Electronic Equipment & Instruments

JEOL Ltd. has launched HAXIS, a new low-angle ion-milling scanning electron microscope for semiconductor failure analysis that combines LIM delayering, SEM imaging, and passive voltage contrast to deliver clear, highly reproducible observations with reduced damage and contamination. By integrating argon-based low-angle ion milling with PVC-guided, layer-by-layer analysis, HAXIS aims to speed up quick-turnaround failure localization in advanced semiconductor devices. JEOL is targeting about 15 units in annual sales for HAXIS, a modest contribution against the company's much larger existing revenue base. The launch reinforces JEOL's relevance in advanced semiconductor failure analysis, though investors are still watching execution against FY2027 guidance, integration of prior launches like LazEdge and the JCM-7000Plus, and margin management after a weak Q1 2026. The Simply Wall St Community currently carries a single JEOL fair value estimate of ¥8,740.

Wrap Technologies, Inc. announced the appointment of John "Chappy" Chapman as Vice President of Training and Missions, tasking the veteran SWAT commander and multi-state POST instructor with leading the national expansion of the company's non-lethal response doctrine and training programs. Chapman, who began his public safety career in 1992 after serving in the United States Navy and is a certified POST instructor in 30 states, will oversee a standardized four-level training and credentialing architecture, expansion of the company's digital Learning Management System, state Peace Officer Standards and Training certification initiatives, and agency-wide adoption of WRAP's non-lethal response doctrine. That four-level model runs from Level 1 law enforcement users, who complete two hours of digital prerequisite learning plus eight hours of in-person training, up to a Level 4 credentialing board that certifies Level 3 master instructors; Level 2 instructors and Level 1 users recertify every two years, while Level 3 and Level 4 personnel recertify annually. Chapman has been a principal author of WRAP's non-lethal response doctrine, which is currently under review for POST certification in California with additional state submissions anticipated, and which incorporates non-lethal technologies such as the BolaWrap 150 into a standardized framework for early intervention and lawful subject control. Jared Novick, President of Wrap Technologies, said the company is building a national training and credentialing infrastructure intended to let law enforcement agencies institutionalize non-lethal response as a repeatable capability, adding that Chapman's appointment is an important step in scaling WRAP's technology, doctrine, and training programs across law enforcement.

Universal Scientific Industrial announced on October 9, disclosing consolidated operating revenue data for September 2026 and the first three quarters. The company's consolidated operating revenue in September 2026 was 7.487 billion yuan, an increase of 25.64% from the same period last year and up 15.03% month on month. Consolidated operating revenue from January to September 2026 was 46.88 billion yuan, up 7.42% year on year. Among this, consolidated operating revenue in the third quarter of 2026, from July to September, was 19.544 billion yuan, up 18.97% year on year and up 39.73% from the second quarter. In the first half of 2026, Universal Scientific Industrial achieved revenue of 27.336 billion yuan and net profit attributable to the parent company of 822 million yuan.

Fullhan Micro announced that its controlling subsidiary Xinhang Zhixing plans to introduce investor Hanlian Fund through a capital increase and share expansion. Hanlian Fund intends to contribute 88 million yuan to subscribe for 3.948718 million yuan of newly added registered capital, and will hold a 22% stake in Xinhang Zhixing after the capital increase. Fullhan Micro has waived its preemptive right to subscribe for this capital increase, and its shareholding ratio will decrease from 71.4286% to 55.7143%. Xinhang Zhixing will remain a controlling subsidiary within the consolidated financial statements. This transaction constitutes a related-party transaction and has been approved by the board of directors.

Absen announced that it expects net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company for the first three quarters of 2026 to be between 245 million yuan and 265 million yuan, up 32.31% to 43.11% year on year. The company said the profit growth mainly benefited from year-on-year revenue growth, higher overall gross margin, deeper high-quality regional market coverage, and visible results from digital transformation. The gross margin of its main LED display products improved year on year, lifting the overall gross margin and continuing to strengthen product profitability. Among this, third-quarter net profit is expected to be between 100 million yuan and 120 million yuan, while second-quarter net profit was 105 million yuan. Based on that, third-quarter net profit is expected to change by minus 4% to 14% quarter on quarter.

