SEALSQ Corp (LAES) Q2 2026 Earnings Report, Transcript and Summary

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the SEALSQ first half 2026 financial results earnings conference call. As a reminder, this conference call contains forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results, financial condition, performance, or achievements of SEALSQ to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. SEALSQ is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. These risks are also discussed in our filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please be advised that SEALSQ's financial results release for the six months ended June 30, 2026, was issued last week and can be found by visiting the investor section of the SEALSQ website at investors.sealsq.com. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone requires operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Carlos Moreira, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of SEALSQ. Mr. Moreira, please go ahead.

Thank you very much, and good morning in the United States and good afternoon in Europe. Welcome to SEALSQ first half 2026 earning call. I am joined today by our Chief Financial Officer, John O'Hara. I will begin with our first half financial and operational highlights, followed by an update on the progress we are making in transforming SEALSQ into a global leader in post-quantum and quantum security. John will then review our financial results in greater detail, after which we will discuss our outlook and priorities for the remaining of 2026 and beyond. The first half of 2026 was an important inflection point for SEALSQ. We delivered strong revenue growth, significantly improved gross margins, and advanced our post-quantum semiconductor roadmap, achieved important certification milestones and integrated acquired businesses and expanded our capability across secure semiconductors, trusted digital infrastructure, and quantum technology. Revenue increased by 131% to $11.2 million, compared to $4.8 million in the first half of 2025. Gross profit increased by 233% to $5.4 million from $1.6 million, while gross margin expanded to approximately 48%. This growth was driven by renewed demand for our VaultIC secure element, expansion in PKI subscription and digital identity services, initial revenue from Quantix Edge Security in Murcia, Spain, and six months of contribution from IC'Alps. IC'Alps contributed approximately $2.5 million of first half revenue. More importantly, the acquisition substantially strengthened our capabilities and capacities in custom ASIC design, secure semiconductor architecture, and advanced engineering services. These capabilities are increasingly important as customers seek integrated hardware-rooted security solution rather than just a standalone cryptographic software. North America generated $5.6 million of revenue, representing 50% of the total. Europe and the Middle East and Africa generated $3.7 million or 33%, while Asia-Pacific contributed $1.9 million or 17%. We believe this is the right moment to invest decisively in building a global leadership position in post-quantum and quantum security. The quantum transition is no longer a distant research topic. Governments, defense organizations, critical infrastructure operators, financial institutions, and technology companies increasingly recognize that migration to post-quantum security requires much more than a software update. It requires secure semiconductors, hardware root of trust, quantum-resistant algorithms, trusted identities, security provisioning, certified manufacturing, sovereign infrastructure, and control over the complete technology supply chain. SEALSQ is building capability across all these layers. As of June 30, 2026, we had more than $486 million in cash equivalents, and restricted cash. This strong liquidity position gives us the flexibility to fund research and development, certification, product industrialization, acquisitions, infrastructure, manufacturing, personalization, and other selected strategic opportunities. Our strategy is to convert SEALSQ from a secure semiconductor and digital trust company into a major quantum security platform, developing a sovereign vertical stack, what we call from root to qubit, and increasingly from root to space. At the center of this transformation is what we call the Quantum Highway. The Quantum Highway is an architecture for security connecting the different layers of the emerging quantum economy. It is designed to combine post-quantum semiconductors, quantum computers, quantum photonics, interconnects, quantum secure communications, satellites, PKI, digital identity, trusted provisioning, artificial intelligence, and compliance. The objective is not simply to invest in separate quantum technology, it is to integrate them into a commercially deployable, sovereign, and interoperable infrastructure. At the silicon and hardware root of trust layer, our QS7001 secure element and QVault TPM remain central to our post-quantum commercialization strategy. During the first half, QS7001 achieved NIST SP 800-90B entropy secure source validation under ESV Certificate E333. Validated entropy is fundamental to secure key generation and cryptographic protection, particularly for systems operating in regulated defense and critical infrastructure environments. QS7001 also completed important Common Criteria, fault injection, and side channel resistance testing. This milestone brings us closer to the formal certification required by government agencies and major industrial customers before high volume deployments. We also continue advancing QVault TPM customer sampling progress and engineering samples of the post-quantum QVault TPM 185 become available. Our objective is to support the next generation of computers, servers, industrial systems, edge devices, and critical infrastructure with hardware-based protection against both classical and quantum-enabled threats. As of June 30, more than 150 customers and prospects were engaging with our post-quantum technologies, with over 30 actively evaluating or integrating QS7001 and QVault TPM. We expect initial QS7001 and QVault TPM revenue late in the second half of 2026, with more meaningful contributions beginning in 2027 as customers complete integration, qualification, and product planning. The precise timing remains subject to certification, customer validation, and procurement cycles. Since the end of the first half, we have continued