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Penguin Solutions, Inc.: Q3 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q3 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 7 July 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 7 raised, 1 lowered. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Record quarterly net sales and profit: Net sales reached $479 million, up 48% year over year. GAAP operating income was $51 million, up 417%, and non-GAAP operating income was $64 million, up 67%. Source
  • Integrated Memory the largest gain: Integrated Memory net sales were $275.1 million, up from $171.6 million in the second quarter and $130.1 million a year earlier. Source
  • Integrated Memory logo wins: Integrated Memory added 16 new logos over the trailing four quarters, and five of those customers subsequently increased their business with the company. Source
  • Non-GAAP gross margin below prior year: Non-GAAP gross margin was 28.1%, against 31.2% in the second quarter and 31.7% a year earlier. GAAP gross margin was 27.8%. Source
  • Operating cash flow negative in quarter: Operating cash used by continuing operations was $74.8 million in the third quarter, against $55.0 million provided in the second. Nine-month operating cash provided was $11.2 million. Source
  • AI Factory Platform strategy cited: Management said profitable growth reinforces its confidence that the AI Factory Platform strategy is working. Source
  • Memory described as a bottleneck: Management said that as inference and agentic AI workloads grow, memory is increasingly one of the primary performance and scalability bottlenecks. Source

“Penguin Solutions delivered a record quarter, exceeding expectations for both net sales and EPS.”

Kash Shaikh, CEO of Penguin Solutions

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Net sales growth SourceFiscal 2026 full year22% YoY Growth +/-2%Raised from 12% YoY Growth +/-5%
GAAP gross margin SourceFiscal 2026 full year26.5% +/- 0.5%Raised from 26% +/- 0.5%
Non-GAAP gross margin SourceFiscal 2026 full year28.5% +/- 0.5%Raised from 28% +/- 0.5%
GAAP operating expenses SourceFiscal 2026 full year$303 million +/- $5 millionLowered from $310 million +/- $5 million
Non-GAAP operating expenses SourceFiscal 2026 full year$260 million +/- $5 millionRaised from $250 million +/- $5 million
GAAP diluted EPS SourceFiscal 2026 full year$1.97 +/- $0.05Raised from $1.30 +/- $0.15
Non-GAAP diluted EPS SourceFiscal 2026 full year$2.60 +/- $0.05Raised from $2.15 +/- $0.15
Diluted shares SourceFiscal 2026 full year59 million GAAP; 56 million non-GAAPRaised from 53 million

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance raised: Full-year net sales growth guidance raised to 22% plus or minus 2%, from 12% plus or minus 5%. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year GAAP diluted EPS guidance raised to $1.97, from $1.30; non-GAAP diluted EPS raised to $2.60, from $2.15. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year non-GAAP gross margin guidance raised to 28.5% plus or minus 0.5%, from 28% plus or minus 0.5%. Source
  • Guidance lowered: Full-year GAAP operating expense guidance lowered to $303 million, from $310 million; non-GAAP operating expense guidance raised to $260 million, from $250 million. Source
  • New: The company became an NVIDIA AI Factory Specialized Partner. Source
  • New: ClusterWareAI added an AI Factory Operations Agent with a conversational interface, the first of a planned family of agents. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Record quarterly net sales and profit: Net sales reached $479 million, up 48% year over year. GAAP operating income was $51 million, up 417%, and non-GAAP operating income was $64 million, up 67%. Source
  • Diluted EPS higher on both bases: Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.84, up 79% from $0.47 a year earlier. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.68, against $(0.01) in the year-ago quarter. Source
  • Integrated Memory more than doubled: Management said Integrated Memory net sales more than doubled year over year, while AI Infrastructure continued to build momentum. Source
  • Net sales rose from second quarter: Total net sales were $478.7 million, against $343.0 million in the second quarter and $324.3 million a year earlier. Source
  • Equity investment gain in GAAP results: GAAP results include a $3.9 million gain on disposition of an equity investment, down from $27.0 million in the second quarter. Source

Segments and product lines

  • Integrated Memory the largest gain: Integrated Memory net sales were $275.1 million, up from $171.6 million in the second quarter and $130.1 million a year earlier. Source
  • Advanced Computing rose on quarter: Advanced Computing net sales were $137.6 million, up from $115.7 million in the second quarter and $132.5 million a year earlier. Source
  • Optimized LED up on quarter: Optimized LED net sales were $66.1 million, compared with $55.7 million in the second quarter and $61.6 million a year earlier. Source

“Given robust demand and disciplined execution, we are raising our full-year outlook for both net sales and EPS.”