Absen announced on October 9 that it expects net profit attributable to the parent for the first three quarters of 2026 to be between 245 million and 265 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.31% to 43.11%. The announcement noted that the earnings growth was mainly driven by year-on-year revenue growth, an improved overall gross margin, and deeper market coverage in high-quality regions. During the reporting period, the company increased investment in markets such as North America and Europe, and advanced digital transformation and artificial intelligence applications, optimizing business processes and operational management while improving per-capita efficiency. In the first half of 2026, Absen achieved revenue of 1.973 billion yuan and net profit attributable to the parent of 145 million yuan.

Powerfleet said on Thursday that glassmaker Encirc has selected its Unity portfolio to strengthen forklift and on-site safety across Encirc's manufacturing operations. Encirc produces more than 3 billion glass containers a year, and in such high-volume production environments where forklifts, pedestrians and production lines share the same floor, the company will use Powerfleet's AI-powered Unity platform and AI video solutions to bring operator, equipment and safety data into one workflow. The selection was announced in a press release.

Powerfleet, Inc. announced that Encirc, a leading UK glass container manufacturer, has selected its AI-powered Unity platform and AI video solutions to strengthen forklift and on-site safety across its manufacturing operations. Encirc produces more than three billion glass containers a year and bottles 18 of the UK's top 20 wine brands. In high-volume production environments where forklifts, pedestrians and production lines share the same floor, Encirc will use the Unity platform to bring operator, equipment and safety data into one workflow, giving site leaders predictive intelligence to reduce operational risk and act before incidents occur. Powerfleet Chief Executive Officer Steve Towe said Encirc's decision shows the confidence major manufacturers place in Powerfleet to protect their people and improve how their operations run. Louise Reeves, Head of Health, Safety & Environment at Encirc, said the company is reviewing its fleet and standardizing safety controls, and that Powerfleet's AI video safety technology helps counter the potential risk and severity of workplace transport incidents.

Vontier unveiled Vontier Vantage Point, a new mobility intelligence platform, at the National Association of Convenience Stores Trade Show 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The platform processes more than 250 billion data points drawn from nearly 60,000 connected sites and 1.35 million monitored devices, consolidating information on fueling, retail transactions, fleet activity, charging infrastructure, car wash, equipment performance and market activity into a single system. According to Vontier, the scale of the platform lets retailers and operators spot emerging shifts in consumer behavior, pricing, reliability and broader market trends earlier than most publicly available reports. Rasha Hasaneen, Vontier's Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, said data has become one of the industry's most valuable assets yet much of it remains fragmented across systems, businesses and markets, and that the platform is intended to help businesses understand what is changing, why it matters and what is next. Vontier said all insights are based on synthesized data to honor customer data ownership, segmentation and privacy, and it will gather questions from retailers, fleet operators and technology providers at the show to shape the platform's first analyses and benchmark studies.

Keysight Technologies announced the Keysight Velocity 4900 Series, a new line of cost-effective Layer 1 automation switches designed to automate physical connectivity in network test labs supporting AI, 6G, and next-generation services. The series launches with two models: the Keysight Velocity 4902, a high-speed switch supporting Ethernet speeds from 100 megabits per second to 100 gigabits per second with 72 QSFP28 ports and 288 connections with breakouts, and the Keysight Velocity 4906, a high-density switch with 288 SFP28 ports supporting speeds from 100 megabits per second to 25 gigabits per second. Both switches provide true Layer 1 forwarding through an ultra-low-latency, fully transparent switching matrix and support single-mode fiber, multimode fiber, direct-attach copper, and active optical cables, with port tapping and one-to-many traffic replication. Keysight said the platform replaces manual testbed configuration with software-controlled connectivity, letting teams provision complex topologies in seconds or minutes instead of hours or days of manual cabling, share scarce equipment remotely, and integrate physical test environments into CI/CD workflows. Anil Kollipara, Vice President and General Manager of Automated Testing and Assurance at Keysight, said engineering teams need test environments that can change as rapidly as the technologies they are creating. The Keysight Velocity 4902 and 4906 are available for order immediately, with initial deliveries planned for January 2027.

