MicroVision (MVIS) 2026年第三季度业绩电话会：营收增长、业绩指引及激光雷达拓展lg...

核心要点

• 2026年第三季度营收从上年同期的20万美元增至240万美元，相当于MicroVision 2026年上半年的总营收。今年前九个月累计营收达到480万美元，而2025年前九个月为100万美元。
• 毛利润改善至120万美元，毛利率达50%，而2025年第三季度毛亏损为70万美元。管理层将这一改善部分归因于从Luminar收购的库存和资产。
• MicroVision重申其2026年全年营收指引为1000万至1500万美元。公司拥有约1000万美元的客户采购订单待发货，其中大部分相关库存已生产完成。
• 在已确认订单、IRIS销量扩大以及MOVIA需求的支撑下，管理层预计2027年营收将比2026年翻倍。发货时机和供应链可用性仍是关键变量。
• 公司计划在2027年将运营现金消耗控制在约4000万美元，比2026年约6000万美元的目标减少约三分之一。为此，公司计划裁员约28%以支持这一目标的实现。
• 商业化的优先事项包括增加IRIS出货量、在2027年第四季度推出HALO，以及将对MOVIA Pro的意向转化为量产合同。MicroVision表示，正与70多家潜在的MOVIA Pro客户保持对接。

关键财务数据

由于MicroVision为满足客户需求生产传感器，库存较2025年12月增加了370万美元。因产品出货量增加，应收账款增加了140万美元。

业务与运营表现

公司的长距离1550纳米飞行时间（ToF）激光雷达IRIS是主要的营收驱动因素。MicroVision在奥兰多重启了生产，并获得了涵盖工业、安防和国防应用的上千台传感器采购订单。随着供应商协作的改善，管理层预计2026年第四季度IRIS的出货量将环比大幅增长。

IRIS也是通往HALO商业化路径的基础。客户评估已于第三季度展开，预生产样品计划于2027年初推出，产品预计将于2027年第四季度发布。现有IRIS客户预计将过渡至HALO，而新客户可以先基于IRIS进行开发，然后再于2028年初迁移至HALO。

MicroVision推出了MOVIA Pro，这是一款搭载片上系统（SoC）和惯性测量功能的短距闪光（Flash）激光雷达平台。公司目前正与70多家潜在客户对接（高于此前的约25家），并已向18多家客户交付了评估设备或样品。管理层计划同时推进OEM直销和分销渠道。

MOVIA Air产品组合现已包含基于传感器的无人机导航、激光雷达与摄像头结合的测绘及情报载荷，以及完整的无人机系统。MicroVision表示，与Robinson Unmanned的演示已经完成，并计划在美国和欧洲开展更多演示。

Scantinel正在开发一款1550纳米FMCW超长距离样品，目标是2027年初推出。公司还在评估将Scantinel的外置光源技术运用于光互连领域的许可和开发合作关系。

MicroVision Semiconductor正为IRIS、HALO、Scantinel及未来的MOVIA产品提供定制芯片开发支持。管理层还认为该业务部门是第三方工程服务收入的来源，特别是在美国本土的国防、航天和光子学应用领域。

管理层业绩指引

MicroVision重申2026年全年营收指引为1000万至1500万美元。截至9月已确认营收480万美元，同时约有1000万美元的采购订单待发货。管理层指出，发货执行力而非客户需求才是最主要的变量。

公司仍有望实现2026年约6000万美元的运营现金消耗目标，这主要受营运资金到账时机影响。对于2027年，公司目标为约4000万美元，同比减少约三分之一。

管理层预计2027年营收将较2026年翻倍。管理层表示，已确认的采购订单和高确信度的IRIS业务支撑了2027年预测营收的大约一半，其余增长预计将来自IRIS业务拓展和MOVIA销售。

长期来看，管理层为其产品设定了40%至45%的毛利率目标。短期毛利率可能会随着发货时机、产品组合以及新产品发布初期通常较低的毛利率而发生波动。

风险与关注事项

• 收入确认取决于发货时机以及供应链零部件的可用性。
• 管理层指出，由于数据中心需求激增等原因，电路板、FPGA和存储器正面临供应紧张和价格压力。
• 关税和原材料成本仍是供应链需要考虑的因素，不过MicroVision已对部分关键零部件进行了提前采购和现货采购。
• 随着销售组合的变化以及MOVIA在初期较低产量下投产，毛利率可能会发生波动。
• 公司仍在持续消耗现金，并可能使用融资工具。其ATM（按市价售股）融资额度中仍有约4000万美元可用，同时公司优先考虑非稀释性流动性、资产变现、技术许可及战略合作。
• 许多客户项目仍处于预生产阶段，这意味着更大规模的放量可能要到2027年或2028年才会显现。

分析师问答亮点

管理层表示，MicroVision Semiconductor保留了具有重要战略意义的混合信号和光子学设计能力，同时创造了外部工程服务收入的机会。除IRIS和HALO外，该部门已在为Scantinel和未来MOVIA的芯片开发提供支持。

在谈到加快商业对接时，首席执行官Glen DeVos提到了产品性能、美欧本土化采购激光雷达的需求，以及商业团队更强的执行力。安防和国防客户被描述为对采购来源和合规要求特别敏感。

关于成本削减，首席财务官Christine Chambers表示，28%的裁员集中在研发（R&D）以及一般与行政管理（G&A）部门，同时保留了发货、商业化、供应链和HALO开发资源。财务成效预计将在2027年变得更加明显。

管理层表示，目前产能并不是主要担忧，因为收购Luminar资产获得了设备齐全的奥兰多制造工厂。供应链可用性仍是更大的执行风险。

软件预计将通过交通分析、实时测绘、感知功能以及MicroVision的开放软件框架来支持客户采纳。管理层指出，更轻松的集成和更低的客户开发成本也有助于提升毛利率。

业绩电话会议完整文字记录

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完整财报电话会议逐字稿

管理层陈述

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to the MicroVision Third Quarter 2026 Financial and Operating Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Drew Markham. Please go ahead.

