Rambus Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results

  • Achieved strong Q1 results, delivering quarterly product revenue of $88.0 million, up 15% year over year
  • Generated strong quarterly cash from operations of $83.2 million
  • Expanded product and IP offerings for next-generation AI platforms, including the LPDDR5X SOCAMM2 server module chipset, the industry’s fastest HBM4E memory controller IP

SAN JOSE, Calif. April 27, 2026 – Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), a provider of industry-leading chips and IP making data faster and safer, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. GAAP revenue for the first quarter was $180.2 million, licensing billings were $70.8 million, product revenue was $88.0 million, and contract and other revenue was $22.6 million. The Company also generated $83.2 million in cash from operating activities in the first quarter.

“Rambus opened 2026 with a solid first quarter, delivering financial results in line with guidance and generating strong cash from operations,” said Luc Seraphin, president and chief executive officer of Rambus. “The growth of AI inference and agentic workloads in the data center continues to drive demand for higher memory bandwidth, efficient data movement, and scalable connectivity. With expanding offerings across chips and IP, Rambus is well positioned to support next-generation AI platforms and drive profitable long-term growth.”

    GAAP     Non-GAAP (1)  
Quarterly Financial Review   Three Months Ended
March 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
(In millions, except for percentages and per share amounts)   2026     2025     2026     2025  
Revenue                        
Product revenue   $ 88.0     $ 76.3     $ 88.0     $ 76.3  
Royalties     69.6       74.0       69.6       74.0  
Contract and other revenue     22.6       16.4       22.6       16.4  
Total revenue     180.2       166.7       180.2       166.7  
Cost of product revenue     33.7       30.6       33.6       30.4  
Cost of contract and other revenue     1.1       0.6       1.1       0.6  
Amortization of acquired intangible assets (included in total cost of revenue)     1.7       1.7              
Total operating expenses     81.9       70.7       69.9       59.4  
Operating income   $ 61.8     $ 63.1     $ 75.6     $ 76.3  
Operating margin     34%       38%       42%       46%  
Net income   $ 59.9     $ 60.3     $ 69.3     $ 64.6  
Diluted net income per share   $ 0.55     $ 0.56     $ 0.63     $ 0.59  
Licensing billings (operational metric) (2)   $ 70.8     $ 73.3     $ 70.8     $ 73.3  
  • See “Supplemental Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Results” table included below. Note that the applicable non-GAAP measures are presented and that revenue and cash provided by operating activities are solely presented on a GAAP basis. Additionally, licensing billings is presented as an operational metric, which is defined below.
  • Licensing billings is an operational metric that reflects amounts invoiced to our licensing customers during the period, as adjusted for certain differences relating to advanced payments for variable licensing agreements.

GAAP revenue for the quarter was $180.2 million, which was above the mid-point of the Company’s expectations. The Company also had licensing billings of $70.8 million, product revenue of $88.0 million, and contract and other revenue of $22.6 million. The Company had total GAAP cost of revenue of $36.5 million and operating expenses of $81.9 million. The Company also had total non-GAAP operating expenses of $104.6 million (including non-GAAP cost of revenue of $34.7 million). The Company had GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.55 and non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.63. The Company’s basic share count was 108 million shares and its diluted share count was 110 million shares.

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of March 31, 2026 were $786.1 million, an increase of $24.3 million as compared to December 31, 2025, mainly due to $83.2 million in cash provided by operating activities, partially offset by $38.4 million payments of taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards and $17.0 million paid for capital expenditures.

2026 Second Quarter Outlook

The Company will discuss its full revenue guidance for the second quarter of 2026 during its upcoming conference call. The following table sets forth the second quarter outlook for other measures.

(In millions)   GAAP   Non-GAAP (1)
Licensing billings (operational metric) (2)   $76 – $82   $76 – $82
Product revenue (GAAP)   $95 – $101   $95 – $101
Contract and other revenue (GAAP)   $19 – $25   $19 – $25
Total operating costs and expenses   $131 – $127   $114 – $110
Interest and other income (expense), net   $7   $7
Diluted share count   110   110
  • See “Reconciliation of GAAP Forward-Looking Estimates to Non-GAAP Forward-Looking Estimates” table included below.
  • Licensing billings is an operational metric that reflects amounts invoiced to our licensing customers during the period, as adjusted for certain differences relating to advanced payments for variable licensing agreements.

