Photronics, Inc.

The grade, in three tenses

Headline 5.4 out of ten, 9 of 9 metrics filed: past 6.1 out of ten, present 5.8 out of ten, future 4.3 out of ten. The past asks what it actually did, the present what it is doing right now, the future what it is set up to do next.

The nine metrics

• Surviving crises (past): 4.6 out of ten. 2 warning events since 2017; the latest 2022-06-13. 46th percentile among 99 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).
• Track record (past): 7.2 out of ten. +8.2% a year over 9 filed years; profitable in 9 of 9. 72nd percentile among 93 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).
• Shareholder treatment (past): 5.9 out of ten. Share count shrank 0.7% a year. 12% of cash flow returned. Insiders: 52 sales, 0 purchases. 59th percentile among 67 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).
• Financial health (present): 7.4 out of ten. ROE 9%: 9¢ of profit per shareholder dollar. Leverage 11%: owes 11¢ per asset dollar. 74th percentile among 95 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).
• Industry position (present): 6.1 out of ten. top 39% of 97 in its family; net margin 16.1%. 61st percentile among 97 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).
• Leadership (present): 1.9 out of ten. bottom 19% of 66 in its family for leadership; chief executive since 2025. 19th percentile among 66 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-09).
• Room to expand (future): 4.5 out of ten. bottom 45% of 94 in its family for room to expand. 45th percentile among 94 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).
• Growth drivers (future): 4.0 out of ten. bottom 40% of 93 in its family for growth drivers. 40th percentile among 93 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).
• Expectations vs reality (future): 4.5 out of ten. bottom 45% of 88 in its family for expectations against reality. 45th percentile among 88 sector filers. A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build (read from EDGAR 2026-10-12).

The filing record

Newest annual report: Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17 for the period ended 2025-10-31 (on EDGAR). Newest quarterly report: Form 10-Q filed 2026-09-10 for the period ended 2026-08-02 (on EDGAR). Newest results release: Form 8-K filed 2026-08-26 (on EDGAR). Newest filing: Form 4, 2026-10-02. Filings on record since 1995. Read from EDGAR 2026-10-12.

How the company works

Read from its Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17.

The people

George C. Macricostas became chief executive during 2025: appointed Executive Chairman on January 6 and then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on May 28. He had sat on the board since 2002, on the Nominating and Cybersecurity committees and latterly as chairman of the Compensation Committee, and before that was a senior vice president at Photronics responsible for all aspects of the company's IT infrastructure. He took over from Dr. Frank Lee, appointed chief executive on May 16, 2022, who the proxy statement says intends to retire in the next few years and who continues as president of PDMC, the Taiwan photomask subsidiary he had led since 2006. Lee came up through Asian chipmaking: chief executive of NSMC, Ning-Po from 2004 to 2006, fab director and senior advisor for UMC in Hsin-Chu from 2001 to 2004, and executive vice president of Grace Semiconductor in Shanghai from 2000 to 2001. [1, 2, 3]

Eric Rivera was named chief financial officer on May 23, 2024 and president on January 12, 2026, after serving as interim finance chief from February 2024 and chief accounting officer from 2020; he joined Photronics in 2016 as corporate controller. Todd Alesio became senior vice president and chief administrative officer on January 12, 2026, having joined the company in 2024 from Sperry Rail, where he had run human resources since 2020. H. K. Park, senior vice president and general manager of flat panel display operations, joined in 2004 and was made a vice president and general manager of China display operations in 2018. David Wang, senior vice president and chief operating officer for integrated circuit operations, joined PDMC in 1998, managed Photronics Singapore from 2000 to 2003 and Photronics Shanghai from 2007 to 2010, and worked on the Taichung plant expansion in 2009, the merger with Dai Nippon Printing in 2014 and the setting up of the Xiamen business in 2016. [4, 5, 6, 7]

On the record this site holds, 22 people have filed insider reports for Photronics and 16 of them filed in the last fifteen months. Constantine S. Macricostas, filing as Executive Chairman, and the director Mitchell G. Tyson both go back to 2006, the first year the SEC's insider data sets reach, and both still file. Lee Kang Jyh, listed on that record as chief executive officer, first filed in 2018. [8]

