tkal · WT Microelectronics Q3 2026: Our Working-Capital Call Failed, and the Suppliers Paid for NT$190.44B of Inventory Anyway

WT Microelectronics Q3 2026: Our Working-Capital Call Failed, and the Suppliers Paid for NT$190.44B of Inventory Anyway

WT grew revenue 1.1% and added NT$190.44B (about US$5.91B) of inventory, 98.6% of it financed by suppliers, ahead of a guided NT$730B to NT$770B quarter. Our call: on December 31, inventory is at or below 75.9% of December-quarter revenue, against 85.2% today; above it, the parts did not ship as guided and we are wrong. Our September call failed: net working capital came in at NT$150.63B against our NT$127.97B line, because of September's billing rather than supplier terms.

Published November 5, 2026 · Post-print analysis · WT Microelectronics · 3036 · TWSE · quarter ended September 30, 2026 · reported November 5, 2026 · figures from the 3Q26 investor conference deck and earlier MOPS filings; the Q3 statements are due by November 14 · Committed analyst read, not advice · For analysts covering component distribution, AI data-center supply chains and the working capital that funds them

The setup

WT Microelectronics grew revenue 1.1% in the September quarter and added NT$190.44B (about US$5.91B) of inventory. Those two facts do not belong in the same quarter unless the stock is for the next one, and the guide says it is: NT$730B (about US$22.67B) to NT$770B (about US$23.91B) of December-quarter revenue at the company's own 32.2 NT dollars per US dollar, the rate used for every conversion here. Payables rose NT$187.81B (about US$5.83B) alongside the inventory, so suppliers financed 98.6% of the build.

Our call: on December 31, 2026, inventory is at or below 75.9% of December-quarter revenue, the top of its own range over the last six quarter-ends, against 85.2% today. At the NT$750B (about US$23.29B) midpoint that means inventory no higher than NT$569.25B (about US$17.68B). Above 75.9%, the parts did not ship the way the guide says and we are wrong.

First the grade, because the last page asked for one, and it went against us. On September 28 we wrote that net working capital on September 30 would be at or below NT$127.97B (about US$3.97B), and that anything above it meant the float had started to turn. It came in at NT$150.63B (about US$4.68B). We were wrong on the number. We were also wrong on the reason we gave for confidence, that a flat Q3 guide was the easiest possible quarter for working capital because there was no growth to fund. The growth was one quarter out, and WT had to buy it in Q3.

The surprise is in what broke the line. It was not suppliers. Payable days rose to 103, the highest in the series, so the bear case we steelmanned in September did not happen. Receivables broke it, up NT$37.38B (about US$1.16B), and most of that is September itself: NT$215.93B (about US$6.71B) of revenue, the largest month WT has filed.

Of NT$597.28B in revenue, NT$575.79B is cost of sales. A 3.60% gross margin leaves NT$21.50B; operating expenses take NT$7.26B and NT$10.30B reaches the parent. Segment values are the deck's rounded mix percentages times revenue, so they are approximate; phone, PC and consumer is the remainder. Net profit is to owners of the parent; the small minority interest sits in the rounding.

The numbers

Revenue

NT$597.28B

+82% Y/Y · +1% Q/Q

Basic EPS

NT$7.97

from NT$3.40

Operating margin

2.38%

from 1.72%

Inventory

NT$509.04B

+143.1% Y/Y · +59.8% Q/Q

Accounts payable

NT$744.91B

+161.7% Y/Y · +33.7% Q/Q

Net working capital

NT$150.63B

from NT$110.62B in June

WT Microelectronics 3Q26 · NT$ billions unless stated

Line	3Q26	2Q26	3Q25	Y/Y
Sales and profit
Revenue	597.28	590.69	328.93	+82%
Gross profit	21.50	20.14	12.29	+75%
Operating expenses	7.26	7.15	6.63	+10%
Operating profit	14.23	12.99	5.66	+151%
Net financing costs	1.94	1.59	1.22	+60%
Profit to parent	10.30	9.71	3.82	+170%
Balance sheet
Receivables	386.49	349.11	175.89	+119.7%
Inventory	509.04	318.60	209.38	+143.1%
Accounts payable	744.91	557.09	284.60	+161.7%
Net debt	46.38	27.63	51.45	−9.8%

Source: WT 3Q26 investor conference deck, November 5, 2026 (Taiwan IFRS). The Q3 consolidated statements are due by November 14, so cash flow, contract liabilities and prepayments are not yet filed. Notes ↓

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The headline numbers are above. The 12 sections below carry the mechanism, the peer read, the valuation work, and the dated tests that decide it.

