M31 Technology Corporation (M31), a leading global provider of silicon intellectual property (IP), held an investor conference today (March 11) to announce full-year 2025 operating results. Consolidated revenue for 2025 reached a record NT$1.78 billion, representing a 20.3% year-over-year increase. Fourth-quarter revenue also set a new quarterly high, with the operating margin rebounding to 17.4%. Earnings per share (EPS) turned positive to NT$2.38 for the quarter, reflecting a notable improvement in operating performance. However, profitability remained under pressure due to a more than 50% year-over-year increase in advanced-node EDA expenses, along with a sharp depreciation of the U.S. dollar in the second quarter that resulted in full-year foreign exchange losses of approximately NT$34.16 million. Full-year EPS ultimately reached NT$1.69. Looking ahead, as long-term agreements with EDA vendors are gradually finalized and operational efficiency initiatives continue to advance, R&D expenses are expected to stabilize over time, helping lift the operating margin back to double-digit levels in 2026 and put profitability back on a growth trajectory.

Benefiting from strong demand from foundry customers, M31 reported that the value of newly signed licensing agreements increased by more than 200% year over year in 2025, with licenses for advanced nodes below 16nm growing by over 250%, reflecting strong growth momentum. The company continues to deepen collaboration with Taiwan’s leading foundry on advanced-node platforms at 12nm/16nm and below, and expects to jointly advance the development of even more advanced nodes this year. In overseas foundry markets, M31 has entered a 5nm automotive technology platform in Korea and continues to expand penetration in China’s 22nm/28nm mature-node market, while also making progress in securing new projects in mature specialty processes in the United States. As advanced-node customers gradually move into volume production, the company began recognizing a small amount of 3nm royalties in the fourth quarter of last year. With shipments of higher-priced advanced-node wafers expected to increase this year, royalty revenue is projected to grow significantly. Among fabless customers, driven by the trend toward edge computing, AI chips are rapidly penetrating a wide range of end devices. Applications include high-end smartphones, AI inference, and computer vision, and extend to high-speed interconnect and storage interfaces for data centers and servers. In automotive applications, demand extends beyond ADAS, smart cockpits, connected vehicles, and in-vehicle robotics to include bridge components for radar/LiDAR, sensors, and display modules, driving rapidly rising demand for upgraded high-speed interface IP. As a result, licensing momentum for advanced nodes below 4nm is expected to expand further. Notably, the company successfully secured orders last year from a leading European automotive company, a global IDM, and a North American startup developing AI wearable devices, laying a solid foundation for future growth.

Scott Chang, CEO of M31, stated: “Overall revenue performance in 2025 was in line with expectations. However, the significant increase in advanced-node EDA expenses prevented earnings per share from fully reflecting our operating results. With the key terms of our long-term collaboration with EDA vendors now largely finalized, the growth in these expenses is expected to moderate, and our profitability structure is expected to gradually improve.”Chang further noted: “As advanced-node customers move into volume production, the contribution of royalty revenue is expected to rise to around 20% of total revenue this year. Looking ahead to 2026, growth momentum in advanced nodes will be driven by foundries in Taiwan, Korea, and North America. We will continue collaborating with partners across regional markets to deepen customer adoption of M31 IP. Supported by growing demand from AI-related applications and fabless customers, the company aims to sustain double-digit growth while further strengthening operational momentum and market penetration.”