As of October 31, 2025 the company had approximately 1,908 full time and part time employees worldwide, and none of them at any of its facilities was represented by a union. Photronics runs eleven photomask plants: three in Taiwan, two in China, one in South Korea, three in the United States and two in Europe. It owns the plants at Hefei, Taichung, Xiamen and one of its sites at Hsinchu, but leases the land beneath them. [9, 10, 11, 12]

How it operates

Photronics makes photomasks. The filing describes them as high precision photographic quartz or glass plates carrying microscopic images of electronic circuits, used as the masters that transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers and flat panel display substrates. They are sold in sets of layers, each layer a different pattern on a different plate, and the set images the circuit onto each successive layer of a wafer or a display substrate. A lithography machine writes the pattern onto a blank plate, the exposed areas are developed and etched, the plate is inspected for defects and checked against the customer's design data, any defects are repaired, then it is cleaned, any required pellicles (thin protective membranes) are fitted and it ships. The whole company reports as one segment. [13, 11, 14, 15, 16]

The buyers are chipmakers and display makers, and to a smaller degree the fabless design houses and equipment companies that serve them. Photronics sold to approximately 636 customers in 2025, but the money is concentrated: Customer A took about 16% of revenue, Customer B 13% and Customer C 8%, the two largest together 29% and the five largest 50%. Demand follows how many new designs are released rather than how many chips are sold, so the filing warns that a rise in semiconductor or display sales does not always lift photomask sales. [17, 18, 19, 20]

There are two kinds of photomask maker. Merchant makers like Photronics sell to anyone; captive operations inside chip and display makers produce for their owner's own use and sometimes sell outside as well. The filing says production has lately been moving toward the independents, and that most captive makers keep business and technology ties with them anyway. The named rivals are Compugraphics International, Dai Nippon Printing outside Taiwan and China, Hoya, LG Innotek, Shenzhen Newway Photomask Making, Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask, SK-Electronics, Taiwan Mask Corporation and Tekscend Photomask, plus those captive operations. The company expects the pressure to cut prices to carry on. [21, 22, 23, 24]

By where the revenue was earned, Taiwan brought in 283.8 million dollars, 33.4% of the fiscal 2025 total; China 221.0 million, 26.0%; South Korea 158.5 million, 18.7%; the United States 148.9 million, 17.5%; Europe 34.1 million, 4.0%. Operations outside the United States produced about 82% of revenue, against 83% the year before and 86% the year before that. Research and development for chip photomasks is done mainly at the Boise, Idaho plant, and for display photomasks at Photronics Korea. [25, 26, 27]

Speed is the product. The first several layers are sometimes wanted within twenty-four hours of the customer sending design data, and the gap between order and shipment is typically one day to three weeks, which is why the company says the dollar value of its backlog is not a reliable guide to revenue. Before any of that, Photronics and a customer go through a qualification and correlation process; pricing parameters are then negotiated for the customer's order and, in many cases, the understanding is that as long as performance stays competitive Photronics gets a set share of that customer's photomask orders. The raw materials are high precision quartz substrates for the blanks, bought mainly from Japanese and South Korean suppliers, plus pellicles, electronic grade chemicals and the plastic compacts the masks ship in; the machines come from a limited number of equipment suppliers. The first quarter of the fiscal year is the quiet one, when holidays in North America, Europe and Asia cut customers' development and buying. [28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33]

The specifics

The company's own dividing line matters, because it is how the revenue is reported. High end means 28nm and below for semiconductors and Generation 10.5 plus, Generation 6 and 8 AMOLED and LTPS for displays; design nodes above 28nm, and standard LCD processes below Generation 10, are mainstream. The filing calls that consistent with how the merchant mask industry defines the terms, and notes that the state of the art sits further out still, 7 nanometer and smaller with EUV lithography for chips and Generation 8.6 AMOLED for displays. At these geometries, it says, it can produce full lines of photomasks and there is no significant technology used by competitors that is not available to it. It has added a multi-beam electron beam writing system, the most advanced kind for chip masks; display masks are written with optical systems only. [34, 35, 36, 37]

Research and development spending was 15.8 million dollars in fiscal 2025, 16.6 million in 2024 and 13.7 million in 2023. It goes mainly into masks for wafer geometries of 7 nanometer and smaller including EUV, and on the display side into Generation 8.6 AMOLED and more advanced display integration; the filing adds that the part artificial intelligence now plays in the chip technology roadmap has put several programs behind AI grade photomasks for chips and advanced packaging. The intellectual property is patents issued in the United States plus trademarks, generally covering how photomasks are made or used to make other things, and the company states that its operations do not depend on any one of those rights. [38, 39, 40, 41]

