KLIC

Kulicke & Soffa is a leading supplier of semiconductor assembly and packaging equipment (wire bonders, advanced packaging tools) sitting at the bottom of a brutal cyclical downturn. Revenue fell another 7.4% to $654M in FY2025 — less than half the $1.52B peak in FY2021 — and the company is barely above breakeven, with operating income of -$3.22M and net income of just $213K (EPS ~$0.00). The high fixed-cost base management explicitly cites means profitability swings violently with volume, and the trough has erased nearly all earnings.

What protects the downside is a fortress balance sheet. Liabilities/equity is just 0.34x, the company holds $216M cash with minimal debt, and it sustained a 42.5% gross margin and $150M of R&D through the downturn — preserving its technology position for the next upcycle. Notably, operating cash flow surged 265.9% to $114M (working-capital release), funding $97.1M of buybacks (shares down 2.8%) and a continued dividend. So the company is cash-generative and shareholder-friendly even at the trough.