Drew Markham

Thank you, Matthew. Good afternoon. I'm here today with our Chief Executive Officer, Glen DeVos; and our new Chief Financial Officer, Christine Chambers. Following their prepared remarks, we will open the call to questions. Please note that some of the information you'll hear in today's discussion will include forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, expected near-term and future revenue, operating expenses and cash usage, strategic plans and execution, expectations regarding product deliveries and commercial growth, impact of cost reduction activity, product applications and use cases, market opportunities, cash flow forecasts, liquidity and financing activities, availability of funds and access to capital as well as statements containing words like believe, expect, plan and other similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance.

Actual results could materially differ from the future results implied or expressed in the forward-looking statement. We encourage you to review our SEC filings, including our most recently filed Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These filings describe risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed in our forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this call, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update this information.

In addition, we will present certain financial measures on this call that will be considered non-GAAP under the SEC's Regulation G. For reconciliations of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure as well as for all the financial data presented on this call, please refer to the information included in our press release and our Form 8-K dated and submitted to the SEC today, both of which can be found on our corporate website at ir.microvision.com under the SEC Filings tab. This conference call will be available for audio replay on the Investor Relations section of our website at www.microvision.com.

Now I would like to turn the call over to Glen DeVos, our Chief Executive Officer. Glen?

Glen DeVos

Thank you, Drew, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to MicroVision's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Over the past several quarters, we have talked about the transformation underway at MicroVision and our strategy to build a fundamentally different lidar company. Our goal is to broaden the portfolio to enable MicroVision to have the right solutions for our 3 primary end markets: industrial, security and defense and automotive. Now as we enter the final months of 2026, I can state with confidence that our strategy is working, and Q3 was a very important quarter for us. It achieved significant progress across all areas of the business, the portfolio, commercial success, as well as the organization. Our progress in Q3 positions MicroVision for near and long-term revenue growth with an operating model that will drive positive cash flow.

We'll first take a look at the financials, and then I will go into more detail about the key developments in the quarter that are delivering these results. Now one of those key developments was the addition of Christine Chambers to our team as our Chief Financial Officer. And it's a pleasure to have her with us on the call today. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Christine to go through the financials.

Christine Chambers

Thank you, Glen, and good afternoon, everyone. During my first 2 months at MicroVision, I've spent time with our employees, customers and shareholders. What I've seen and heard reinforces 2 priorities that will define our financial strategy going forward. First, improving operating efficiency and reducing cash burn; second, building a strong financial foundation that supports long-term growth and attract long-term capital. Today's results demonstrate progress against both of those objectives. But before I provide an update on the Q3 results, let me start with operating discipline, cash flow and how we fund the business while we execute our road map.

For the 9 months ending September 30, 2026, cash used in operating activities totaled $49.2 million. We remain on track to finish the year near our target operating cash burn of $60 million, depending primarily on the timing of certain working capital items. Looking ahead at 2027, we're targeting approximately $40 million of operating cash burn, a reduction of roughly 1/3 from current levels. To support that objective, we recently implemented a workforce reduction affecting approximately 28% of our organization. These functions focus primarily on nonrevenue-generating functions, while preserving the resources required to support customer shipments, commercialization activities and continued HALO development. These decisions were not made lightly. They were intended to create a leaner, more efficient organization, while positioning us to support growth and improved operating leverage as revenue scales. Reductions focused on R&D and G&A groups, while strengthening our operations and our supply chain resources. The more efficient operating cost structure aligned with commercial priorities is real and underway.

Turning to revenue. We remain confident in our full year 2026 revenue outlook of $10 million to $15 million. Today, we have approximately $10 million of customer purchase orders awaiting shipment with majority of inventory already built and available for delivery. These orders, together with the $4.8 million of revenue recognized through September, give us visibility into our full year revenue outlook. The primary variable is going to be shipments rather than customer demand. While certain supply chain dependencies remain, our focus is on shipping products and continuing to scale commercial operations.

The second question I frequently get asked is how we intend to fund the business while we execute our road map. For the remainder of 2026, our priority is maximizing nondilutive sources of liquidity. This includes active working capital management, monetization of noncore assets and other opportunities to unlock value from assets already on our balance sheet. We also continue to maintain access to existing financing tools and have approximately $40 million remaining on the ATM facility should we determine it appropriate to use.

As we look ahead to 2027, we expect revenue to double from our 2026 level. 2027 is supported by committed purchase orders exiting 2026, expansion of IRIS sales to existing customers as well as sales of our MOVIA products to existing and new customers. Alongside expected lower cash burn, we're evaluating financing alternatives to secure what I would describe as clean capital. This includes strategic partnerships and commercial and licensing opportunities, together with continued balance sheet improvements that strengthen our ability to attract long-term capital.