Federal Ammunition, Mossberg and Palladyne AI Corp. announced the joint development of SwarmShot, a modular autonomous airborne counter-unmanned aircraft system designed to turn compatible drones into reusable air-to-air interceptors operating as a collaborative kinetic defensive swarm. SwarmShot will combine Federal's specialized counter-UAS shotshell ammunition, a lightweight Mossberg weapon module purpose-engineered for airborne operation, and Palladyne AI's IntelliSwarm autonomy system, which pairs BRAIN avionics with SwarmOS collaborative autonomy software. The system will first be developed as a modular mission add-on for Gremlin-X, Palladyne AI's Group 1 quadcopter mini-bomber, after which the companies plan to offer SwarmShot to other manufacturers as an integration kit for compatible unmanned aircraft. Federal will lead ammunition design and terminal-effect optimization, drawing on its recent U.S. Army counter-UAS ammunition contract, while Mossberg leads the airborne weapon module and Palladyne AI leads UAS integration, fire control, terminal-intercept autonomy and multi-interceptor coordination. The effort is a defensive application of Palladyne AI's predictive autonomy collaborative swarming capability, recently deployed with the U.S. Army at Project Convergence Capstone 6 and other Army exercises. Development schedules, potential customer engagements and financial terms were not disclosed.

CGI has signed a partnership with D-Wave Quantum Inc. that folds D-Wave's hardware and hybrid solvers into CGI's client-facing technology services, moving the company's quantum computing efforts from slideware to a signed agreement. The deal lands as CGI's momentum has been mixed: its CA$101.39 share price sits after a 7 day share price return of 5.72% and a 90 day share price return of 5.90%, while its year to date share price return and 1 year total shareholder return are both down close to 20%. On the most widely followed view of the stock, a fair value of about CA$119.85 sits above the current CA$101.39 share price, putting the new D-Wave partnership into a context of already modelled AI and modernization upside. CGI's heavy reliance on large government and enterprise contracts, combined with integration risk from recent acquisitions, could weaken that upbeat, AI-driven valuation case.

D-Wave Quantum entered the third quarter with a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, providing access to up to $100 million in funding under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. The agreement, signed Sept. 8, builds on a previously announced Letter of Intent and supports efforts to advance domestic quantum computing capabilities. First-half bookings reached $35.5 million, up 1,120% year over year, while production applications accounted for 37.3% of first-half QCaaS revenues. On Aug. 5, D-Wave reported a research advance published in Nature involving its superconducting dual-rail architecture and quantum error correction, and on Jul. 27 it signed an agreement with AT&T to expand AT&T's use of its quantum computing technology, with early work cutting network optimization processing time from about one hour to less than 15 seconds. Among peers, IonQ completed the SkyWater acquisition on July 31 and updated its 2026 revenue outlook to $450-$460 million, while Rigetti received finalized CHIPS R&D funding of up to $100 million in September. D-Wave shares have lost 55.3% over the past year, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority has awarded Kapsch TrafficCom a $32 million contract to complete Phase 2 of the Complete 540 project, extending the Triangle Expressway an additional 10 miles and closing the outer loop around the greater Raleigh area. The contract covers design-build work followed by a multi-year maintenance and operations term, and upon completing Phase 2, Kapsch will have deployed all tolling operations for the 36.8-mile loop of the Complete 540 expressway. Phase 2 extends the roadway from I-40/US-70 to the existing I-540/I-87/US-64/US-264 interchange in Knightdale, connecting to the 18-mile Phase 1 segment Kapsch completed in September 2024, and includes 12 toll zones and 64 lanes instrumented for all-electronic, open-road tolling without in-pavement sensors on a cloud-based platform. Phase 2 is planned to open to drivers in late 2028. NCTA first selected Kapsch in 2018 to modernize the Triangle Expressway, a project that opened to traffic in September 2024 and has met or exceeded NCTA's performance requirements, including 99.9 percent vehicle detection accuracy and 99.9 percent image capture and correlation accuracy.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. launched a beta program for its gate-model quantum computing simulator, offering select customers early access ahead of general availability. The simulator is built around D-Wave's dual-rail superconducting gate-model technology, which is designed to use error detection to deliver efficient quantum error correction with significantly lower hardware overhead as systems scale. Beta participants include BBVA, FirstQFM, Florida Atlantic University and the Julich Supercomputing Centre. The company said the program marks an important milestone in its gate-model development roadmap and lets customers experiment with error-aware programming and build quantum applications in preparation for its forthcoming gate-model systems.

