updated its Q4 2026 guidance to 3.030-3.180 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Nova’s conference call:

• Nova reported a third consecutive record quarter, with Q3 revenue of $287.8 million, up 28% year over year and above guidance. Non-GAAP operating margin was 35.5%, above the company’s target range, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.86 exceeded the high end of guidance.
• Management forecast Q4 revenue of $305 million to $315 million and expects 2026 revenue to exceed $1 billion, a year ahead of its strategic-plan milestone. It also raised its outlook for second-half 2026 growth to more than 33% year over year and cited momentum carrying into 2027.
• Memory and advanced packaging were record contributors, supported by DRAM demand, capacity expansion, and broader adoption of Nova’s metrology products. Management also pointed to favorable 2027 drivers, including gate-all-around investment, advanced DRAM nodes, and HBM-related applications.
• Nova generated $132 million in Q3 free cash flow and ended the quarter with $1.8 billion in cash, equivalents, and marketable securities. It repurchased approximately $38.5 million of shares during the quarter.
• Management said the industry ramp is stretching the supply chain and requires active mitigation, though it is working with suppliers and expanding manufacturing capacity. It also expects new competition in XPS materials metrology to emerge around the second half of 2027.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NVMI traded up $32.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $313.18. 463,560 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 306,051. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $346.38 and its 200 day moving average is $437.27. Nova has a 1-year low of $266.43 and a 1-year high of $615.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.85.

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $200 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded Nova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $550.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Nova from $600.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Nova from $570.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore set a $475.00 price target on Nova in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.00.

Nova News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nova this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue reached a record $287.8 million, up 28.2% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $2.86 topped the roughly $2.77 consensus. Nova reports record third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Nova forecast Q4 revenue of $305 million–$315 million and EPS of $3.03–$3.18, with the EPS range just above analyst expectations. Management also pointed to strong memory and packaging demand and visibility into 2027 growth. Nova Q4 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, one post-results report said the stock dropped, suggesting strong expectations may have limited the market’s initial response. Nova Q3 results and stock reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reduced its price target to $500 from $600, and Needham cut its target to $420 from $570. Both firms kept positive ratings—Overweight and Buy, respectively—but the lower targets could weigh on sentiment. Barclays rating

Insider Transactions at Nova

In related news, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of Nova stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total transaction of $1,403,713.92. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,777,461.52. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total value of $513,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,214 shares in the company, valued at $9,314,535.78. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Its systems help chipmakers measure and control critical dimensions, film thickness, material properties and other characteristics during the production of integrated circuits.

The company’s product portfolio includes optical and X-ray metrology systems, chemical metrology solutions, and related software and analytics tools. These technologies are used in multiple stages of semiconductor fabrication, including front-end wafer processing and advanced packaging, to support process development, yield improvement and manufacturing control.

Founded in 1993, Nova is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, and serves semiconductor manufacturers and other industry customers through operations and support activities across North America, Europe and Asia.