to make significant progress. Our VaultIC408 secure element achieved the FIPS 140-3 validation under the NIST certificate number 5463. This is a major commercial and technology milestone. FIPS 140-3 validation is widely required for cryptographic products used by governments, defense organizations, financial institutions, and operators of critical infrastructure. The certification has strengthened our ability to address highly regulated markets and confirms that SEALSQ is building its quantum security platform on an already validated and trusted foundation. We also achieved ISO/IEC 27001 recertification, reinforcing the security and governance framework supporting our semiconductors, PKI, digital identity, and post-quantum operations. Our active commercial pipeline exceeded $225 million in potential revenue opportunities through 2029 as of September 9, 2026, including more than $100 million associated with post-quantum projects already. This pipeline expands secure element, custom ASIC, PKI, digital identity, trusted provision, post-quantum semiconductor, and critical infrastructure security. It is a management estimate rather than revenue guidance and remains subject to certification, customer validation, commercial negotiation, procurement decision, and execution risk, but nevertheless, it demonstrates the scale and breadth of the opportunity we are pursuing. We are also developing a strategic relation with major semiconductors and technology companies. Our work with GlobalFoundries supports the migration of future secure and post-quantum designs to advanced manufacturing platforms. Our collaboration with Lattice Semiconductor supports post-quantum security for FPGA-based systems, while our work with Parrot provides access to important drone, robotics, and sovereign technology applications for defense. We are also advancing major commercial opportunities for QVault TPM, VaultIC409, and our broader post-quantum roadmap, including potential applications in computing, industrial systems, connected devices, and critical infrastructure. Beyond our core semiconductor roadmap, we have accelerated the development of our SEALQuantum Sovereign Vertical Stack and its Quantum Highway architecture. At the semiconductor design layer, IC'Alps provides secure ASIC design and engineering capabilities. At the quantum computing layer, our investment in Quobly and EeroQ provides two differentiated semiconductor-based quantum computer architectures. At the quantum interconnect layer, we completed the acquisition of Miraex SA. Miraex SA brings quantum photonics interconnect technology that can help connect quantum processors, sensors, data centers, and communication systems. This is an essential component of the Quantum Highway because quantum systems must eventually be interconnected, not operated as isolated machines. As the trusted data and compliance layer, we have increased our ownership in Wecan Group to 55.5%, gaining control of the company. Wecan strengthens our capability in AI power compliance, secure data exchange, trusted digital identity, and post-quantum ready financial infrastructure. At the sovereign design, personalization, and provision layer, Quantix Edge Security in Murcia generated initial first half-year revenue. This is approximately a EUR 40 million initiative, is intended to support Europe-based semiconductor design, personalization, and security provision in one centralized location. We are now evaluating an expanded Quantix 2.0 vision that could bring together additional semiconductor, quantum AI, and satellite capability in Murcia. In India, we advanced the negotiations to build SEALQuantum initiative, which is intended to create localized post-quantum semiconductor capability and give SEALSQ access to one of the world's fastest-growing semiconductor and digital technology market on which sovereignty is important. At the space and quantum communication layer, our relation with the WISeSat supports the development of post-quantum secure satellite and IoT connectivity and communications. The objective is to extend our hardware root of trust from terrestrial devices to satellite infrastructure, creating root-to-space security architecture. Together, this capability forms the basis of our Quantum Highway, secure ASIC design and engineering through IC'Alps, hardware root of trust through both VaultIC, QS7001, and QVault TPM, post-quantum PKI, digital identity and secure provisioning, quantum computer technology through Quobly and EeroQ, quantum photonics interconnect through Miraex SA, AI power compliance and trusted data through Wecan, sovereign semiconductor infrastructure through Quantix Edge and SEALQuantum, and post-quantum satellite communication through WISeSat. This is what we mean by SEALQuantum Sovereign Vertical Stack. Control over the essential layers required to generate, protect, process, transmit, and authenticate sensitive data in the quantum era. During 2026, we increased the capital allocation to the SEALQuantum Sovereign Vertical Stack to $200 million. More than $60 million has already been committed across IC'Alps, Miraex SA, Quobly, Quantix Edge, ColibriTD, EeroQ, WISeSat, and Wecan. We are applying this disciplined investment strategy focused on technologies that complement our semiconductor and security roadmap, create commercial synergies, and can ultimately become integrated component on the Quantum Highway. Our participation as a lead investor in Quobly with $150 million Series A financing and our increased commitment to EeroQ reflected our conviction that secure semiconductor, post-quantum cryptography, and quantum computing and quantum communications will increasingly converge among themselves. Our ambition is not to become a passive financial investor in quantum company, obviously. Our objective is to assemble, integrate, and control a strategic technology that can generate products, intellectual property, customer, and require revenue for SEALSQ. We also continue to expand the commercial visibility of this strategy. Our collaboration with the BWT Alpine Formula One Team has progressed beyond the cybersecurity into quantum and multi-physics simulation. Formula One offers an exceptional environment for demonstrating how quantum technologies can address highly complex industrial challenges involving aerodynamics, materials, energy optimization, and real-time decision-making. These applications are relevant for beyond motor sport. The same capabilities can ultimately be applied