Two joint ventures with Dai Nippon Printing, the Japanese printer the filing also lists as a competitor outside Taiwan and China, are central to the business. In January 2018 DNP took a 49.99% interest in the Xiamen chip business, the venture Photronics calls PDMCX and registers as Xiamen American Japan Photronics Mask Co., Ltd.; Photronics holds the other 50.01%, appoints most of its board and consolidates its results. The stated point was to compete more effectively for merchant photomask work in China and to draw on DNP's resources and advanced process technology. DNP may in certain circumstances put its stake to Photronics, or buy Photronics out of the venture, in either case at the exiting side's share of net book value; as of the report DNP had not said it would. Each side's net investment in that venture was about 160.4 million dollars at the year end. [42, 43, 23, 44, 45, 46, 47]

Trade rules and taxes reach this business from several directions. New tariffs on imports to the United States were announced during fiscal 2025 and then modified and delayed, and the Commerce Department opened an investigation into imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and the products that contain them; the filing says such measures can raise supply chain costs and change what customers buy. Export rules cut the other way: some of its products fall under the Export Administration Regulations, which could bar certain exports from the United States or stop its foreign sites making or delivering photomasks to restricted entities. Running against that, the company expects refundable federal investment tax credits under the CHIPS Act, which have already cut the carrying value of property, plant and equipment by 15.9 million dollars, and its 2024 application for direct capital grants was still under review. [48, 49, 50]

What drives growth, line by line

Revenue was 849.3 million dollars in fiscal 2025, down 17.6 million or 2.0%, a second fall in a row after 866.9 million in 2024 and 892.1 million in 2023. The filing puts the year down to lower demand for mainstream chip products earlier in the year, partly offset by strong demand for high end products; display photomask revenue rose 5.4 million or 2.4% on an increase in G8 products. [51, 52]

Mainstream Integrated Circuits. The largest line, and the one that fell: 376.2 million dollars, 44.3% of revenue, down 8.2% from 409.7 million. The filing attributes the drop to lower demand earlier in the year, and for the fourth quarter, when mainstream chip mask revenue ran 12.1 million or 11.6% below the same quarter a year earlier, to market conditions and geopolitical impacts. [25, 52, 53]

High End Integrated Circuits. 238.9 million dollars, 28.1% of revenue, up 4.6% from 228.5 million, on what the filing calls strong demand for high end products. A footnote to the revenue table adds that high end photomasks typically sell at higher average prices than mainstream ones. [25, 52, 54]

High End Flat Panel Displays. 195.5 million dollars, 23.0% of revenue, all but flat at 0.1% above the 195.4 million of the year before. The quarterly pattern was choppier: high end display revenue fell 4.8 million or 8.9% in the fourth quarter from the third, which the filing puts down to the timing of order patterns. [25, 55]

Mainstream Flat Panel Displays. The smallest line and the fastest growing: 38.7 million dollars, 4.6% of revenue, up 15.7% from 33.4 million, which the filing credits to an increase in G8 products, the generation of display glass that sits below the high end cut. [25, 52]

Below revenue the year turned on mix and tax. Gross margin slipped to 35.3% from 36.4%, which the filing blames on higher material costs from an unfavorable product mix, and operating income fell 6.0% to 208.2 million dollars. Net income still rose 4.4% to 136.4 million, because the effective tax rate fell to 14.2% from 25.7% after the release of a 16.7 million dollar allowance held against deferred tax assets the company now expects to realize, and 2.8 million of reversals of uncertain tax positions. Other income fell 12.3 million on unfavorable moves in the New Taiwan dollar and the South Korean won against the dollar. [56, 51, 57, 58, 59]

A large part of that profit is not the parent company's. Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests was 53.8 million dollars, up from 53.2 million, on higher earnings at both the Taiwan based and China based joint venture chip plants. Photronics has never paid a cash dividend and says it anticipates earnings will continue to be retained for the business; in fiscal 2025 it repurchased 5.0 million shares at a cost of 97.4 million dollars. [60, 61, 62]