For the second quarter of 2026, the Company expects licensing billings to be between $76 million and $82 million. The Company also expects royalty revenue to be between $72 million and $78 million, product revenue to be between $95 million and $101 million, and contract and other revenue to be between $19 million and $25 million. Revenue is not without risk and achieving revenue in this range will require that the Company sign customer agreements for various product sales and solutions licensing, among other matters.

The Company also expects operating costs and expenses to be between $131 million and $127 million. Additionally, the Company expects non-GAAP operating costs and expenses to be between $114 million and $110 million. These expectations also assume a tax rate of 16% and a diluted share count of 110 million, and exclude stock-based compensation expense of $15.7 million and amortization of acquired intangible assets of $1.5 million.

Conference Call

The Company’s management will discuss the results of the quarter during a conference call scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT today. The call will be audio, slides will be available online at investor.rambus.com, and a replay will be available for the next week at the following numbers: (800) 770-2030 (domestic) or (+1) 609-800-9909 (international) with ID# 9039474.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

In the commentary set forth above and in the financial statements included in this earnings release, the Company presents the following non-GAAP financial measures: cost of product revenue, operating expenses, operating income, operating margin, net income and diluted net income per share. In computing each of these non-GAAP financial measures, the following items were considered as discussed below: stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related costs and retention bonus expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets, facility closure costs, income tax adjustment, and certain other one-time adjustments. The non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by the Company should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP and reconciliations from these results should be carefully evaluated. Management believes the non-GAAP financial measures are appropriate for both its own assessment of, and to show investors, how the Company’s performance compares to other periods. The non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies. A reconciliation from GAAP to non-GAAP results is included in the financial statements contained in this release.

The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures reflect adjustments based on the following items:

Stock-based compensation expense. These expenses primarily relate to employee stock purchase plans, and employee non-vested equity stock and non-vested stock units. The Company excludes stock-based compensation expense from its non-GAAP measures primarily because such expenses are non-cash expenses that the Company does not believe are reflective of ongoing operating results. Additionally, given the fact that other companies may grant different amounts and types of equity awards and may use different valuation assumptions, excluding stock-based compensation expense permits more accurate comparisons of the Company’s results with peer companies.

Acquisition-related costs. These expenses include all direct costs of certain acquisitions and the current periods’ portion of any retention bonus expense associated with the acquisitions. The Company excludes these expenses in order to provide better comparability between periods as they are related to acquisitions and have no direct correlation to the Company’s operations.

Amortization of acquired intangible assets. The Company incurs expenses for the amortization of intangible assets acquired in acquisitions. The Company excludes these items because these expenses are not reflective of ongoing operating results in the period incurred. These amounts arise from the Company’s prior acquisitions and have no direct correlation to the operation of the Company’s core business.

Facility closure costs. These charges consist of exit costs associated with a building lease that was abandoned in the first quarter of 2026 and primarily include lease expense, retirement of fixed assets, restoration costs and other moving costs. The Company excludes these charges because such charges are not directly related to ongoing business results and do not reflect expected future operating expenses.

Income tax adjustment. For purposes of internal forecasting, planning and analyzing future periods that assume net income from operations, the Company estimates a fixed, long-term projected tax rate of approximately 16 percent and 20 percent for 2026 and 2025, respectively, which consists of estimated U.S. federal and state tax rates, and excludes tax rates associated with certain items such as withholding tax, tax credits, deferred tax asset valuation allowance and the release of any deferred tax asset valuation allowance. Accordingly, the Company has applied these tax rates to its non-GAAP financial results for all periods in the relevant years to assist the Company’s planning.

On occasion in the future, there may be other items, such as significant gains or losses from contingencies, that the Company may exclude in deriving its non-GAAP financial measures if it believes that doing so is consistent with the goal of providing useful information to investors and management.