to aerospace, defense, mobility, advanced manufacturing, energy, and defense. Looking ahead, our priorities are clear. First, we complete the required certification and customer qualification for QS7001 and QVault TPM and begin their commercial ramp. Second, we convert a growing post-quantum pipeline into production contracts and long-term customer relationship. Third, we integrate IC'Alps, Miraex SA, and Wecan into a unified product and technology roadmap. Four, expand sovereign semiconductor design, personalization, and provisioning capabilities in Europe, the United States, India, and the rest of Asia. Fifth, connect our investment in quantum computer, photonics, AI, trusted data, and satellite communications through the Quantum Highway. Finally, continue deploying our capital selectively and strategically with objective of creating a vertically integrated quantum security company with defensible technology, sovereign infrastructure, and global commercial reach. SEALSQ entered 2026 primarily recognized as secure semiconductor and post-quantum company. We intend to exit this transformation year as a broader quantum security leader, one capable of protecting the entire digital life cycle from the semiconductor root of trust to quantum computer and space-based communication. We believe our financial strength, technology portfolio, certification, partnership, revenue, and strategic investment give us a differentiated position in this rapidly developing quantum market. The first half of 2026 established the foundation. The next phase is focused on integration, certification, commercialization, and scale. I will now turn the call over to John for a detailed review of our first half financial results. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Carlos, and hello to everybody joining us today. On the financials, SEALSQ reported first half revenue of $11.2 million, an increase of 131% from $4.8 million in the first half of 2025. As Carlos has already explained, this growth was driven by renewed demand for our VaultIC secure element products, continued expansion in PKI subscriptions and digital identity services, initial revenue from the Quantix Edge Security joint venture, and approximately $2.5 million of revenue from IC'Alps in six months consolidation versus nothing in last year as it was pre-acquisition. From a geographic perspective, North America generated $5.6 million of revenue, representing 50% of the total. Europe, the Middle East and Africa generated $3.7 million, and Asia Pacific contributed $1.9 million or 17%. Our gross profit increased by 233% to $5.4 million, compared with $1.6 million in the prior year, and gross margin expanded to approximately 48%. This improvement reflects a more favorable revenue mix, including ASIC design and engineering services, as well as continued contribution from secure elements, PKI and digital identity. Margins in the ASIC sector in particular, are higher than our traditional semiconductor margins, and these have had a positive impact on our margin, and this should continue as this revenue stream continues to grow. Overall operating income was $1.4 million, compared with $1.7 million in the first half of 2025, remaining relatively consistent year-on-year. Turning to expenses, R&D expense was $8.7 million, compared with $4.7 million in the prior year period. The increase reflects the consolidation of IC'Alps, post-quantum product development, certification activities, acquisition related amortization, and continued investment in our technology roadmap. We continue to expect this to be an area of heavy investment in the future as we look to widen our product range and continue on the roadmap that Carlos set out before. Selling and marketing expense increased to $7.2 million from $6.0 million, reflecting expanded commercialization efforts, customer engagement and market development. General administration expense was $23.1 million compared with $13.8 million, and this was primarily due to acquired business consolidation, expanded corporate infrastructure, intangible asset amortization, and legal, audit, advisory, and transaction-related costs due to the activities undertaken in the first half of the year. In particular, the acquisition of IC'Alps, Miraex SA, and Wecan contributed almost $3 million of additional G&A expenditure, alongside $1.3 million of intangible asset amortization relating to these transactions. As a result, operating loss was $32.2 million, compared with $21.2 million in the first half of 2025, while the net loss was $27.8 million, compared with $20 million in the prior year. Higher operating expenses were partly offset by the $3.8 million increase in gross profit and also higher interest income earned on our liquidity reserves. Our EBITDA loss was $29.5 million, compared with $20.9 million in the prior year period. The reconciliation included approximately $0.4 million of depreciation expense and $2.3 million of amortization expense added back. We end June 30th with $486 million in cash equivalents, and restricted cash, including short-term investments. Total liquidity was approximately $488.5 million. This strong liquidity position remains a significant advantage. It enables us to continue investing in R&D, certifications, infrastructure, manufacturing, secure personalization, integration, and selected strategic opportunities while reducing our near-term dependence on external financing. We will continue to allocate capital carefully toward commercialization, recurring revenue, strategic control, and long-term value creation. Turning to our outlook, we are reaffirming our previously announced fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of $27 million-$36 million. This represents expected growth of approximately 50%-100% over the audited 2025 revenue of $18.3 million. Our outlook is supported by the full year consolidation of IC'Alps, continued demand for our VaultIC products, growth in recurring PKI and certificate management revenue, the initial commercialization of QS7001 and QVault TPM, contributions from the Quantix Edge Security project, and potential custom post-quantum ASIC design programs. As always, this outlook reflects our current expectations and remains subject to customer demand, qualification and certification timing, supply chain conditions, commercial execution, order timing, and other risks described in our SEC filings. I will now turn back to Carlos to discuss our growth opportunities and strategic priorities.

