Compound-semiconductor maker IQE has raised its revenue forecast for 2026, citing accelerating demand for the specialist chips used in artificial-intelligence and data-centre networks.
IQE (AIM: IQE), the Cardiff-based maker of advanced semiconductor wafers, said in a trading update that it now expects full-year revenue to grow by more than 30% in 2026 — a notable upgrade from previous guidance of around 20%. The improved outlook follows a stronger-than-expected first half, in which revenue reached at least £64m. The company expects adjusted EBITDA in the low tens of millions of pounds and remains debt-free, with cash of £41.6m.
The upgrade is being powered by demand for indium phosphide (InP), a material IQE supplies for the optical components that move data at high speed inside data centres and AI systems. The company said demand had also held firm across aerospace and defence, 3D sensing and wireless communications.
IQE is one of the larger technology names on London’s junior market, and its products sit deep in the supply chain for the AI infrastructure being built out worldwide — making a guidance upgrade from a UK chip supplier a useful read-through on how strongly that spending is feeding down to component makers. Investors will look to its full interim results for confirmation that InP demand is sustaining into the second half.
The trading update was published via regulatory news (RNS), with further detail on IQE’s investor site and via London Stock Exchange RNS.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Photo: Brian Kostiuk on Unsplash.
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