What comes next, in the company's own words: capital expenditure payments of approximately 330 million dollars in fiscal 2026, against 188.1 million paid in 2025, 130.9 million in 2024 and 131.3 million in 2023, aimed at high end and mainstream point tools meant to add capacity and efficiency. The company expects advanced generation designs to keep moving into production through fiscal 2026 and says it is well positioned to serve a rising volume of that work. The proxy statement adds that photomask demand, particularly at the high end, remains favorable on what it calls megatrends: AI, supply chain regionalization and edge computing. A new United States tax law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, takes effect for Photronics in fiscal 2026. [63, 64, 65, 66, 67]

What the desk infers (inferred, not filed)

• The unnamed related party customer, which paid 137.3 million dollars in fiscal 2025, is almost certainly the buyer the filings call Customer A. Because: A note to the accounts says one executive officer is related to an individual in a position of authority at one of the largest customers, and puts revenue from that customer at 137.3 million dollars in 2025, 127.0 million in 2024 and 126.5 million in 2023. [68] Total revenue in those three years was 849.3 million, 866.9 million and 892.1 million dollars. [51] Customer A was reported at approximately 16% of consolidated revenue in 2025, 15% in 2024 and 14% in 2023; Customer B at 13%, 12% and 10%; Customer C at 8%, 9% and 13%. Only Customer A's share fits the related party's dollars in all three years. [18, 69] Customer A was also the only buyer above a tenth of net accounts receivable at both year ends, at 19.6% and 19.2%, and the related party's receivable balance was 38.3 million dollars. [70, 68] Confidence 80 of 100. Wrong if: A filing or disclosure that puts the 137.3 million dollars of related party revenue with Customer B or Customer C, or that names a large customer outside the lettered set.
• The chip business runs largely through the two joint ventures with Dai Nippon Printing, and the cash those ventures throw off is not fully the parent company's to spend. Because: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests was 53.8 million dollars against net income of 136.4 million, well over a third of it, and the filing credits the rise to both the Taiwan based and China based joint venture chip plants. [60, 51] Of 492.3 million dollars of cash at the year end, 446.1 million sat in foreign subsidiaries and 353.8 million inside the joint ventures in Taiwan and China. [71] The Xiamen venture is split 50.01% to Photronics and 49.99% to DNP, and each side's net investment in it was about 160.4 million dollars. [42, 44, 47] The filing says moving funds among subsidiaries could be subject to foreign withholding taxes. [72] Capital expenditure payments were 188.1 million dollars in 2025 and the company expects approximately 330 million in fiscal 2026. [64, 63] Confidence 70 of 100. Wrong if: A year in which noncontrolling interests take only a small share of net income while the joint venture plants still make most of the chip photomasks, or a filing showing the parent funding the capital program from cash held outside the joint ventures.
• The capital program is a bet on the high end: spending is being raised steeply while revenue falls, and the high end is the only chip line growing. Because: Capital expenditure payments were 188.1 million dollars in 2025 after 130.9 million and 131.3 million in the two preceding years, and the company expects approximately 330 million in fiscal 2026, aimed at high end and mainstream point tools. [64, 63] Revenue fell 2.8% in 2024 and 2.0% in 2025, from 892.1 million dollars to 849.3 million. [51] High end chip photomask revenue grew 4.6% to 238.9 million dollars while mainstream chip photomask revenue fell 8.2% to 376.2 million. [25] The proxy statement says photomask demand, particularly at the high end, remains favorable on AI, supply chain regionalization and edge computing. [66] The filing warns that employees and the integrated global manufacturing network are a significant part of a fixed operating cost base, so fewer design releases would leave excess or underutilized capacity and could bring asset impairments. [73] Confidence 65 of 100. Wrong if: Fiscal 2026 capital expenditure payments landing near the 188.1 million dollars of 2025 rather than the approximately 330 million the company expects, or the new tools going mainly to mainstream capacity.

