AI Infrastructure, Cybersecurity Drive Tech Earnings Moves

Microchip Technology reported December‑quarter net sales of $1.186 billion, up 4% sequentially and 15.6% year over year, with results and guidance exceeding prior expectations. On a non‑GAAP basis, earnings per share were $0.44, $0.04 above the high end of guidance, supported by a 60.5% non‑GAAP gross margin and 28.5% non‑GAAP operating margin.

Management cited strengthening bookings, a higher backlog and normalized distributor inventory at about 28 days, with book‑to‑bill well above one. For the March quarter, the company guided net sales to $1.26 billion ± $20 million, implying about 6.2% sequential and 29.8% year‑over‑year growth, and non‑GAAP EPS of $0.48–$0.52.

Microchip highlighted momentum in automotive and industrial connectivity, including its 10BASE‑T1S Ethernet portfolio and Single Pair Ethernet offerings, as well as PCIe Gen 6 switch design wins in data‑center switching. One Gen 6 win is forecast to generate more than $100 million in revenue in calendar 2027.

The company ended the quarter with $1.058 billion of inventory and $250.7 million in cash and investments. Management is prioritizing debt reduction—net debt to adjusted EBITDA fell to 4.18—keeping the dividend flat and pausing share buybacks until leverage improves.

Mitek Systems reported fiscal first‑quarter 2026 revenue of $44.2 million, up 19% year over year, with adjusted EBITDA of $13.3 million, a 30% margin and 69% growth. Adjusted EPS was $0.26, roughly 80% higher than a year earlier. Fraud and identity revenue grew 30% to $25.5 million, while Check Verification rose 6% to $18.8 million.

Management said generative AI is accelerating synthetic fraud globally and driving demand for the company’s verification, authentication and fraud decisioning platform, which combines documents, biometrics, liveness and deepfake detection. The company emphasized a shift among customers toward “continuous, signal‑rich decisioning.”

Mitek retired its $155 million convertible notes, drew $50 million on a term loan and ended the quarter with a $33 million net cash position. It repurchased about $17 million of shares and authorized a new two‑year, $50 million buyback program. The company raised fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $187–$197 million and increased adjusted EBITDA margin guidance to 29%–32%.

Lesaka Technologies reported second‑quarter fiscal 2026 net revenue of ZAR 1.6 billion, up 16% year over year, and group‑adjusted EBITDA of ZAR 304 million, up 47%. Adjusted earnings rose more than sixfold to ZAR 111 million, with adjusted EPS of ZAR 1.34. The company’s leverage ratio stood at 2.5x, with a medium‑term target of 2x or lower.

The consumer division was a standout, with net revenue up 38% to ZAR 567 million and segment adjusted EBITDA more than doubling to ZAR 159 million, supported by lending originations up 88% and an outstanding book up 106% to about ZAR 1.5 billion. Active consumer customers exceeded 2 million, up 21% year over year.

Lesaka received Competition Tribunal approval for its proposed combination with Bank Zero and is engaging with the Prudential Authority on remaining approvals. Management expects the deal to deliver meaningful funding and balance‑sheet benefits, including reducing gross debt by “north of ZAR 1 billion,” and to allow lending growth funded with customer deposits rather than debt.

The company also launched a “One Lesaka” brand consolidation across its operating businesses and reaffirmed full‑year guidance for net revenue of ZAR 6.4–6.9 billion and group‑adjusted EBITDA of ZAR 1.25–1.45 billion, excluding any Bank Zero impact.

Liquidity Services reported first‑quarter fiscal 2026 gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $398 million and direct profit of $57 million, with consolidated GAAP revenue roughly flat at $121.2 million, down 1% year over year. Management said higher consignment sales in the retail segment weighed on reported revenue but supported margin performance.

GAAP net income rose 29%, with GAAP EPS of $0.23, non‑GAAP EPS of $0.39 and adjusted EBITDA of $18.1 million. The company ended the quarter with $181.4 million in cash and short‑term investments and no debt, and repurchased $1.5 million of shares, leaving $15 million under its authorization.

GovDeals GMV grew 7% year over year, adding more than 500 new agency clients, while retail (RSCG) posted record segment direct profit of $21.5 million on 16% growth in direct profit despite a 6% revenue decline. Capital Assets revenue increased 17% even as GMV declined 10%, supported by higher‑margin heavy equipment transactions.

Management guided second‑quarter GMV to $375–450 million and adjusted EBITDA to $14–17 million, and said it expects double‑digit adjusted EBITDA growth versus the prior‑year period, supported by AI, automation and data initiatives aimed at improving buyer conversion and operating efficiency.

IREN, formerly Iris Energy, reported fiscal second‑quarter 2026 revenue of $184.7 million, down 23% sequentially as it continued shifting capacity from bitcoin mining to AI cloud services. Lower bitcoin mining revenue, driven by reduced operating hash rate and lower prices, was partially offset by rising AI cloud revenue from new GPU deployments at its Prince George site.

Co‑CEO Daniel Roberts said the company secured underwriting commitments for $3.6 billion of GPU financing at an expected interest rate below 6%. Combined with $1.9 billion in prepayments from Microsoft, the package covers approximately 95% of GPU‑related CapEx tied to IREN’s $9.7 billion AI contract with Microsoft.

CFO Anthony Lewis described the financing as a delayed‑draw term loan from Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, amortizing over five years and secured against both GPUs and contracted Microsoft cash flows. Management views the effective average interest cost at around 3% when factoring in prepayments.

IREN expects to deploy 140,000 GPUs by the end of 2026, targeting $3.4 billion in annualized run‑rate revenue, and has expanded its secured power portfolio to more than 4.5 gigawatts with a new 1.6 GW Oklahoma site. The company said only about 10% of its secured grid‑connected power would be needed to reach its 2026 ARR target, leaving capacity for further growth.