We also continue to evaluate strategic alternatives to certain noncore assets, including opportunities to monetize technologies or establish partnerships that can generate value, while maintaining focus on our commercialization priorities. The combination of sustainable commercial growth, a lower cash burn and disciplined financing will create a significantly more attractive financing profile.

Turning to our third quarter results. The most important takeaway is that we're beginning to see commercial progress translate into financial results. Third quarter revenue was $2.4 million compared to $0.2 million in the third quarter of 2025 and equal to the $2.4 million generated during the entire first half of 2026. Year-to-date revenue was $4.8 million, nearly 5x the $1 million reported through the first 9 months of 2025. Just as important as the growth in revenue is the change in the revenue mix. This time last year, revenue was largely driven by software licensing and royalties. Today, the business is increasingly being supported by product shipments into industrial, security and defense and automotive sectors.

Commercialization progress is beginning to show up in the financial performance, and Glen will describe details of this progress in a moment. Gross profit was $1.2 million or 50% of revenue compared with a negative gross profit of $0.7 million in the third quarter of last year. Year-to-date gross margin improved to 46% compared with negative 126% in the same period of 2025. The improvement in gross margin was driven by our ability to leverage inventory and assets purchased as part of the Luminar acquisition, including the new manufacturing facility in Orlando. While gross margin will continue to fluctuate based on product mix and shipment timing, these results demonstrate the operating leverage available in the business as revenue scales.

Total operating expenses were $22.5 million in the quarter, down approximately 7.5% from our first half quarterly average of $24.4 million. Research and development expenses declined to $13.2 million. SG&A expense was $9.4 million, including approximately $1.2 million of nonrecurring finance-related costs. While operating expenses remain above prior year levels due to the acquisitions of Luminar and Scantinel, the third quarter reflects the first benefits of our ongoing cost reduction initiatives.

Importantly, we're now actively aligning resources towards program and markets with the greatest near-term commercial potential. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $11.1 million. This compares to our first half quarterly average of $18 million. Noted in Q3, we did recognize a $6.3 million research and development German government grant. While we still have work to do, these results reflect the early impact of both revenue growth and operating discipline. GAAP net loss for the quarter was $12.2 million or $0.45 per share compared with a net loss of $14.2 million or $0.72 per share in the third quarter of 2025. We ended the quarter with $28.9 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with the $27.2 million in the end of the second quarter.

Cash used in operating activities was $13.6 million, improving from $16.5 million in the prior year period. The quarter benefited from the receipt of that German R&D grant. Inventory increased by $3.7 million compared to December 2025 as we built sensors to support customer demand and accounts receivable increased $1.4 million on higher product shipments in the quarter. As we look ahead to the fourth quarter and into 2027, our priorities remain clear: continued converting our expanding commercial pipeline into repeatable product revenue and broaden our customer base and complete the cost reduction initiatives already underway and deliver our objective of reducing annual cash burn by approximately 1/3, while continuing to support MOVIA production and HALO development, continue to strengthen the balance sheet and disciplined capital management. We'll focus on clean funding opportunities, strategic partnerships and further simplification of our capital structure.

Before I hand back to Glen, I'll leave you with 3 messages. First, commercial activity is increasingly translating into measurable financial results, and we're on track to meet the 2026 revenue guidance of $10 million to $15 million. Secondly, we are taking decisive actions to improve efficiency and reduce cash burn by 1/3 next year. And third, we're building a stronger balance sheet with financial foundation to support long-term growth and attract long-term capital. We have more work ahead, but I'm really encouraged by the progress we're making and confident in the direction we're taking.

With that, I'll hand the call back to Glen.

Glen DeVos

Thanks, Christine. I'd now like to turn the focus to how we're making this happen, and it really starts with our portfolio and the commercial success we are experiencing across the board. Earlier this year, with Luminar acquisition, we significantly expanded our portfolio with IRIS, our long-range 1550-nanometer time-of-flight LiDAR. Over the past 3 quarters, we have reestablished commercial contracts for IRIS and restarted the production line in Orlando. This has enabled us to secure POs that not only support 2026 guidance, but continue to expand revenue in 2027 and beyond.

IRIS delivers outstanding performance and is the pathway to HALO, our next-generation 1550-nanometer time-of-flight LiDAR, which will replace IRIS and deliver even greater value to existing and new customers. HALO will launch in Q4 of 2027, and we are now in customer evaluation phase of the program. IRIS and HALO are perfectly positioned to dominate the industrial and security and defense spaces where 1550-nanometer harsh environment operation and a high-performance point cloud are essential requirements. 1550-nanometer LiDAR is also critical for defense applications as it operates beyond the detection range of night vision systems like night vision goggles.

Finally, IRIS and HALO are also fully NDA-client products made in the U.S.A. This is exactly what our security and defense customers require. IRIS is delivering in customers like Overland AI and Lake Fusion Technologies will recognize the value and performance that IRIS brings together for their applications. The selection of IRIS for these programs is another important validation of the technology and the broader opportunity for MicroVision in ground autonomy and aviation applications.

