Rambus Q3 Revenue Hits Record $218M; Q4 Product Revenue Seen Up 34% on DDR5 Chip Demand

Rambus (RMBS) reported record third-quarter revenue of $218.3 million, up 22% year over year, and guided fourth-quarter product revenue to $127 million-$133 million — a projected 34% year-over-year increase at the midpoint, driven by ramping shipments of next-generation DDR5 registering clock driver (RCD) chips and companion components. Product revenue for the quarter was $114.3 million, up 22% year over year and 15% sequentially. RCDs buffer and transmit command, address and clock signals between the processor and DRAM in server memory modules. Total fourth-quarter revenue is forecast at $227 million-$233 million. CEO Luc Seraphin said AI agents running continuous, coordinated tasks are lifting CPU and main memory demand, with DDR server platform memory channels expanding from 8 to 12 and 16, supporting more modules. He said customers are ordering earlier than in prior quarters and 2027 visibility has improved, though first-half/second-half seasonality is expected to persist. Rambus added about $12 million in inventory in the third quarter and plans further builds. Adjusted product gross margin was 60.4%, near the low end of its 60%-63% range, on higher supply chain costs.