Aehr Test Systems expects fiscal 2027 revenues of $130–150 million, roughly 160%–200% growth, backed by a record effective backlog of about $100.6 million and rising production requirements from existing AI customers. The forecast positions Aehr in a far sharper growth phase than advanced-packaging inspection rival Camtek, whose 2026 earnings are projected to grow a comparatively modest 10.4%.

Both companies serve the specialized test, inspection and metrology segment of semiconductor capital equipment, a market benefiting from rising AI and high-performance computing investment and increasingly complex device architectures. But their exposures differ. Aehr sells wafer- and package-level test and burn-in systems; Camtek focuses on inspection and metrology across semiconductor manufacturing, including advanced packaging.

AI processors now drive 71% of Aehr revenue

AI processors have become Aehr's biggest growth driver. Reliability and production wafer-level burn-in for AI accelerators, CPUs and network processors accounted for about 71% of fiscal 2026 revenues. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, net revenues surged 33.7% year over year.

The opportunity is broadening beyond current lead customers. A major AI processor supplier recently completed a successful FOX wafer-level burn-in benchmark and is moving toward pilot-production validation. Aehr's lead wafer-level AI customer subsequently placed a $22 million follow-on order to expand production capacity.

Aehr is scaling output without adding heavy fixed infrastructure. Sonoma systems now ship from a Southeast Asian contract manufacturer with capacity for more than 20 systems per month, and the company has expanded operations in Fremont and Taiwan. This flexible model could help Aehr absorb uneven AI-driven demand while containing fixed costs.

On the product side, the enhanced Sonoma platform supports next-generation AI processors drawing 2,000 watts or more. The FOX roadmap is expanding into NAND flash and HBM, and Aehr is working with multiple memory suppliers on next-generation high-bandwidth memory and flash solutions. Silicon photonics and GaN round out the longer-term pipeline as hyperscale data centers adopt faster optical interconnects. AEHR beat earnings estimates in three of the past four quarters and met once, with an average surprise of 321.9%.

Camtek's $600 million order book anchors packaging exposure

Camtek's growth is tied to the advanced-packaging build-out for AI and HPC. Advanced packaging generated roughly 75% of second-quarter 2026 revenues, while year-to-date orders exceeded $600 million, with about 80% linked to advanced-packaging applications. Demand comes from HBM, 2.5D/3D packaging and CoWoS-like architectures.

The order profile extends visibility into 2027. More than half of the $600 million order intake came from OSAT customers, and more than 20% was tied to HBM players. Camtek secured more than $105 million of multi-system orders from a tier-1 OSAT and a leading HBM manufacturer for 2027 delivery — evidence that growth reflects both capacity additions and rising inspection intensity as packages incorporate more dies and demanding process steps.

Newer platforms carry the portfolio. Hawk is gaining traction in HBM and advanced packaging, while Eagle G5 improves resolution, throughput and cost of ownership; together they generated about half of second-quarter systems revenues. The Visual Layer acquisition strengthens visual-AI capabilities, and new backside inspection and fluorescence technologies broaden application reach. Photonics is emerging as a growth area alongside silicon-photonics and compound-semiconductor demand. CAMT beat estimates in three of the past four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of just 1%.

Camtek carries China-related risks: intensifying competition from domestic Chinese equipment suppliers and evolving export controls and trade restrictions. Rising receivables and inventory could also increase working-capital requirements as the company scales.

Estimates, price and valuation

The consensus for AEHR's fiscal 2027 earnings has risen 4 cents to 74 cents per share over the past 30 days, against 3 cents reported in fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAMT's 2026 earnings stands at $3.60 per share, unchanged over 30 days, implying 10.4% growth over 2025's reported figure.

Year to date, AEHR has outperformed CAMT, the broader industry and the S&P 500. Investors pay a premium for that momentum: AEHR trades at a forward 12-month price/sales ratio of 19.81X versus 9.88X for CAMT.

Both stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The analysis concludes that Aehr's rapid AI-related revenue expansion, capacity scaling and additional silicon-photonics, GaN and memory opportunities give it greater earnings-growth potential, making AEHR the more compelling bet at present — though investors betting on it are paying nearly double Camtek's sales multiple for that growth trajectory.