Now we are also seeing traction with the Intelligent Transportation System-related customers or ITS, for traffic management and analytics, which represents a new customer base within the security and defense space. In Q3, we made critical deliveries to our development partners to work in this area. We see ITS and traffic management as a key growth area for us in '27 and beyond as HALO is a perfect fit for these applications with its range and field of view. Furthermore, as we now have the critical suppliers fully engaged, Q4 will see a significant increase from Q3 for IRIS shipments as we accelerate our deliveries.

In August, we announced initial and repeat purchase orders from customers in North America and Europe, representing thousands of IRIS sensors across industrial, security and defense applications. Those orders span applications, including off-road autonomy, space systems, material handling, logistics, robotics and other intelligent systems. Now this is important for 2 reasons.

First, near-term revenue confidence for '26 and '27. That's the IRIS shipment. But also, IRIS is the gateway to HALO. Existing IRIS customers will be able to seamlessly transition to HALO starting in Q4 of next year. And new customers can start their development using IRIS with a planned migration to HALO in early '28. This secures both near-term and longer-term revenue expansion. HALO will bring the same outstanding performance and reliability in a smaller, lower power and lower cost package. We have already begun customer evaluations of HALO during Q3, and we will have our preproduction samples available early next year for full customer testing and evaluation.

Now IRIS isn't the only thing that's going on. Scantinel continues to make significant progress with the development of their 1550-nanometer FMCW ultra-long-range wave sample scheduled for early next year. As we have discussed, the progression from discrete components to a LiDAR on a chip is exactly how we will continue to drive down cost for LiDAR while expanding performance, and that's exactly what Scantinel does. Now in addition to the long-range LiDAR, Scantinel's fundamentally technology, which is the packaging of high-power lasers and amplifiers onto a low-cost photonic integrated circuit or PIC. This applies to adjacent industries, and that is why the introduction of Scantinel ELSFP, which stands for the external laser source small form factor package, why that ELSFP product is so compelling.

The move to photonic interconnects for high-speed processing requires energy and cost-efficient solutions. Scantinel's ELSFP delivers exactly that and this is as part of the overall trend going to optical interconnects for high-speed data. Now that creates an opportunity for MicroVision and AI data center infrastructure, where increasing compute density is creating those significant challenges around bandwidth, power consumption and data movement. And to frame it up, the external laser source market is rapidly expanding with the TAMs growing into the multi billion-dollar levels by 2030.

Now as Christine mentioned earlier, we are currently in discussion with potential licensees and development partners as we evaluate commercialization path for this technology. It's just an amazing opportunity for us. And it's a good example of what we mean when we talk about extracting greater value from the technology portfolio we have assembled. We didn't have to build an entirely new technology stack to do this. We identified an additional significant commercial application for the technology we already own and as part of our portfolio.

Now in addition to IRIS and Scantinel, we have continued to develop our MOVIA short-range flash LiDAR products. MOVIA 120 continues its success for the European UGV market, and we plan to replace that in '27 with MOVIA Pro, which we've launched this month. Now I'll come back to MOVIA Pro in just a moment. But first, I want to talk about MOVIAL60, the foundation for our MOVIA Air platform. We now have 3 offerings within that MOVIA Air platform. The first is MOVIA Air, which is based on the MOVIAL60 sensor and adapted for use in drones to provide navigation and collusion avoidance capability. This is especially important for package delivery and near-ground applications, delivery drones or drones that operate in congested areas.

The second is MOVIA Air Plus, which is a complete LiDAR and camera-based mapping and ISR or intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance payload that can be mounted to any drone to provide real-time ISR capabilities and real-time communications to the ground. And this is where MicroVision's perception platform shines in being able to fuse camera and LiDAR into a human and computable readable 3D map in real time. No close processing, no waiting for the drone to come back. The payload develops a lightweight and highly detailed map that is securely transmitted to the ground, UGVs or to other assets in real time.

And third, we now have MOVIA Air Plus ISR, where we can deliver the entire system, including the drone and the supporting peripheral equipment. This allows our customers to have a complete out-of-the-box solution ready to deploy. We have demonstrated the complete system with our development partner, Robinson Unmanned at JIFX AUSA and have a full slate of upcoming U.S. and European demonstrations scheduled for the next months. Our partnership with J.A. Green is now a key part of moving from this demonstration phase to engagement and contracts. Similarly, our work with Avular in Europe is opening up that region for us. Air, land and sea-based autonomy are massive growth areas for MicroVision, and we can play a critical role in all of these systems. Our full range of MOVIA Air platforms enables MicroVision to deliver exactly what our customers need at every level of system capability. We first announced MOVIA Air products in August, and they are now ready to go.

So let's come back to MOVIA Pro. You've heard me talk about MOVIA as in the past. This was the generic description of our next-generation MOVIA short-range Flash LiDAR platform. MOVIA Pro is the first configuration to launch, and it is like no other short-range LiDAR in the industry. MOVIA Pro not only delivers exceptional point cloud with unmatched uniformity and coverage. It has the full capability of an onboard system-on-chip and IMU, which means it can support not only the sensor model or the point cloud model, the full perception and advanced features. This eliminates the need for costly external compute and interconnects and MOVIA Pro is supported by MicroVision's open software framework, making it easier than ever for our customers to develop and integrate advanced features using MOVIA Pro histograms, point cloud or metadata. MOVIA Pro brings physical AI to the edge in a fully solid-state, compact and cost-effective package.