Harn Engineering Solutions Public Company Limited, or HARN, has disclosed its JUMP+ Plan for corporate value enhancement for 2026–2028 to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The company targets revenue growth of 15% per year, continuing from 2025, when revenue reached 1.21059 billion baht, and aims for EBITDA of 211 million baht in 2028. Under a Dual-Growth Strategy spanning both business and sustainability, the plan seeks to upgrade its core businesses, including fire protection and sanitation systems, refrigeration systems, and digital printing, while building a New S-Curve through medical 3D printing technology under Molliza Company Limited. HARN also plans to establish a Remote Monitoring and Command Center that applies IoT and data analytics to manage engineering systems in real time in 2027, and to launch a JV and M&A drive, targeting at least one strategic partnership or acquisition by 2028 to bolster recurring revenue and elevate the company into a leading engineering solutions provider.

Maris-Tech Ltd. announced it has received a pilot order for an armored vehicle situational awareness application from a leading global defense company, secured through a distributor. The pilot follows an extensive engineering and adaptation process in which Maris-Tech's Jupiter product line was adapted to meet the end customer's specific video streaming requirements for armored vehicle situational awareness. The company said the adaptations developed through this process have expanded the capabilities of its products and may also support additional applications and market opportunities across the modern battlefield. Based on estimates and forecasts provided by the end customer, successful completion of the pilot could result in significant follow-on orders over the coming years, according to the company. Chief Executive Officer Israel Bar said the pilot represents the result of a substantial engineering process focused on meeting the specific video requirements of a major defense customer, and that the capabilities developed strengthen the versatility of the Jupiter product line and expand its relevance to additional armored vehicle and battlefield applications.

JEOL Ltd. announced the development of HAXIS, a new low-angle ion-milling scanning electron microscope, and began sales on October 5, 2026. The instrument is a semiconductor failure analysis platform that combines low-angle ion milling delayering with scanning electron microscopy imaging and passive voltage contrast analysis. According to the company, HAXIS delivers clear and highly reproducible PVC observation even on advanced semiconductors, using argon, an inert gas, to ensure stable surface quality and reduce running costs. The combined workflow is designed to speed the path from electrical failure detection to physical analysis and root-cause identification, supporting quick turnaround time failure analysis. JEOL is led by President and CEO Izumi Oi.

Badger Meter launched OneNetwork, a real-time monitoring and analytics platform designed to unify fragmented water and wastewater system data, at the WEFTEC conference in New Orleans. The company's share price has fallen 27.6% year to date, with a 1 year total shareholder return down 28.6%, though the 5 year total shareholder return of 26.6% still points to longer term gains. The most followed narrative places Badger Meter's fair value at $169, above the last close of $127.77, framing OneNetwork as part of a wider digital push alongside the BlueEdge platform and expansion beyond the meter. That narrative cites intensifying water scarcity, mounting regulatory pressure, and mandates for real-time monitoring as drivers of shorter replacement cycles and pricing power. Supply chain and tariff pressures, along with any slowdown in core utility water projects, could weaken that upbeat case.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has proposed new rules that would make it easier for investment advisers and regulated funds to hold crypto assets on behalf of clients. The SEC announced the proposal on Thursday, October 1. It sets out a specific framework for the custody and safekeeping of crypto assets by registered investment advisers, investment companies, and business development companies. The proposal would open the door to self-custody of crypto assets under certain conditions, and would also allow state-regulated trust companies to act as custodians of crypto assets for clients and regulated funds. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said existing regulations cannot adapt quickly enough to the rapid expansion of digital assets, which has now grown into a market worth several trillion dollars. The move comes after the Clarity Act, a bill aimed at establishing a broad regulatory structure for the crypto market, stalled in the Senate in September. The SEC will accept public comments for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Meanwhile, the crypto market is beginning to recover, with Bitcoin up more than 40% from its July low.