Ten quarter-ends: the level before the delta
The grade, in full
What the guide was telling us
Segment by segment
Who paid for the build
The funding stack
Connecting the dots
The December bar
Valuation
The strongest case against this read
What we'd watch
Bottom line

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Sources

Notes. NT$ conversions are approximate at NT$32.2 per US dollar, the company's 4Q26 guidance assumption. Net working capital = accounts receivable + inventories − accounts payable. Segment NT$ values are the deck's rounded mix percentages times reported revenue, so approximate; growth rates by segment are the deck's. Receivables ÷ last month's revenue uses quarter-end receivables over September (NT$215.93B) and June (NT$181.75B) monthly revenue. GDR per-share price is derived from the conversion price and premium: NT$224.54 ÷ 1.225 = NT$183.30. The convertible's NT$15.85B is NT$29.6B less 75M shares at NT$183.30. Net debt with the convertible: NT$46.38B + NT$15.85B = NT$62.23B; gearing on parent equity of NT$149.09B. Payable-day sensitivity uses Q3 cost of sales annualized: NT$575.79B × 4 ÷ 365, about NT$6.31B a day. Q4 midpoints are computed from the guide ranges.
WT Microelectronics — 2026 Third Quarter Investor Conference, November 5, 2026 (English deck; Chinese version 303620261105M001) — primary source for Q3. NT$M, 3Q26 / 2Q26 / 3Q25: revenue 597,282 / 590,694 / 328,934; gross profit 21,495 / 20,142 / 12,292; gross margin 3.60% / 3.41% / 3.74%; operating expenses 7,262 / 7,149 / 6,631; operating profit 14,233 / 12,994 / 5,660; operating margin 2.38% / 2.20% / 1.72%; net financing costs 1,944 / 1,588 / 1,217; others 582 / 821 / 356; earnings before tax 12,871 / 12,227 / 4,798; tax 2,583 / 2,502 / 981; profit to parent 10,298 / 9,713 / 3,816; basic EPS 7.97 / 7.68 / 3.40; weighted shares 1,291 / 1,265 / 1,122; EPS on period-end shares 7.67 / 7.67 / 3.40; period-end shares 1,342 / 1,266 / 1,123. Balance sheet 3Q26 / 2Q26 / 3Q25: cash 29,190 / 37,149 / 30,376; receivables 386,494 / 349,112 / 175,889; inventory 509,039 / 318,602 / 209,381; other current assets 41,886 / 40,940 / 4,882; non-current assets 67,805 / 66,935 / 55,217; total assets 1,034,414 / 812,739 / 475,744; short-term loans 55,552 / 53,526 / 44,664; payables 744,906 / 557,092 / 284,597; other current liabilities 59,229 / 61,094 / 13,991; long-term loans 9,088 / 400 / 37,161; bond payable 10,933 / 10,855 / 0; total equity 149,394 / 124,675 / 90,395; net debt 46,384 / 27,632 / 51,450; net gearing 31% / 22% / 57%; net leverage 1.0x / 0.8x / 2.5x; liabilities/equity 592% / 552% / 426%. Parent equity 149,085 / 124,407. ROWC 37.8% / 47.0%; earlier 14.5%, 16.6%, 19.2%, 22.5%, 21.3%, 31.1%. 