We are currently engaged with requests for MOVIA Pro LiDAR with over 70 end customers, a significant increase versus the prior period when we were doing the predevelopment with MOVIA S. With our launch of MOVIA Pro now taking place, we will begin that process of converting these customers from development to production contracts. The strong customer interest and orders for MOVIA Pro gives us confidence in our revenue outlook for 2027 and beyond. And MOVIA Pro is just the beginning for the MOVIA family of products. Over the course of the next year, we will be announcing additional MOVIA variants as MOVIA replaces existing MOVIA L applications and begins production with new MOVIA customers across all of our end markets.

Shifting gears a bit. In July, we announced the formation of MicroVision Semiconductor in Colorado Springs, our advanced ASIC development and mixed-signal design center. With more than 3 decades of custom IC development experience, MSI expands MicroVision's ASIC internal development capabilities, which is critical for us really on all of our products, but also opens up external revenue opportunities as we announced in September with our Photonics application award. MSI brings a critical capability in-house, while being able to serve the broader market and as an additional source of engineering service revenue for us.

And finally, earlier this month, we announced our strategic commercial alliance with Blue-Band, an established leader in intelligent transportation system design and implementation. While Blue-Band will continue to support their existing customer and partnership base, this alliance immediately opens up the ITS market for both hardware and software sales for MicroVision. ITS is a high-value, rapidly expanding market, and this partnership enables MicroVision to accelerate its position in the space, expand its customer reach and generate revenue from Blue-Band's established customer base. Also, separate from our Blue-Band alliance, a leading smart mobility technology provider recently selected IRIS as its long-range sensor for applications within its automated traffic safety solutions.

IRIS is also in the final stages of evaluation by a provider of autonomous and intelligent system solutions to deliver an integrated LiDAR perception solution for automatic traffic enforcement applications. These are 2 really good examples of programs starting with IRIS that will continue to grow over time with HALO. As I mentioned, Q3 was the inflection point for MicroVision, and we have made tremendous progress in strengthening and broadening our portfolio. Why is this so impactful? It enables MicroVision to win in our primary end markets, delivering near-term revenue for '26 as well as strong growth in '27 and beyond. And this is exactly what we are now seeing.

So let me shift over to the organization, third element. As MicroVision advances its commercial growth strategy and path to profitability, we are taking deliberate steps to align our organization talent and resources with our highest priority opportunities. Our focus is on building a leaner, more agile, commercially driven organization that operates with greater precision, accountability and efficiency. This includes restructuring our teams to ensure we have the right capabilities and resources directed towards markets, products and customer opportunities we believe offer the greatest potential for near-term revenue generation and long-term growth. These decisions are part of a broader commitment to financial discipline and operational efficiency.

By prioritizing investments, streamlining our organizational structure and reducing our costs where appropriate, we are positioning MicroVision to execute more effectively, accelerate commercialization and make measurable progress towards positive cash flow. Our objective is clear: focus on people, our capital and our capabilities where they can create the greatest impact. This restructuring is not simply about reducing costs, it's about building the organization MicroVision needs for its next phase of commercial growth with the discipline, focus and execution capabilities required to deliver on our priorities and advance our path to profitability.

Now before we call for questions, I want to leave you with a few thoughts about where MicroVision stands today and where we are headed. When I started as CEO of MicroVision just over a year ago, we set out a plan to transform the company, and that is exactly what we have been doing. Over the past 3 quarters, we have consolidated an industry-leading LiDAR-based technology portfolio that can translate into commercial opportunities across a much broader set of markets. Q3 demonstrated that we are delivering on that plan. At the same time, as Christine discussed, we remain focused on disciplined execution and capital allocation. We are clearly focused on our growth vectors and have the resources aligned and able to deliver. As we look towards 2027, we have more ways to win than at any point in MicroVision's history across more markets with more products and with a clear path for growth and profitability.

With that, let's open the call for questions. Operator, I'll turn it over to you.

Operator

Our first question is from Casey Ryan of AmerX.

分析师问答

Casey Ryan

Terrific update, Glen and Christine, a lot to talk about, but excellent quarter. Yes, you bet. So quickly, can you talk a little bit more about MicroVision, I guess, semiconductor, this sort of unit that's developing some core technology. And so is that feeding the overall business, all the LiDAR products, but it's also developing essentially merchant products. And it sounds like you're calling out kind of a defense opportunity in this quarterly update.

Glen DeVos

Yes. So maybe a little bit of context for that. MSI or MicroVision Semiconductor was originally Black Forest Engineering. So we acquired the capability with the purchasing of Luminar, not necessarily the name then. And what we realized is they were critical for designing key parts of the silicon inside of both IRIS as well as HALO. And so that was a capability. And really, it gets to being able to design the chips that are sensitive enough to deliver the performance that IRIS and HALO are delivering, which is that range and detection capability. And so we know it's a capability we want to maintain and really have control over. At the same time, when we looked at that group, what we recognized was, well, they have a really unique skill set in mixed signal, now in photonics, where that serves our need, but it also serves a lot of needs in the broader industry, in particular, for markets and applications where they want in defense and in space, where they want to -- their customers want to maintain control of that in the U.S. with security, et cetera. And so what we determined was MSI can be a great capability for us, but also basically a nice revenue generator so that we essentially can keep that capability running, but without incurring a lot of additional costs and overhead for it. And so it's kind of best of both worlds.