Ondas announced on Wednesday that it launched Dronebuster REACH, a long-range counter-drone system, with the first unit contracted to the Office of Naval Research. REACH uses electronic attacks to disrupt drones at longer ranges and higher power, extending the company's existing Dronebuster product line, and integrates with Ondas's detection and command-and-control systems for a layered counter-drone setup. Ondas said its Dronebuster systems have been deployed in more than 50 countries, with over 3K units delivered. On the market side, the stock traded near $7.50.

LACROIX reported first-half 2026 revenue of €235.2m, up 3.2% year on year, with current EBITDA of €23.7m, a 10.1% margin, and positive free cash flow of €11.1m. The Group's Electronics activity generated revenue of €156.1m, down 1.1%, while the Environment activity posted revenue of €79.1m, up 12.8%, driven by a cyclical peak in the Water segment tied to Spain's PERTE programme deadline and France's 2G and 3G network shutdown. Current operating profit rose 62.4% to €17.3m and operating profit climbed 81.4% to €17.1m, while net income attributable to owners of the parent was €2.7m, compared with a net loss of €19.6m a year earlier. Net debt fell 28.6% year on year to €72m, cutting gearing to 77% from 88%. LACROIX raised its 2026 targets to revenue of more than €455m and an EBITDA margin of more than 9%, with net debt/EBITDA below 2.0x, and confirmed its 2027 targets of revenue between €475m and €500m, an EBITDA margin above 8%, and net debt/EBITDA below 2.0x.

Keysight Technologies said Wednesday it will showcase new radio frequency and microwave products across several industries next month at the European Microwave Week event. The offerings, geared toward the defense, space, broadband wireless, 5G, and 6G industries, include a new vector network analyzer, the XA6 signal analyzer for signal generation and analysis, spectrum and PNT resilience, and AI-driven engineering. Shares of the semiconductor company rose more than 1% on Wednesday.

Japan Display announced on the 30th that it will sell its Mobara plant in Chiba Prefecture to Shinko Electric Industries. The sale price was not disclosed. The company expects to record a special gain of 51.4 billion yen in its consolidated results for the January-March quarter of 2027. JDI ended production at the plant in November 2025 and had been negotiating the sale with multiple candidates as part of efforts to strengthen its financial base.

SVG Optronics announced on September 30 that it plans to publicly list for transfer, at the Suzhou Property Rights Exchange, the 100% equity stake in Changzhou Huarisheng Reflective Material Co., Ltd. held jointly by the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary SVG Optronics Yancheng Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd. The initial listing price for this transaction totals 157 million yuan, and will not be lower than the appraised value of the 100% equity stake in Huarisheng as determined by an asset appraisal institution. The company stated that transferring the 100% stake in Huarisheng represents an effective disposal of an inefficient asset that does not align with the company's current strategic direction, and will help optimize internal resource allocation, revitalize existing assets, and reduce management costs. In the first half of 2026, SVG Optronics achieved revenue of 1.035 billion yuan and net profit attributable to the parent company of 49.76 million yuan.

