Amprius (AMPX) Q2 2026 earnings review
Capital-Light Model Delivers Explosive Growth and Margin Expansion
Amprius delivered a standout quarter, proving its asset-light contract manufacturing strategy works. Revenue surged 126% YoY to $34.0 million, and gross margin rebounded sharply to 27% (up from 20% in Q1). The company is rapidly approaching profitability, with Adjusted EBITDA narrowing to a loss of just $1.0 million. Driven by massive new orders in European defense and electric motorcycles, management raised FY26 revenue guidance to at least $140 million. However, investors should watch working capital closely—rapid growth tied up $16.8 million in accounts receivable during the first half of the year, pressuring cash flow despite income statement improvements.
🐂 Bull Case
Gross margins are expanding rapidly (27% in Q2), and the company is guiding for full-year positive Adjusted EBITDA of at least $4 million. The pivot away from heavy in-house CapEx is protecting the balance sheet while enabling hyperscaling.
Securing a $100M+ multi-year agreement with Stark Future for electric motorcycles proves Amprius's high-energy-density cells have strong commercial viability in the Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) market, expanding their Total Addressable Market.
🐻 Bear Case
While Adjusted EBITDA is nearing breakeven, actual operating cash flow for H1 2026 was a negative $40.1 million. Expanding sales channels and pack partners are driving up accounts receivable, which could strain the $74.5 million cash reserve if not managed carefully.
GAAP net loss worsened sequentially due to a $1.9 million non-cash charge related to warrant modifications. The company must still navigate a complex capital structure to deliver clean bottom-line profitability.
⚖️ Verdict: 🟢
Bullish. The execution is phenomenal. Accelerating revenue growth, expanding gross margins, and massive new multi-year contract wins show that Amprius is successfully commercializing its technological edge without breaking the bank on capital expenditures.
Key Themes
Expansion into Light Electric Vehicles (LEV)
Amprius is accelerating its push into the LEV space, validating its technology outside of aerospace. The company secured a massive multi-year supply agreement starting in 2027 with Stark Future (electric motorcycles), representing a total revenue opportunity exceeding $100 million. This adds a critical new growth engine alongside the core UAS market.
Macro Tailwinds in European Defense & Aerospace
Geopolitical tensions continue to fuel demand for advanced drone systems. Amprius capitalized on this macro backdrop by securing a new $24.0 million order from a major European drone developer. This supplements ongoing supply to key U.S. players like Redwire for its Stalker Block 30 drone.
SiCore Cylindrical Cells Powering Scale
The successful commercialization of SiCore cylindrical cells is driving the company's revenue explosion. By shifting away from the legacy SiMax line and utilizing standard manufacturing processes for SiCore, Amprius is delivering massive volumes while achieving a 27% gross margin, effectively reversing the margin compression seen in Q1 2026.
Capital-Light Manufacturing Execution
The decision to abandon the costly Colorado facility in favor of contract manufacturing (CM) in South Korea and the U.S. is paying off. With 2026 CapEx guided under $10 million, Amprius grew revenue 126% YoY. The company is actively expanding its CM network and adding pack partners to scale without adding direct sales headcount.
Working Capital Disconnect
Here is a specific contradiction to the positive margin narrative: despite Adjusted EBITDA improving to just a $1.0 million loss, H1 2026 Operating Cash Flow was heavily negative at -$40.1 million. Even after backing out the ~$20 million Q1 lease settlement, core cash burn remains significant due to a massive $16.8 million increase in Accounts Receivable and a $4.8 million buildup in inventory. Rapid growth is consuming cash fast.
Warrant Modification Weighs on GAAP Earnings
Amprius took a $1.9 million non-cash hit to its Q2 Net Income due to an increase in fair value related to a warrant exchange. While management adjusted this out of Non-GAAP metrics (resulting in a $3.2M adjusted net loss), it highlights the ongoing friction the company's capital structure is causing on its path to clean GAAP profitability.
Gross Margin Rebound
Gross margin is accelerating sharply. After dipping to 20% in Q1 2026 due to legacy SiMax overhead costs, Q2 gross margin sprang back to 27%. With management raising the full-year guidance to at least 28%, the underlying unit economics of the SiCore platform appear exceptionally robust.
Other KPIs
Stable and improving. This represents a 53% ($1.1 million) improvement YoY. The company is on the precipice of its first-ever profitable quarters, requiring a significant ramp in H2 to meet its full-year guidance of positive $4.0 million.
Decelerating. Down from $90.5 million at the end of FY25. The company remains debt-free, but aggressive working capital buildouts (Accounts Receivable up nearly $17M in six months) will dictate how long this runway extends before reaching true free cash flow generation.
Guidance
Accelerating. Management raised this target from $130.0 million. Compared to FY25 revenue of $73.0 million, this implies a remarkable 92% YoY growth rate. It also implies a massive H2 ramp (requiring at least $77.4M in the second half of 2026).
Accelerating. Raised from previous guidance of 25%. H1 2026 blended gross margin was 24%, meaning H2 gross margins must comfortably exceed 30% to hit this full-year target, likely driven by scale and optimized logistics.
Reversing. Reiterated target. Since H1 2026 generated an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.8 million, Amprius must generate roughly $6.8 million in positive Adjusted EBITDA over the next two quarters. This highlights extreme operational leverage kicking in as sales scale.
Key Questions
Working Capital Strain
Accounts receivable grew by nearly $17 million in the first half of the year. As you scale to meet the $140 million revenue guidance in H2, what mechanisms are in place to accelerate collections and prevent working capital from exhausting your cash reserves?
H2 Delivery Cadence
To hit the $140 million full-year target, H2 revenue needs to be approximately $77 million. How much of this is tied to specific large deliveries for the European drone developer or early Stark Future milestones, and what is the risk of these slipping into 2027?
Contract Manufacturer Capacity
With cell production volume up dramatically, what is the current utilization rate of your South Korean partners, and are your third-party battery pack partners scaling headcount fast enough to handle the H2 volume surge?