Casey Ryan

Okay. Okay. So what MSI's core technology isn't necessarily built into like broader pre-existing MicroVision product line. It was really serving Luminar and then also the third-party markets, I guess or?

Glen DeVos

Yes. Not today. It was definitely part of the Luminar product line. We brought them in to support Scantinel on the photonics integrated circuit design that's being done. And they are actually helping on custom silicon now in MOVIA, but those products and technologies haven't gone to production. So they're not -- those haven't launched yet. So they're now supporting the broader organization within MicroVision. But in addition to that, are attracting outside customers as well.

Casey Ryan

Okay. All right. I know that was a little in the weeds, but that's helpful for me to understand. Well, so sort of more importantly and broadly, the commercial engagement seems to have really accelerated across multiple end markets. And I'm curious if you could describe maybe how you've done that, what's helped do that, but it seems like the level and sort of what I'm more impressed by with is the broadness, right? All of a sudden, there seems to be a lot happening in defense and industrial and IPS. And so something has changed for the positive, but I wonder if you could elaborate more on how you've done that.

Glen DeVos

Yes. I think there's 3 pieces to that and the first starts with really good products. And so IRIS is just an amazingly -- amazing performing product. It develops a point cloud that is just outstanding at range, really good detection. And so as we brought that to other customers, it's just easy to demonstrate and showcase that. And the same with Movia now. It's a -- when you look at the point that MOVIA Pro develops, it's just beautiful. And so it starts with good products and having the right products for the end market. And those were 2 where we knew the demand was going to be there. It's just a matter of how do you get the right product to it. The second is there is some tailwind in terms of the technologies that we have now and the fact that we're a U.S. German company building in the U.S. And so whether it's SEC rulings or it's just the general concern about sourcing LiDAR from other countries, they want German OEMs and the defense want to source in European want to source some European suppliers.

And so there's some tailwinds in terms of just we're positioned really well to be able to provide that manufactured in the U.S. and NDA compliant. And so certainly, that's a tailwind. And then the third part of it is, I would say, James and the commercial team really getting traction. James joined us back in early August. And I mean, just has been able to drive engagements to closure and really move things. And so when you look at those 3 things, those 3 factors, that's what's driving the overall really step function improvement and trajectory now going forward.

Casey Ryan

Okay. Terrific. That's helpful. And then quickly, I'll get out of the way here on sort of on the financials and looking forward, I think in the past, we've talked about gross margins, which were good in the quarter, but sort of being in the range of kind of 40% to 50% is maybe a rough guide for what you're aiming for? Does that still feel comfortable as you move into Q4 and maybe thinking about '27 in kind of a general sense?

Glen DeVos

I'll turn it over to you, Christine, and then I can add a comment.

Christine Chambers

Yes, absolutely. So I think, obviously, we've seen great gross margins in Q3. And I tried to give some context to that with the -- some of the assets and the inventory that we had on hand. Saying that, I think they will continue to fluctuate. I think as we change our product mix and the timing of our shipments, we'll see some of that leverage that we've experienced in 2026. With the new product mix, we'll probably get back to more normalized levels. But I'll let Glen add any context to that, that you want to add, Glen?

Glen DeVos

Yes. I think IRIS has been a very strong performer. We -- the team has done a really nice job negotiating with suppliers and really controlling the cost, the COGS on the product. And then as demand has increased, it's helped us. MOVIA kind of what Christine is alluding to as you first launch a product, not uncommon for gross margin to be a little bit thinner as your volumes aren't there yet. But in terms of long-term target, for these products with the markets that we're serving, the 40% to 45%, that's where we need to be. And I think we have a clear path to getting there.

Casey Ryan

Okay. And then with the workforce reduction, I think Christine mentioned 28% was sort of the headcount reduction. Is it fair for us to sort of think about OpEx being at least 28% lower going forward, I guess? Is that sort of a reasonable thing to think about?

Christine Chambers

Yes. I talked about the reduction in cash burn, and that is directly related to your comment in that we focused the cost reductions, the reductions in force in R&D and G&A. So we will continue -- we'll see those sort of in 2027 materialize and then drop to the bottom line as well as we think about improvement. So yes, is the answer. We'll see that next year.

Operator

I will now turn this call back over to Christine Chambers to read questions submitted by shareholders. Thank you.

Christine Chambers

Thank you, operator. So looking at the questions here, Glen, I think there's a first question for you, which talks a little bit about our customers and our brands. So the first question is, why has Microsoft only named a couple of customers? Is it because they don't exist? And if we don't name them, why are we confident?

Glen DeVos

Yes, it's a great question. And it's what I understand totally because then when I was in automotive for many years, I used to get the same question, why don't the OEMs let you talk about them. Now the 2 comments I'll make is one, we've been able to now start naming customers. So whether it's and partners, whether it's Robinson, Overland, partners like Avular, Blue-Band. So names will be increasingly forthcoming. And -- but the big gating factor there is the brand management at the customer or the program management at the customer in a lot of cases, where we are with these customers is preproduction. So -- and this, by the way, is a key element to our growth story because we're shipping -- we're really happy with the IRIS shipments that we're making. But in many cases, the volume really picks up as we get in more into '27, '28 and not so much in '26.