Thank you, John. Looking ahead, our priorities for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027 are clear. First, we are focused on commercializing QS7001 and QVault TPM as previously mentioned. The market is moving from awareness to implementation from defense critical infrastructure, industrial systems, identity devices, secure communication, IoT, and autonomous technology. Post-quantum security often requires a hardware-based root of trust. SEALSQ is well-positioned through our secure element, post-quantum cryptography, PKI, and secure provisioning ASIC design capability through IC'Alps and growing international infrastructure. Second, we remain focused on certification. For regulated customer certification is a critical convention point, our QS7001 entropy validation and Common Criteria testing process are important steps, and we will continue working towards additional customer qualifications and certification milestones. Third, we are focusing on converting our pipeline into customer deployment and production commitments, our active pipeline exceeded 225 million as of September 9, including more than $100 million in post-quantum opportunities, which are going to be increased even further next year as there is an executive order by President Trump requiring PQC deployment and implementation in critical infrastructure in the United States. This is not only a revenue guidance, but it also reflects the growing interest across our portfolio and the increased need for trusted post-quantum ready infrastructure and to follow the guidelines from the U.S. government. Fourth, we will execute a SEALQuantum Sovereign Vertical Stack strategy with discipline. We have allocated $200 million because we believe critical technologies, secure semiconductor design, trusted personalization, quantum capabilities, and strategic supply chains will become increasingly valuable. Every investment must strengthen our roadmap technology position for commercial opportunities or time to market. Finally, our approximately $495 million liquidity position gives us time and flexibility to execute. We can continue developing products, advancing certification, recruiting staff, integrating businesses, supporting partnerships, and building the infrastructure needed to secure global customers. SEALSQ is building a platform for the intersection of semiconductor-secure post-quantum cryptography, trusted digital identity, and quantum technology. We made meaningful progress in the first half. Revenue grew, gross margin expanded, product advanced through technical and certification milestones, and customer engagement increased, and strategic capabilities broadened. The next phase is execution, converting technology investment into revenue, production, commitments, recurring services, and long-term shareholder value. Thank you very much for your continued support and interest in SEALSQ. Operator, we are now ready to take questions. Thank you very much.

