Sifting through countless of stocks in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in ACM Research, Inc., AXT or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc.

ACM Research, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells capital equipment worldwide. It also develops, manufactures, and sells a range of packaging tools to wafer assembly and packaging customers. The company provides Wet Cleaning Equipment for Front End Production Processes; Ultra C SAPS II and Ultra C SAPS V which are a single-wafer, serial-processing tool used to remove random defects from wafer surfaces or interconnects and barrier metals as part of the chip front-end fabrication process or for recycling test wafers; and Ultra C TEBO II and Ultra C TEBO V, a single-wafer, serial-processing tool used at numerous manufacturing processing steps for cleaning of chips at process nodes of 28nm or less. In addition, it offers Ultra-C Tahoe wafer cleaning tool that delivers high cleaning performance using significantly less sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide than is typically consumed by conventional high-temperature single-wafer cleaning tools; and advanced packaging tools, such as coaters, developers, photoresist strippers, scrubbers, wet etchers, and copper-plating tools. Further, the company provides e Ultra fn Furnace, a dry processing tool; Ultra Pmax™ PECVD tool, for film uniformity; Ultra Track tool, a 300mm process tool that delivers air downflow, robot handling, and customizable software to address specific customer requirements; and a suite of semi-critical cleaning systems which include single wafer back side cleaning, scrubber, and auto bench cleaning tools. It markets and sells its products under the SAPS, TEBO, ULTRA C, ULTRA Fn, Ultra ECP, Ultra ECP map, and Ultra ECP ap trademarks through direct sales force and third-party representatives. ACM Research, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

AXT, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes compound and single element semiconductor substrates. The company offers indium phosphide for use in data center connectivity using light/lasers, high-speed data transfer in data centers, 5G communications, fiber optic lasers and detectors, consumer devices, passive optical networks, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, thermo-photovoltaics, RF amplifier and switching, infrared light-emitting diode (LEDS) motion control, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and infrared thermal imaging. It also provides semi-insulating gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates for use in Wi-Fi and IoT devices, transistors, direct broadcast television, power amplifiers, satellite communications, and solar cells; and semi-conducting GaAs substrates that are used in LEDs, screen displays using micro-LEDs, printer head lasers and LEDs, 3-D sensing using VCSELs, data center communication using VCSELs, sensors for industrial robotics/near-infrared sensors, laser machining, cutting and drilling, optical couplers, solar cells, night vision goggles, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and other lasers. In addition, the company offers germanium substrates for use in multi-junction solar cells for satellites, optical sensors and detectors, terrestrial concentrated photo voltaic cells, infrared detectors, and carrier wafer for LED. Further, it provides 6N+ and 7N+ purified gallium, boron trioxide, gallium-magnesium alloy, pyrolytic boron nitride (pBN) crucibles, and pBN insulating parts. It sells its products through direct salesforce in the United States, China, and Europe, as well as through independent sales representatives and distributors in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and internationally. The company was formerly known as American Xtal Technology, Inc. and changed its name to AXT, Inc. in July 2000. AXT, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Latest Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and ACM Research, Inc., AXT, Inc. Stock News

As of February 25, 2026, ACM Research, Inc. had a $4.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment median of $3.2 million. ACM Research, Inc.’s stock is up 42.8% in 2026, down 13.8% in the previous five trading days and up 191.49% in the past year.

Currently, ACM Research, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 39.7. ACM Research, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $880.4 million with a 13.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 32.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.770 per share for the current fiscal year. ACM Research, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of February 25, 2026, AXT, Inc. had a $2.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 56th percentile of all stocks. AXT, Inc.’s stock is up 123.8% in 2026, up 53.7% in the previous five trading days and up 2957.46% in the past year.

Currently, AXT, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. AXT, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $90.4 million with a -24.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 18.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.004 per share for the current fiscal year. AXT, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
ACM Research, Inc.	ACMR	D
AXT, Inc.	AXTI	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

ACM Research, Inc. has a Value Score of 25, which is Expensive. AXT, Inc. has a Value Score of 7, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither ACM Research, Inc., AXT or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if ACM Research, Inc., AXT or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
ACM Research, Inc.	ACMR	D
AXT, Inc.	AXTI	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

ACM Research, Inc. has a Quality Score of 36, which is Weak. AXT, Inc. has a Quality Score of 21, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither ACM Research, Inc., AXT or Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if ACM Research, Inc., AXT or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
ACM Research, Inc.	ACMR	A
AXT, Inc.	AXTI	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

ACM Research, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 97, which is Very Strong. AXT, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 100, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc. have a grade of A. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

Other ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Momentum and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, ACM Research, Inc., AXT or Inc. Stock?

Overall, ACM Research, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 25, Momentum Score of 97 and Quality Score of 36.

AXT, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 7, Momentum Score of 100 and Quality Score of 21.

Comparing ACM Research, Inc., AXT and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.