And so those customers haven't announced their programs. And what's very common in our industry is that customers will hold off on announcing partners essentially until their programs have been announced. So they control the narrative around the end product and the end platform. And that's what we're seeing here. Believe me, we ask our customers, "Hey, can we talk about this? And -- but we can't do it until they give us their explicit permission, then we can. And so you'll see more because the customers do exist, the POs are real. So you'll see more of that as we go into Q4 and as we go into '27. But at this point in time, we announce when we can with the customers that are supportive of that. And like I said, as those programs mature and they get into production and then they complete their announcements, they're going to say, "Hey, sit tight and we want you to hold off. But I totally understand the frustration because I would love to be talking about what we're doing with our customers. And you just have to sit tight until you have their permission. So more to come on that.

Christine Chambers

Thanks, Glen. The second question is around our products and applications. Which product applications and markets are expected to contribute most to MicroVision's revenue growth in full year 2026 and full year 2027? And what is the central value proposition?

Maybe I can take part of that, Glen, and then you can add to it. I think what we've mentioned is that we have -- as we think about supporting 2026 and 2027, I've mentioned that we have, first of all, POs, $10 million of POs that we just need to get shipments to. The second thing is that we talked about what the James is doing, and we really have that committed pipeline for IRIS, which supports roughly half the revenue projected in 2027. And the timing of the shipments and supply chain availability will determine revenue timing, but there is really a robust committed pipeline behind both those new products, the IRIS inventory as well as new products for MOVIA and demand for MOVIA in 2027.

Glen, would you want to add to that?

Glen DeVos

Yes. I think in terms of the central value prop, it really varies a little bit by end market. If you think about the 3 markets that we serve, industrial tends to be -- industrial has a large range inside of it. For instance, for us in the industrial market is off-road autonomy. So it's trucking, that's off-road, that's autonomous, that need LiDAR or it's heavy equipment, mining, that kind of thing. Those are long-lived programs that have multiyear development activities and testing. And so you have clear line of sight to what that revenue is going to be on that platform typically for 4 to 5 years.

On the other hand -- on the other extreme with industrial, you have distributors that are selling 10, 15, 20 at a time to automation companies or small buyers that are spot buys. And so you try to aggregate demand and come up with a schedule. But those are very short time to purchase order and purchase order to invoice. And so it really varies quite a bit across industrial. Security and defense tend to be a little bit more predictable, not unlike what I talked about with kind of the industrial off-road vehicle base where you have longer with programs, longer range of longer line of sight to what that revenue is going to look like. And so for us, as we kind of put together the picture for 2027, Christine, as you mentioned, there -- it's really nice to have a significant portion of that revenue stream more or less in either NPOs or in high confidence. And then the balance really, we then say, look, based on customer input to us and what they need and what they want to buy, here's where we think that will be. And our goal, of course, is always to overdrive that piece of it because that's where we can get, I think, some overachievement. But again, across those 3 end markets, it's really a lot of variability in terms of those lead times and the sales cycle, if you will.

Christine Chambers

That's great. Thanks, Glen. The next question is about the capital raising alternatives. And how should the investment community think about the framework management applies when evaluating future capital raise alternatives to maintain sufficient operating liquidity? And maybe I'll start with that because I've mentioned a few of those in our remarks earlier, but I think there's 3 aspects to it.

We're, first of all, really prioritizing and maximizing those nondilutive sources of liquidity. And we have some of those examples with Blue-Band and the strategic alliances and strategic partners and licensing opportunities. We do also, as a reminder, we have the ATM as a $40 million facility. And then I think the third one is around us developing and focusing on communicating fundamental financial results in terms of growth, cost reductions and about cleanup of the balance sheet to help sustain -- to help attract and bring long-term capital. So that's really our focus as we think about capital phase alternatives for operating liquidity.

The next question for MicroVision. MicroVision previously indicated that certain industrial customers evaluating MOVIA L choose to wait for MOVIA S? Has MicroVision received any material preorders or other firm commitments for MOVIA S? And when will be shipped and if so?

Glen DeVos

Yes. And that's not uncommon where a new customer looks at MOVIA L and then let's say MOVIA S and what's the latest generation. So not a surprise. The good news for us is I'm confident in our ability to move all the MOVIA L inventory that we have. So that's not a concern for me. But what's great is the excitement around MOVIA S. And I mentioned that we already have engagements and demand coming out of 70 POs. We've already -- or 70 customers. We have already shipped to over 18 of those customers in terms of evaluation units and sample. So as we kind of ramp up the build plan now, the plan is we'll continue to ship out to the balance and more. And that's what that is, is this is that phase of moving through evaluation and then getting into POs. And really, for us, it's 2 paths. One is direct to the OEM. The other is a lot of interest from large distributors that want to -- that think, hey, this is a great product that they can move and so we're going down both channels. And -- but right now, really, really excited about the fact that I think last time we talked, it was about 25 customers. Now it's about 70 -- over 70 now.

So it's just a real strong growth in looking for that product and all of its capabilities. And so that, I think, is one of the real bright spots for the quarter is being able to get that into people's hands.

Christine Chambers

Thanks, Glen. The next question is, does the FCC action or foreign product robotics component create a measurable tailwind. We talked a little bit about that tailwind earlier today. But to what extent the customers favor domestic supplies? And how much competition does MicroVision face from Chinese LiDAR manufacturers compared with Western and Chinese competition? How much does MicroVision see itself as differentiated?