Sources

1. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “George C. Macricostas was appointed Executive Chairman of the Company on January 6, 2025 and appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on May 28, 2025. He has been a Board member since 2002, serving on the Nominating and Cybersecurity Committees, and most recently as Chairman of the Compensation Committee. Previously, he was a senior vice president at Photronics, Inc., where he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s IT infrastructure.”
2. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “Dr. Frank Lee was appointed Chief Executive Officer on May 16, 2022. In connection with his intention to retire in the next few years as disclosed in our Form 8-K filed May 28, 2025, Dr. Lee continues to serve as President of our PDMC subsidiary. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Lee was serving as President of our joint venture in Taiwan (formerly PSMC) since 2006.”
3. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “Prior to that he was CEO, NSMC, Ning-PO from 2004 to 2006 and was Fab Director and Senior Advisor for UMC, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan from 2001 to 2004 and, prior to that, he was Executive Vice President of Grace Semiconductor, Shanghai, China from 2000-2001.”
4. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “Eric Rivera was named Chief Financial Officer on May 23, 2024 and President on January 12, 2026. Mr. Rivera previously held the role of Interim Chief Financial Officer since February 2024 and has served as Chief Accounting Officer since 2020. Mr. Rivera joined Photronics in 2016 as corporate controller.”
5. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “Todd Alesio was appointed Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer on January 12, 2026. Mr. Alesio joined Photronics in 2024 after serving as Vice President of Human Resources for Sperry Rail, Inc. since 2020.”
6. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “H.K. Park is currently Senior Vice President of Photronics, Inc. and General Manager of FPD Operations. Mr. Park joined Photronics in 2004. He has over twenty-five (25) years of experience in the semiconductor industry and was appointed Vice President of Photronics, Inc. and General Manager of China FPD Operations in 2018.”
7. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “David Wang joined PDMC (Photronics DNP Mask Corporation) in 1998. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Wang served as the General Manager of Photronics Singapore, and from 2007 to 2010, he was the General Manager of Photronics Shanghai. David participated in the expansion of the Taichung plant in 2009, the merger with Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) in 2014, and the establishment and operational integration of Xiamen Photomask Corporation (PDMCX) in 2016.”
8. The record on this page: the officers and directors who file Forms 3, 4 and 5 (the SEC's insider data sets)
9. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “As of October 31, 2025, we had approximately 1,908 full-time and part-time employees worldwide.”
10. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “As of October 31, 2025, none of our employees at any of our worldwide facilities was represented by a union. We consider our employee relations to be good.”
11. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Photomasks are a key element in the manufacture of ICs and FPDs and are used as masters to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers and FPD substrates during the fabrication of ICs, a variety of FPDs and, to a lesser extent, other types of electrical and optical components. We have eleven manufacturing facilities, which are located in Taiwan (3), China (2), South Korea (1), the United States (3), and Europe (2).”
12. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We own our manufacturing facilities in Hefei, Taichung, Xiamen, and one of our manufacturing facilities in Hsinchu. However, we lease the related land at these sites.”
13. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of photomasks, which are high precision photographic quartz or glass plates containing microscopic images of electronic circuits.”
14. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Photomasks are typically sold in sets comprised of layers, with each layer having a distinct pattern that is etched onto a different photomask. The resulting series of photomasks is then used to image the circuit patterns onto each successive layer of a semiconductor wafer or FPD substrate.”
15. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “A lithography system then exposes the circuit pattern onto a photomask blank. The exposed areas are developed and etched to imprint the pattern on the photomask. The photomask is then inspected for defects and conformity to the customer’s design data. After the repair of any defects, the photomask is cleaned, any required pellicles (protective translucent membranes) are applied and, after final inspection, the photomask is shipped to the customer.”
16. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We operate as a single reporting segment as a manufacturer of photomasks, which are high precision quartz or glass plates containing microscopic images of electronic circuits for use in the fabrication of IC’s and FPDs.”
17. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “The customers for photomasks are primarily semiconductor and FPD manufacturers and to a lesser degree fabless design and equipment companies serving those industries. The size of the photomask market is driven by the number of designs released to support IC and FPD product introductions and manufacturing expansions.”
18. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “These include integrated device manufacturers, fabless semiconductor companies, and “pure-play” foundries. During 2025, we sold our products to approximately 636 customers. For fiscal year 2025, Customer A, B and C accounted for approximately 16%, 13% and 8%, of consolidated revenue, respectively.”
19. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “During 2025, 2024 and 2023, our two largest customers accounted for an aggregate of 29%, 27% and 27%, respectively, of our revenue. Our five largest customers accounted for an aggregate of 50%, 50% and 51% of our revenue in 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.”
20. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “The demand for photomasks is primarily correlated with new product design activity and to a lesser extent scaling up of manufacturing of end products. Consequently, an increase in semiconductor or display sales does not always result in a corresponding increase in photomask sales.”
21. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “The photomasks required for those designs are manufactured by independent merchant manufacturers like Photronics and by semiconductor and FPD manufacturers that produce photomasks for their own use (captive manufacturers).”
22. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “More recently, there has been a tendency of more production being directed to the independent merchant manufacturers, with market share moving toward the independents. Nevertheless, most captive manufacturers maintain business and technology relationships with independent photomask manufacturers for ongoing support.”
23. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Our competitors include Compugraphics International, Ltd., Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd (outside of Taiwan and China), Hoya Corporation, LG Innotek Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Newway Photomask Making Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask, Ltd., SK-Electronics Co., Ltd., Taiwan Mask Corporation, and Tekscend Photomask.”
24. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We also compete with semiconductor and FPD manufacturers' captive photomask manufacturing operations that supply photomasks for internal use and, in some instances, also for external customers and foundries. We expect to face continued competition which, in the past, has led to pressure to reduce prices.”
25. The record on this page: revenue by line and by geography, as tagged in the annual report (the SEC's financial statement data sets)
26. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Revenues from our non-U.S. operations were approximately 82%, 83% and 86% of our total revenues in 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.”
27. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We primarily conduct research and development activities for IC photomasks at our Boise, Idaho, facility. Research and development for FPD photomasks is primarily conducted at Photronics Korea, Ltd., our subsidiary in South Korea.”
28. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “The first several layers of photomasks are sometimes required to be delivered to customers within twenty-four hours from the time we receive customer design data. Because of the short period between order and shipment dates (typically from one day to three weeks) for a significant amount of our revenue, the dollar amount of our current backlog is not a reliable indicator of future revenue.”
29. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Generally, Photronics and each of its customers engage in a qualification and correlation process before we become an approved supplier. Thereafter, based on the customer’s specifications, we typically negotiate pricing parameters for the customer’s order.”
30. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “In many instances, we enter into sales arrangements with an understanding that, as long as our performance is competitive, we will receive a specified percentage of that customer’s photomask orders.”
31. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Raw materials used by Photronics generally include: high precision quartz substrates (including large area substrates for FPD), which are used as photomask starting blanks and are primarily obtained from Japanese and South Korean suppliers; pellicles and electronic grade chemicals, which are used in the manufacturing process; and compacts, which are durable plastic containers in which photomasks are shipped.”
32. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We rely on a limited number of equipment suppliers to develop and provide the equipment used in the photomask manufacturing process.”
33. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Our business is typically impacted during the first quarter of our fiscal year by the North American, European, and Asian holiday periods, as some customers reduce their development and buying activities during those periods.”
34. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “we define our high-end product category as 28nm and below for semiconductors and Generation 10.5 plus, Generation 6 and 8 AMOLED and LTPS for displays. This is consistent with current merchant mask industry definitions. Moreover, design nodes above 28nm and FPD processes for standard LCD displays below Generation 10 are considered mainstream or standard products.”
35. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “State-of-the-art production for semiconductor masks is considered to be 7 nanometer and smaller including EUV lithography for ICs and Generation 8.6 AMOLED display-based process technologies for FPDs.”
36. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “At these geometries and various high-end nodes, we can produce full lines of photomasks, and there is no significant technology employed by our competitors that is not available to us.”
37. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “In addition, we have added the most advanced electron beam mask writing system for IC mask writing that employs a multi-beam writing architecture to deliver speed and performance improvements over existing systems. For FPD, the mask fabrication utilizes only optical writing systems to write the mask patterns.”
38. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We incurred research and development expenses of $15.8 million, $16.6 million, and $13.7 million in 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.”
39. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Currently, research and development for IC photomasks are primarily focused on photomasks enabling wafer geometries of 7 nanometer node and smaller, including EUV and, for FPDs on Generation 8.6 AMOLED and photomasks for more advanced FPD display integration across all sizes.”
40. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “we note the role AI is playing in driving the technology roadmap for IC devices and our technology program covers multiple initiatives to deliver AI grade photomasks in IC and advanced packaging applications.”
41. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We have developed and hold ownership interests in intellectual property (“IP”) rights, in the forms of patents issued in the U.S., and other trademark and trademark registrations in the U.S. and other countries. Patents in which we hold ownership interests generally relate to the manufacture of photomasks or the use of photomasks to manufacture other products. While we believe that our IP rights are, and will continue to be, important to our technical leadership in the field of photomasks, our operations are not dependent on any one individual IP right.”
42. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “In January 2018, Photronics, Inc., through its wholly-owned Photronics Singapore PTE. LTD. subsidiary (hereinafter, within this Note “we”, “Photronics”, “us”, or “our”), and DNP, through its wholly owned subsidiary DNP Asia Pacific PTE, Ltd., entered into a joint venture under which DNP obtained a 49.99% interest in the Company’s IC business in Xiamen, China. The joint venture, which the Company refers to as “PDMCX”, was established to develop and manufacture photomasks for semiconductors.”
43. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Xiamen American Japan Photronics Mask Co., Ltd., a joint venture of Photronics and DNP”
44. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “In addition, as a result of the 50.01% variable interest the Company held during the current and prior year periods, the Company had the obligation to absorb losses, and the right to receive benefits, that could potentially be significant to PDMCX.”
45. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “The Company entered into this joint venture to enable the Company to compete more effectively for the merchant photomask business in China, and to benefit from the additional resources and investment that DNP provides to enable the Company to offer advanced-process technology to the Company’s customers.”
46. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “DNP, the noncontrolling interest in our China-based joint venture has, under certain circumstances, the right to put its interest in the joint venture to Photronics, or to purchase our interest in the joint venture. Under all such circumstances, the sale of DNP’s interest would be at its ownership percentage of the joint venture’s net book value, with closing to take place within three business days of obtaining required approvals and clearance.”
47. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “As of the date of issuance of this report, DNP had not indicated its intention to exercise this right. As of October 31, 2025, Photronics and DNP each had net investments in this joint venture of approximately $160.4 million.”
48. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “In FY25, new tariffs were announced on imports to the U.S., followed by various modifications and delays. Further changes are expected to be made in the future, which may include additional sector-based tariffs or other measures. The U.S. Department of Commerce has initiated an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, into, among other things, imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products, including downstream products that contain semiconductors.”
49. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Certain of our products are or could be subject to the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) if they are manufactured in the U.S., or based on U.S. technology, or contain more than a de minimis amount of controlled U.S. content. The EAR could prohibit the export of certain products out of the US or could prohibit our foreign sites from manufacturing or delivering photomasks to certain restricted entities.”
50. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “The Company expects to receive refundable federal investment tax credits through the CHIPS Act in connection with ongoing capital expenditure expansion projects. As a result, as of October 31, 2025, the Company has reduced property, plant and equipment, net by $15.9 million of which $5.0 million was recorded during fiscal year 2024. The application submitted in 2024 for direct capital grants through the CHIPS Act in connection with the proposed projects is still under review process.”
51. The record on this page: the filed annual figures (EDGAR's company facts)
52. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Overall revenue decreased $17.6 million or 2.0% in YTD FY25 from YTD FY24, driven by a $23.0 million or 3.6% decrease in IC revenue due to lower demand for mainstream products earlier in the year, partially offset by strong demand for high-end products. FPD revenue increased by $5.4 million or 2.4%, driven by a $5.2 million or 15.7% increase in mainstream product revenue due to an increase in G8 products.”
53. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “IC mainstream revenue decreased $2.5 million or 2.7% from Q3 FY25, and $12.1 million or 11.6% from Q4 FY24 primarily due to market conditions and geopolitical impacts.”
54. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “High-end photomasks typically have higher ASPs than mainstream photomasks.”
55. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “FPD revenue decreased $4.3 million or 6.8% in Q4 FY25 from Q3 FY25, and $0.5 million or 0.9% from Q4 FY24 mainly due to the decrease in high-end products, which decreased $4.8 million or 8.9% in Q4 FY25 from Q3 FY25 due to timing of order patterns.”
56. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Gross margin decreased to 35.3% in YTD FY25 from 36.4% in YTD FY24, primarily due to increased material costs resulting from unfavorable product mix.”
57. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Income tax provision $ 31.6 $ 63.6 Effective income tax rate 14.2 % 25.7”
58. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “the release of a $16.7 million valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets that are now expected to be realized in future periods, as well as $2.8 million of reversals of uncertain tax positions mainly resulting from audit settlements and statute expirations.”
59. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Other income decreased $12.3 million in YTD FY25, compared with YTD FY24, due to unfavorable movements of the New Taiwan dollar and the South Korean won, against the U.S. dollar for the period.”
60. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests increased by $0.7 million in YTD FY25 to $53.8 million from $53.2 million in YTD FY24, as a result of increased net income at both our Taiwan-based and China-based joint venture IC facilities.”
61. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “To date, we have not paid any cash dividends on Photronics shares, and, for the foreseeable future, we anticipate that earnings will continue to be retained for use in our business.”
62. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “In fiscal year 2025, the Company repurchased 5.0 million shares at a cost of $97.4 million”
63. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We estimate capital expenditures for our fiscal year 2026 will be approximately $330 million; these investments will be targeted towards high-end and mainstream “point” tools that will increase our operating capacity and efficiency and enable us to support our customers’ near-term demands.”
64. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Our capital expenditure payments were $188.1 million, $130.9 million and $131.3 million in 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.”
65. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “We expect advanced-generation designs to continue to move to production throughout fiscal 2026, and we believe we are well positioned to service an increasing volume of this business as a result of our investments in manufacturing processes and technology in the regions where our customers are located.”
66. Photronics, Inc., Form DEF 14A filed 2026-02-23: “Photomask demand particularly for the high end of the market remains favorable, driven by megatrends such as AI, supply chain regionalization, and edge computing.”
67. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was enacted in the United States. The OBBBA includes significant changes to federal tax law and other regulatory provisions that may impact the Company. The legislation enacted will be effective for Photronics commencing in our fiscal year 2026.”
68. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “One of our executive officers is related to an individual in a position of authority at one of the Company’s largest customers. The Company recorded revenue from this customer of $137.3 million, $127.0 million, and $126.5 million, in 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. As of October 31, 2025, and October 31, 2024, the Company had accounts receivable of $38.3 million and $38.8 million, respectively, from this customer.”
69. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “For fiscal year 2024, Customer A, B and C accounted for approximately 15%, 12% and 9% of consolidated revenue, respectively. For fiscal year 2023, Customer A, B and C accounted for approximately 14%, 10% and 13% of consolidated revenue, respectively.”
70. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Customer A 19.6 % 19.2 % Customer B 7.0 % 14.6”
71. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Cash and cash equivalents were $492.3 million and $598.5 million as of October 31, 2025, and October 31, 2024, respectively. As of October 31, 2025, total cash and cash equivalents included $446.1 million held by foreign subsidiaries, including an aggregate of $353.8 million held by our joint ventures in Taiwan and China.”
72. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “in the transfer of cash among subsidiaries, and/or the repatriation of cash to the U.S. The transfer of funds among subsidiaries could be subject to foreign withholding taxes”
73. Photronics, Inc., Form 10-K filed 2025-12-17: “Our employees and our integrated global manufacturing network represent a significant portion of our fixed operating cost base. Should our revenue decrease as a result of a decrease in design releases from our customers, we may have excess or underutilized production capacity, which could significantly impact our operating margins, or result in write-offs from asset impairments.”