4Q26 forecast at 32.2: revenue 730,000–770,000; gross profit 23,287–25,333; gross margin 3.19%–3.29%; operating expenses 7,154–7,546; operating profit 16,133–17,787; operating margin 2.21%–2.31%; pre-tax 13,703–15,357; profit to parent 10,840–12,158; EPS 8.07–9.05; weighted shares 1,343. Mix 3Q25 / 2Q26 / 3Q26: automotive 5.5 / 4.5 / 5.2; industrial 9.4 / 7.7 / 8.5; communication 10.7 / 12.1 / 12.6; data center 47.2 / 59.2 / 55.5; consumer 5.8 / 5.9 / 5.4; PC 6.4 / 4.0 / 3.9; mobile 15.0 / 6.7 / 8.7. QoQ +18, +13, +5, −5, −7, +0, +32; YoY +72, +64, +113, +114, +71, +12, +6. Series 4Q24–3Q26: revenue 261,878, 247,424, 259,503, 328,934, 342,087, 494,273, 590,694, 597,282; gross margin 4.12, 4.58, 4.32, 3.74, 3.74, 3.45, 3.41, 3.60; operating margin 1.61, 1.85, 1.80, 1.72, 1.75, 2.01, 2.20, 2.38; EPS 2.27, 2.42, 2.28, 3.40, 3.46, 5.32, 7.68, 7.97. Days 3Q24–3Q26: receivable 54, 53, 54, 49, 42, 46, 41, 48, 56; inventory 51, 55, 64, 65, 56, 65, 50, 47, 66; payable 62, 66, 77, 78, 72, 83, 70, 77, 103; cycle 43, 42, 41, 36, 26, 28, 21, 18, 19. NWC/annualized sales 6.30% computed against 4.68% (June), 6.47% (March), 7.65% (September 2025), 12.24% (June 2024).
WT — 2026 Second Quarter Investor Conference, August 6, 2026 — 3Q26 forecast at 32.2: revenue 572,000–612,000 NT$M; gross margin 3.54%–3.64%; operating profit 13,270–14,810; profit to parent 9,559–10,786; EPS 7.55–8.52. Net gearing 49% in 1Q26. First Quarter Investor Conference, May 7, 2026 — 2Q26 guide NT$560,000–590,000M; mix 1Q25 32.6%, 4Q25 45.1% data center (1Q26 56.9% per the 2Q26 deck).
WT — 2026 Q2 consolidated statements (MOPS) and earlier statements — NT$ billions: net working capital June 2024 to June 2026 119.33, 126.81, 116.28, 110.01, 96.96, 100.67, 112.50, 127.97, 110.62; June 2024 quarter revenue 243.65; receivables June 2025 130.17, December 170.02, March 275.12; inventory 180.48, 259.76, 263.86; payables 213.69, 317.28, 411.01; contract liabilities 35.95 and prepayments 32.35 in June 2026.
TWSE open data (t187ap05_L), September 2026 — WT September revenue NT$215,932,962K, August 198,383,815K, +8.85% M/M, +60.01% Y/Y; WPG September NT$219,594,834K, +146.49% Y/Y. Earlier monthly: WT April 211.02, June 181.75, July 182.97; WPG July 146.10, August 142.24 (NT$ billions).
CNA, November 5, 2026 — management's model-changeover comment; guide midpoints. Liberty Times, November 5, 2026 — segment outlook, data center "about 2 times" for the year, communication, automotive, industrial and consumer outlook, Future Electronics comment, election comment. UDN, November 5, 2026. Translated third-party summaries of the call; unverified pending a transcript.
UAnalyze and Yahoo Taiwan — press reports of the September 2026 GDR and overseas convertible: 15M units at US$29, 75M shares, US$500M zero-coupon convertible, nine months, NT$224.54 conversion, 22.5% premium, about US$935M and NT$29.6B total, purchasing use of proceeds; unverified against the MOPS announcement.
TWSE daily closes — 3036 NT$204.50 and 3702 NT$99.60 on November 4, 2026; unverified market data, not filing figures.
tkal — WT Q2 2026, the open calls graded here; Avnet Q1 FY27 (inventory +50.8%, payables 95.9% of inventory), Ingram Micro Q3 2026 (payables +$1.26B, working capital $5.04B), AMD Q3 2026 (Q4 guide about $17B), SMCI Q1 FY27 ($19.95B, +297.5%), WPG Q2 2026 (NT$63.15B of new borrowing; NT$460B to NT$500B guide) for the rope figures.

WT Microelectronics Q3 2026: Our Working-Capital Call Failed, and the Suppliers Paid for NT$190.44B of Inventory Anyway

The setup

The numbers

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