Glen DeVos

Yes, that's a big question. So let me just go through the different pieces of that. Yes, the FCC action on foreign produced robotic components definitely creates a tailwind for us, and we're seeing that effect. So that's one of the reasons, as I mentioned earlier, whether it's FCC or the desire for NDAA or it's those types of things, that's one of the tailwinds that we're seeing drive interest in the product and engagement because if you're developing a robotic system for the U.S., the last thing you need to be told after you've done all the work is, well, you can't use that component. So MicroVision becomes a safe patch for them.

To what extent the customers favor domestic suppliers, it depends a little bit by industry. In automotive, generally speaking, there's not a lot of -- their supply chain management will buy from anywhere in the world. It's a global market. It's a global supply market. You got to be -- you're competing head-to-head with every global supplier out there. When you get into more specialty markets like robotaxi, that's a bit of a different animal. They're going to be a little more concerned about the impact of a Chinese LiDAR and a U.S. robotaxi. So you're going to see there's a greater degree of sensitivity there. As you get into security and defense, there's a very high level of sensitivity there. And in fact, defense is kind of the extreme.

So as we think about the end markets and path to revenue for us, we're looking very clearly at, okay, how do I leverage that? Now geopolitical advantages are never permanent that over time, that changes. So at the end of the day, we have to be competitive with Chinese or with rest of world LiDAR providers. And so when you think about that, when part of your question was how do we see ourselves as differentiated. Well, one of it is through the products that we make, the technologies, 1550, the -- it's a real advantage in defense and those applications where we don't want to be able to see and have visibility through night vision goggles for those types of detection because 905 and 940, you can see very easily. It's in the visual life spectrum. Everything -- the sensor and everything it illuminates gets -- can be seen.

So we play to those advantages as well as the open software framework approach that we have taken to essentially make our products easier to integrate into our customers' systems. And so we look at each aspect of the end market, identify those markets where we think we have differentiated advantages and that can maintain better pricing and margin, and that's where we're going after. So it's -- and that's where we have to just keep innovating every year to stay ahead.

Christine Chambers

And pivoting to production readiness, are there concerns about production readiness in 2026 and 2027?

Glen DeVos

No. I think on the production readiness side, from a capitalization, from an operational side, we -- I think we have a good plan for that and managing that. Now depending on demand goes, if we have more demand, we'll have to react to that. That's certainly a good problem to have. But I'm confident that the team can do it. And this is one of the -- I mean, this is one of the benefits in the Luminar acquisition is we were able to acquire a facility that had in place a full operations capability and then consolidate the capital equipment into that operation with very low levels of investment. So we were able to bring together those lines and that equipment. So we're staffing, we're training, we're prepared for that on the operations side. The bigger risk, and this is always the case now, is on the supply chain. And that's primarily driven by a little bit by tariffs and just managing costs. That's kind of tamped down a little bit, but that's still there. But then also data center demand. Circuit boards are now a constraint with a lot of price pressure on circuit boards and material cost pressure there. FPGAs and memory -- I mean, there's -- the data center demand and the growth in data centers just has a lot -- has put a lot of stress on the electronic supply base for those particular components.

So that's why earlier in the year, we did prebuys on FPGAs. We did prebuys on memory. We did a number of spot buys to make sure that we had access to enough material so we could start production effectively while demand grows. But that's the one area that we'll continue to focus on and strengthen is supply chain and supply chain risk management.

Christine Chambers

Great. And I think we've got time just for one more question, so I'll pivot to a slightly different area. How is the perception software stack monetized along with the MOVIA S hardware for nonautomotive customers? And what role does software play in improving customer adoption and reducing system costs and improving gross margins?

Glen DeVos

Sure. So software will play a role depending on the end market for security and ITS related applications like tolling. MOVIA Pro is a great product for toll booth, basically monitoring. And that's where ITS software and analytics plays a great role. In defense, it's really all about the real-time mapping and analytics that MOVIA Air delivers and MOVIA Air Plus deliver. So creating that map, building that map, transmitting it securely to the ground or to the EGBs. Broader industrial, it's being able to put safety features like LCAS or like features that our customers want to put on to our products. And that's where open software framework comes in. And so we talked about software plays an important role in reducing cost of the product. Software can play an important role in terms of customer adoption through open software framework, which in turn reduces system and development costs for our customers and do those things correctly, that's how you expand gross margins.

Christine Chambers

Glen, so I'm just going to hand it back to you for some closing remarks.

Glen DeVos

Thanks, Christine. I want to emphasize as we close out today, 3 key points that we've discussed. First, when you look at where we are today, we have the product and technology portfolio to compete and win in our end markets. That's what we're seeing in this quarter. Second, we're now delivering sustainable and diversified revenue growth across that expanding customer base. So very healthy, resilient and diversified revenue growth. And then finally, we have the organization aligned and our operating cost model aligned to deliver the revenue, while driving to positive cash flow. It's been an amazing year for MicroVision so far. And personally, I could not be more excited about our future. So with that, Christine, I'll turn it back to you to wrap up.

Christine Chambers

Thanks, Glenn. And this concludes our question-and-answer session. I want to thank everybody for their participation in our results call and everybody's continued support of MicroVision. With that, I'll hand back to the operator.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. All parties may disconnect, and have a great day.

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