Where the revenue comes from

Product and service lines in fiscal 2025: Mainstream Integrated Circuits 44%, High End Integrated Circuits 28%, High End Flat Panel Displays 23%, Mainstream Flat Panel Displays 5%. By geography: Taiwan 33%, China 26%, South Korea 19%, United States 18%, Europe 4%, Other under 1%. As tagged in its annual report (Form 10-K, filed 2025-12-17).

Who runs it

Lee, Kang Jyh (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER); Macricostas, George (CEO); Macricostas, Constantine S (Executive Chairman); Rivera, Eric (President, CFO); Wang, Hsueh-Chun (SVP/COO IC & US/EU Mnstrm Ops); Progler, Christopher J (EVP, Chief Technology Officer); Zhang, Rui (VP, CAO & Corporate Controller); Park, Han Kyung (SVP & GM of FPD Ops); Alesio, Todd Anthony (SVP, CAO); Paladino, Mary (director); and 5 more. 15 officers and directors have filed their own trades in the last fifteen months, names and titles as filed with the SEC, through 2026-10-02.

This file: Overview · Past · Present · Future · Filings · every company on file

Every stock is a company. We grade the company behind the stock. CrossAssetData is a company research product: no investment advice, no price targets, no price predictions; every claim carries its source, and unseen means unseen. The full file draws when the page's script runs: the essentials, the balance sheet, the estimators, the trend, and every filing of the last ten years.