Thank you. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you'd like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star key. Our first question comes from the line of Matthew Galinko with Maxim Group. Please proceed with your question.

Hey, thanks for taking my questions, and congratulations on all the progress. Maybe firstly, is there any way you could share what the pipeline looks like for the broader quantum stack? I think the $225 million number is for the post-quantum security piece, but I'm curious, for the other components like the quantum photonics interconnect, are you engaging with customers? Are there initial conversations happening? I'm curious, when do you think that could be commercialized in the future?

Hey, Matt. Thank you very much for your question. Yeah, the quantum ecosystem that we are building, companies like Miraex SA, they are generating initial revenue. As you know, the quantum industry is not really revenue-rich because these companies are not yet able to generate enough qubits that will justify anyone to pay the price to buy a quantum computer. This is still very much a science work and R&D work buut it's essential, right? Because as soon as these quantum companies start to generate a number of qubits, you can start to do multiple applications, like what we announced on Formula One, with bringing quantum to a sport, extreme sport, and redesign the penetration of the car into the air. All these things are new things, and you can start to do with a limited number of qubits, developing new medical products, new materials. The industries are around there, right? As you know, even a lot of very large quantum-related companies do not have revenue or very little revenue, or if they have revenue, it is not actually from quantum, but from fabs and another expanded facility. What is very interesting in this industry is that because we have a quantum security technology and post-quantum semiconductors very well established with amazing technology, this is allowing us to fully understand what is going to be the vertical on these technologies, and they are going to start to accelerate revenue. This is why we invested in Quobly. Quobly, as you know, is a co-investment between us and STMicroelectronics. They are developing qubits at the silicon level with CMOS technology. We also invested in EeroQ with a similar design. These companies are advancing exponentially, right? This is something that will diversify your revenue. While our QS7001 PQC revenue, PKI revenue, identity revenue is well established and will continue growing as soon as those certifications are finalized, you will see a new class of revenue adding to the company through what we call the SEALQuantum ecosystem, right? ASIC is another one. ASIC allows us to. You can see already that an important amount of our revenue is coming now from the ASIC. There are not many ASIC companies in the world, actually, that have a trust model and cryptographic root key capability as we have. These are new applications that they are coming, for instance, design ASIC for the automobile industry or the medical industry. Those are wins that they have done being ordered by IC'Alps. It is hard to understand sector for the reason that we all know, because it is a very fragmented sector. There are companies doing quantum sensing, there are companies doing quantum networking, there are quantum number generators. Those are kind of pieces, spare parts of the future vertical stack that we are building, right? Some of them belongs to us IP-wise. In others, we have technology investment, but as it was in the case of Quobly, right, we invested on them, but they also acquired $5 million technology from us because they understood that quantum security and verticalization was critical for them to sell the first quantum computers. Similar situations are happening in the U.S. with EeroQ, and this is going to be more and more the case where quantum security will be generating revenue for quantum companies, and quantum companies will be acquiring more and more revenue from us.

Got it. Thank you. Maybe if we could also just expand a little bit on the Quantix Edge and just really the personalization opportunity beyond Spain. I think you mentioned expansion within Europe, potentially, and India. Maybe can you just go back over where you are seeing opportunities to build out those facilities and centers and, just geographically, where do you think you can be a year or two years from now with that?

