Amprius Technologies delivered another quarter of strong top-line growth with weak earnings leverage. The silicon-anode battery maker reported a third-quarter loss of $0.02 per share, missing the consensus estimate of a $0.01 loss by 100.0%. Revenue of $39.15 million beat the $35.83 million consensus by 9.3% and grew 82.7% year over year. The loss narrowed from $0.03 a year ago, which translates to 33.3% earnings growth. The company also lifted its 2026 revenue outlook to $145 million from at least $140 million, its third increase of the year from an initial target of more than $125 million. Demand is clearly not the problem. The central tension is that revenue is scaling much faster than profitability, and management cut its full-year adjusted EBITDA target even as it raised the revenue forecast.

The quality of the quarter deserves scrutiny. Revenue rose 15% sequentially, the seventh straight quarter of double-digit sequential growth. GAAP gross margin of 27% was well above the 15% of a year ago but essentially flat with the second quarter's 27.3%. Management attributed the stall to two factors:

• a mix shift toward cylindrical cells, which cost about 4 points;
• air freight running at 11% of revenue, which cost roughly another 4 points.

Below gross profit, the operating leverage disappeared. Operating expenses climbed to $15.2 million from $8.0 million a year earlier. R&D more than doubled to $6.4 million, and SG&A rose to $8.8 million. As a result, the operating loss of $4.7 million was virtually unchanged from last year despite $17.7 million of added revenue. The narrower net loss came largely from higher other income. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $1.0 million, flat with the second quarter and down from a small $0.2 million profit a year ago.

Guidance sharpens the debate. Full-year adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be at least $2.5 million, down from more than $4 million, a target management had held since the start of the year. The company cited a $2.9 million increase in opex. The reiterated gross margin outlook of at least 28% is a tall order against a 25.1% year-to-date figure. Hitting it implies roughly 35% in the fourth quarter. Management said it is deliberately capping fourth-quarter revenue to protect margins, which explains why the implied Q4 revenue of about $43.3 million is not more aggressive. Even so, the margin step-up is the single biggest execution test for the next report.

The balance sheet adds to the caution:

• Cash fell $13.8 million during the quarter to $60.7 million.
• Accounts receivable reached $45.9 million, nearly double the year-end level.
• Prepaid supply advances rose by roughly $14 million.
• Nine-month operating cash burn totaled about $48 million, although that figure includes roughly $21 million of lease-liability payments tied to exiting the Colorado facility.

The strategic story did improve. Amprius won a $75 million Department of War contract, with $22.3 million obligated, to convert an existing U.S. line to produce up to 12 million NDAA-compliant cells annually by 2028. It also signed a contract manufacturing agreement with Kaminis in Indianapolis for U.S. pouch-cell production beginning in the first quarter of 2027. Other developments included:

• SiCore 500, a 500 Wh/kg cell, launched on standard lithium-ion equipment and is shipping to high-altitude platform customers about three months ahead of schedule.
• The company won its first subsea underwater-vehicle customer.
• The 2030 revenue and capacity target rose to $800 million from more than $600 million.
• U.S. revenue reached $12.2 million, about 31% of the mix.

One inconsistency is worth noting. The release describes that U.S. figure as a 2.3x quarter-over-quarter increase, while the call materials frame it as year over year. Either way, the domestic shift is material. Management also cited pouch-cell pricing running above expectations. On the risk side, it flagged cylindrical pricing pressure from competitors such as Molicel and uncertainty over fiscal 2027 defense and drone budgets following the midterm elections.

The market had already turned skeptical heading into the print. Shares were at $9.17, down 26.0% from the $12.40 open following the August report and 31.1% below the 200-day moving average of $13.31. Earnings Whispers price and AVWAP trend readings are both negative. Investor sentiment remains negative but improved, moving from -0.29 to -0.20. That modest thaw suggests the revenue momentum is registering, but not enough to override concerns about margins and cash.

The bottom line is that Amprius is winning on demand, product cadence, and U.S. defense positioning, yet it has not shown that scale is translating into earnings. Bulls get a third revenue raise, an ahead-of-schedule product, and a much larger long-term target. Bears have legitimate ammunition in the flat margins, the EBITDA guidance cut, the earnings miss, and a shrinking cash balance. With the stock well below its long-term average, the fourth-quarter gross margin is likely to decide which side the market believes.