SVG Tech Group announced on September 30 that the company and its wholly owned subsidiary Yancheng Weige plan to publicly list the entire equity interest in Changzhou Huarisheng Reflective Material Co., Ltd. on the Suzhou Property Rights Exchange, with an initial combined reserve price of 157 million yuan. Since the company's controlling shareholder Chen Linsen may participate in the bidding, the transaction may constitute a related-party transaction. Financial data show that Huarisheng posted a net loss of 23.4036 million yuan in 2025 and a net loss of 12.8069 million yuan in the first half of 2026. After the transaction is completed, Huarisheng and its subsidiaries will no longer be included in SVG Tech Group's consolidated financial statements.

Coherent shares jumped 5.2% in the afternoon session after the materials and photonics company successfully demonstrated scalable physical-layer security for artificial intelligence infrastructure developed alongside CUbIQ Technologies. The demonstration, reported by TipRanks, presented physical-layer security designed for AI infrastructure, and investor interest was also driven by renewed optimism around Coherent's PhotonLink optics platform following a pullback that occurred after its launch at ECOC 2026. After the initial pop, the shares cooled down to $295.27, up 4.5% from the previous close. Coherent's shares are extremely volatile and have had 85 moves greater than 5% over the last year, and the stock is up 52% since the beginning of the year but still trades 30.8% below its 52-week high of $426.89 from June 2026. The previous big move came 11 days ago, when the stock gained 4.1% on news that the company expanded its Pluggable Optical Line System portfolio for AI datacenter networks, featuring a full C-band, high-power variable-gain amplifier in a compact QSFP form factor supporting 800G ZR and ZR+ digital coherent optics, up to 32 Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing wavelengths, and up to 25.6 terabits per second of AI datacenter traffic across distances from 2 kilometers to 200 kilometers.

Omron announced its first-quarter results for the fiscal year ending March 2027, posting a sharp profit increase driven by its control equipment business. Revenue came to 209.8 billion yen, up 26.1% year on year, operating profit was 18.8 billion yen, up 226.0%, and profit attributable to owners of the parent was 10.6 billion yen, up 131.1%. The control equipment business, the main driver, saw first-quarter revenue of 131.1 billion yen, up 37.2% year on year, while segment profit doubled from a year earlier to 21.2 billion yen, with a profit margin of 16.2%. Meanwhile, the social systems business posted revenue of 24.2 billion yen, down 2.0%, and barely any profit, meaning the company's sharp overall recovery depends heavily on control equipment as its single pillar. In response, the full-year operating profit forecast was raised from 62 billion yen at the start of the year to 80 billion yen, up 41.7% from the previous year, and the net profit forecast was also raised from 27.5 billion yen to 40.5 billion yen.

Nireco announced a revision to its earnings outlook after the close of trading on September 29, raising its consolidated ordinary profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 by 5.0%, from the previous projection of 2 billion yen to 2.1 billion yen. The prior fiscal year came in at 1.79 billion yen, and the profit growth rate expands from 11.5% to 17.1%, putting the company on track to set a record high for the first time in two years. Meanwhile, it left its first-half ordinary profit forecast for the April-September period unchanged at 780 million yen.

Nireco announced after the close of trading on September 29 that it has raised its consolidated net profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 to 1.5 billion yen. This is a revision from its previous forecast, and the company said consolidated net sales are expected to be in the 12.5 billion yen range.

Evolv Technologies Holdings announced it has been selected as the new security screening provider at Climate Pledge Arena, one of North America's busiest sports and entertainment venues. The arena chose Evolv Express people screening systems to help enhance the arrival experience for millions of guests attending games, concerts, and other live events. Climate Pledge Arena, home to the NHL's Seattle Kraken, the WNBA's Seattle Storm, and the PWHL's Seattle Torrent, opened in 2021 and is owned by One Roof Sports & Entertainment and operated by Oak View Group. Jim Dermody, Director of Security at Climate Pledge Arena, said the venue evaluated a number of screening solutions before selecting Evolv Express for its performance and operational efficiency. John Baier, Vice President of Sports & Entertainment at Evolv Technology, said Evolv is expected to be deployed at a significant number of NHL teams' venues during the upcoming season. The deployment expands Evolv's footprint across the Pacific Northwest, where it also works with the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park and the University of Washington Department of Athletics.