Absolutely. As you know, one of the big issues in quantum is sovereign vertical technology because quantum computers, the day that they are fully developed will be $100 million or $200 million a piece. It is a very expensive hardware, which requires PhDs and very specialized staff. Obviously not every company will have the resources to acquire their own quantum computer. What is happening is that the industry is coming with a quantum-as-a-service type of model, where you have one quantum computer or several quantum computers in one specific territory, and this quantum computer will be acting as a vertical stack in a sovereign way. Obviously, United States is a huge market, so a lot of companies will afford to buy a $100 million quantum computer. But some countries, they will need to only have one or two hubs on where those quantum computers will operate. This is a bit the case of the project in Quantix. Quantix, as you know, is a joint venture between us and the Spanish government. It is a very interesting project because it is expanding very fast. We started with a semiconductor post-quantum, but we are also adding other elements. Actually, in the technology roadmap, we will be adding the possibility of developing new neo clouds. This is a very big subject now that they are secure by the cryptographic root key capabilities of WISeKey and using secure hardware, PQC secure hardware enabled for SEALSQ. So we are a bit expanding those centers into what you call deep tech centers. We have one very successful deployment. There was a EUR 40 million deployment. This is going to be expanded in the future. SETT has invested already $2 billion in Spain, the Spanish government, in creating sovereign infrastructure. Murcia is the preferred hub for the entire country. You will see a huge progression there, which will also contribute very substantially in our revenue generation and diversification. But the beauty of that model is that we have the footprint on replicating that model anywhere in the world. The good news is that countries, we go to the Middle East, we go to Asia, we go to South Korea, we go to India, all of them, they are telling us, this is actually the model we want. We want a vertical stack which is sovereign, that allows our country to be totally independent in the quantum computer era. Because a quantum computer is the one that will, due to the enormous compute capability, will accelerate AI. AI will become much more powerful with quantum computers. Quantum computers will be able to completely revolutionize the medical sector. They don't want to have this technology outside the country. They want to have it in the country. Those centers, which are started to be, I think the angle which is very unique on us, we started from the quantum security because that is where it is a concern now, with the new executive order in the United States, with President Trump saying, you guys needs to be by 2029 post-quantum ready, otherwise you will not be able to participate in the future critical infrastructure in the United States because you can be hacked, right? The harvest and the crypt now issue that everybody knows about it could happen as early as 2029, 2030. That means that countries needs to be ready. In the United States, obviously, there's a lot of things that are going to happen in the following months because this executive order is accelerating the demand from big players on post-quantum technology, and there is not available post-quantum technology secure elements like the one we produce. There's no competition yet there. We will be able to accelerate our revenue generation in the United States and as you know, we signed a partnership agreement with GlobalFoundries. GlobalFoundries is number three founder in the world, which is now very interested. They received, I think, $350 million from the U.S. government on quantum investments, and they are very interested to convert their foundry into quantum foundries as well, so they can also develop the next generation quantum chips. Very close relation with them, and this is helping us to slowly enter into the United States in a way that we will very likely replicate this personalization center in the U.S. soil.

Great. Thank you.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our question and answer session. I'll turn the floor back to Mr. Moreira for final comments.

Okay. Thank you very much, everybody, for joining us today. As I mentioned before, the first half of 2026 demonstrated the progress SEALSQ is making across our core business and our long-term strategy. We increased revenue by 131%. We are one of the quantum companies that generate revenue. The others, they are not. We are expanding our gross margin, advancing our post-quantum product and certification roadmap, and continue building our strategic ecosystem, and maintain, at the same time, a very strong liquidity position. We conclude that quantum security is no longer a distant theoretical issue. Governments, enterprises, critical infrastructure operators are increasingly preparing from the transition to post-quantum cryptography and trusted hardware-rooted services. SEALSQ has the product, the engineering capability, with over 200 engineers, the certification roadmap, the customer pipeline, the strategic partnership, and capital position to participate meaningfully in this transition. To our employees, partner, customer, and shareholder, thank you for your continued commitment and support. We look forward to updating you on our progress through the remaining of 2026, and this conclude our today call. Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you very much for the operator to organize this call.

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.