Rambus Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)

(In thousands)   March 31,
2026
    December 31,
2025
 
ASSETS            
Current assets:            
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 134,324     $ 182,826  
Marketable securities     651,815       579,005  
Accounts receivable     109,297       137,476  
Unbilled receivables     24,869       25,209  
Inventories     58,424       44,098  
Prepaids and other current assets     21,151       20,202  
Total current assets     999,880       988,816  
Intangible assets, net     8,495       10,171  
Goodwill     286,812       286,812  
Property and equipment, net     113,278       113,051  
Operating lease right-of-use assets     15,989       17,112  
Deferred tax assets     101,484       105,542  
Other assets     7,208       8,041  
Total assets   $ 1,533,146     $ 1,529,545  
             
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY            
Current liabilities:            
Accounts payable   $ 35,290     $ 35,915  
Accrued salaries and benefits     16,853       22,044  
Deferred revenue     23,719       29,980  
EDA tools software licenses liability     15,036       14,884  
Operating lease liabilities     6,362       6,310  
Other current liabilities     4,567       11,441  
Total current liabilities     101,827       120,574  
Long-term operating lease liabilities     17,042       18,671  
Long-term EDA tools software licenses liability     16,014       20,908  
Other long-term liabilities     5,023       4,967  
Total long-term liabilities     38,079       44,546  
Total stockholders’ equity     1,393,240       1,364,425  
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 1,533,146     $ 1,529,545  

Rambus Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited)

    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
(In thousands, except per share amounts)   2026     2025  
Revenue:            
Product revenue   $ 88,002     $ 76,309  
Royalties     69,642       73,975  
Contract and other revenue     22,545       16,380  
Total revenue     180,189       166,664  
Cost of revenue:            
Cost of product revenue     33,729       30,583  
Cost of contract and other revenue     1,128       546  
Amortization of acquired intangible assets     1,675       1,713  
Total cost of revenue     36,532       32,842  
Gross profit     143,657       133,822  
Operating expenses:            
Research and development     50,229       42,620  
Sales, general and administrative     31,670       28,058  
Total operating expenses     81,899       70,678  
Operating income     61,758       63,144  
Interest income and other income (expense), net     7,151       4,856  
Interest expense     (279)       (377)  
Interest and other income (expense), net     6,872       4,479  
Income before income taxes     68,630       67,623  
Provision for income taxes     8,772       7,320  
Net income   $ 59,858     $ 60,303  
Net income per share:            
Basic   $ 0.55     $ 0.56  
Diluted   $ 0.55     $ 0.56  
Weighted-average shares used in per share calculations:            
Basic     108,030       107,236  
Diluted     109,716       108,628  

Rambus Inc.
Supplemental Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Results
(Unaudited)

    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
(In thousands, except for per share amounts)   2026     2025  
Cost of product revenue   $ 33,729     $ 30,583  
Adjustment:            
Stock-based compensation expense     (139)       (162)  
Non-GAAP cost of product revenue   $ 33,590     $ 30,421  
             
Total operating expenses   $ 81,899     $ 70,678  
Adjustments:            
Stock-based compensation expense     (11,314)       (11,221)  
Facility closure costs     (730)        
Acquisition-related costs           (21)  
Non-GAAP total operating expenses   $ 69,855     $ 59,436  
             
Operating income   $ 61,758     $ 63,144  
Adjustments:            
Stock-based compensation expense     11,453       11,383  
Amortization of acquired intangible assets     1,675       1,713  
Facility closure costs     730        
Acquisition-related costs           21  
Non-GAAP total operating income   $ 75,616     $ 76,261  
             
Net income   $ 59,858     $ 60,303  
Stock-based compensation expense     11,453       11,383  
Amortization of acquired intangible assets     1,675       1,713  
Facility closure costs     730        
Acquisition-related costs           21  
Income tax adjustment     (4,426)       (8,828)  
Non-GAAP net income   $ 69,290     $ 64,592  
             
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share   $ 0.63     $ 0.59  
Weighted-average shares used in non-GAAP diluted per share calculation     109,716       108,628  

Rambus Inc.
Reconciliation of GAAP Forward-Looking Estimates to Non-GAAP Forward-Looking Estimates
(Unaudited)

2026 Second Quarter Outlook   Three Months Ended
June 30, 2026
 
(In millions)   Low     High  
Forward-looking operating costs and expenses   $ 131.2     $ 127.2  
Adjustments:            
Stock-based compensation expense     (15.7)       (15.7)  
Amortization of acquired intangible assets     (1.5)       (1.5)  
Forward-looking Non-GAAP operating costs and expenses   $ 114.0     $ 110.0
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