Kash Shaikh, CEO of Penguin Solutions

Products and customers

  • AI Factory Operations Agent added: ClusterWareAI gained an agent with a conversational interface for administrators using natural language queries, for AI cluster operations. Source
  • NVIDIA specialized partner status: The company became an NVIDIA AI Factory Specialized Partner, which management said recognizes its work on full-stack AI factory infrastructure. Source
  • Dell alliance award received: The company was recognized as Dell Technologies Global Alliances Americas AI Partner of the Year, citing its full-stack AI Factory Platforms. Source
  • Integrated Memory logo wins: Integrated Memory added 16 new logos over the trailing four quarters, and five of those customers subsequently increased their business with the company. Source
  • AI Infrastructure logo additions: AI Infrastructure added four new logos in the third quarter and 13 over the trailing four quarters, with seven of those later increasing business. Source

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Non-GAAP gross margin below prior year: Non-GAAP gross margin was 28.1%, against 31.2% in the second quarter and 31.7% a year earlier. GAAP gross margin was 27.8%. Source
  • Second quarter inventory adjustment: A $5.8 million inventory write-off for a stolen in-transit shipment, net of insurance recovery, was recorded in the second quarter and shows as an offset in the third. Source
  • Non-GAAP operating expenses rose: Non-GAAP operating expenses were $70.4 million, up from $61.7 million in the second quarter and $64.3 million a year earlier. Source
  • Non-GAAP operating margin level: Non-GAAP operating margin was 13.4%, against 13.2% in the second quarter and 11.9% a year earlier. GAAP operating margin was 10.6%. Source
  • GAAP tax rate lower on quarter: The GAAP effective tax rate was 14.0% in the third quarter, against 27.2% in the second quarter. The non-GAAP effective tax rate was 17.3%. Source

Cash flow and balance sheet

  • Operating cash flow negative in quarter: Operating cash used by continuing operations was $74.8 million in the third quarter, against $55.0 million provided in the second. Nine-month operating cash provided was $11.2 million. Source
  • Receivables higher than August: Accounts receivable, net was $703.0 million at May 29, 2026, up from $307.9 million at August 29, 2025. Source
  • Cash balance modestly lower: Cash and cash equivalents were $440.3 million at May 29, 2026, compared with $453.8 million at August 29, 2025. Source
  • Current debt rose sharply: Current debt was $148.4 million at May 29, 2026, against $19.9 million at August 29, 2025. Long-term debt was $294.8 million. Source
  • Restricted cash and equity sale proceeds: The company recorded $38.0 million of restricted cash advances in the third quarter and $39.6 million of proceeds from equity investment dispositions. Source

Capital and shareholder returns

  • Share repurchases continued: Payments to acquire common stock were $11.8 million in the third quarter, against $36.9 million in the second. Nine-month payments totaled $68.9 million. Source
  • Preferred dividends paid in cash: Cash payments of preferred stock dividends were $2.9 million in the third quarter, against $3.1 million in the second quarter. Source
  • Capital spending remains small: Capital expenditures and deposits on equipment were $2.8 million in the third quarter and $7.3 million over the nine months. Source
  • Diluted share count higher: Diluted weighted-average shares were 55.1 million in the third quarter, against 53.2 million in the second. Non-GAAP diluted shares were 52.8 million. Source

Strategy and AI platform

  • AI Factory Platform strategy cited: Management said profitable growth reinforces its confidence that the AI Factory Platform strategy is working. Source
  • Memory described as a bottleneck: Management said that as inference and agentic AI workloads grow, memory is increasingly one of the primary performance and scalability bottlenecks. Source
  • Demand for memory and AI described: The CEO described very strong AI-driven customer demand for memory and AI infrastructure solutions. Source

Coming up, as management said on 7 July 2026

  • Planned family of AI agents: The AI Factory Operations Agent is the first of a planned family of agentic AI agents for automating AI cluster operations, with no dates given. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Gross margin SourceGAAP 27.8%; non-GAAP 28.1% (third quarter of fiscal 2026)

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Management said it continued to execute its land-and-expand strategy, converting new customer wins into expanded relationships. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.