ASUSTeK 3Q26 Preview: October Alone Delivered 42% of the Street's Fourth Quarter
Monthly filings put the quarter up 38.0% YoY and 7.2% QoQ. The 12 November release adds the margins, the profit and the brand revenue figure that management guides against.
October revenue reached a record NT$107.6bn, up 62.2% YoY, while the street's FY2026E leaves NT$257.0bn for all of 4Q26. November and December would need to average 31% below October; in 2025 they ran 3.0% above it.
Operating margin reached 8.1% in 2Q26, against 4.9% in 3Q25, and management expects the third quarter above the top of its 4-5% base. At 5% of reported revenue, operating profit would be NT$13.8bn, 40% above 3Q25; at 8.1% it would be NT$22.5bn.
Weighted by the 2Q26 business mix, the PC, server and component guides point to brand revenue growth of 11-16% QoQ. Group revenue grew 7.2%, so the brand figure in the release shows whether the guides were met.
Company snapshot
ASUSTeK Computer designs and sells notebooks, desktops, motherboards, graphics cards and networking hardware under the ASUS, ROG and TUF brands, and has built a fast-growing AI server business selling to cloud and enterprise customers. Servers made up 36% of brand revenue in the second quarter. The company reports a group consolidated revenue figure each month and, each quarter, a brand revenue figure covering the ASUS-branded business, against which it gives its guidance. The shares trade in Taipei as 2357 TT.
Expectations snapshot
ASUSTeK holds its online investor conference for the third quarter on 12 November, per its 5 November filing with the exchange. The monthly filings have already settled third-quarter group revenue, so the table sets that against the guides management gave in August and what the street carries for the full year.
| Metric | 3Q26 | FY2026E |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (group) | NT$276.3bn reported, +38.0% YoY | Street NT$999.4bn, +35.3% YoY; our model NT$1,000.4bn |
| PC revenue | Guided +15-20% QoQ | Global PC shipments seen down about 4% |
| Server revenue | Guided +10-15% QoQ, over 150% YoY | Growth target of at least 150% |
| Component revenue | Guided +5-10% QoQ | Not guided |
| Operating margin | Expected above the 4-5% base (2Q26: 8.1%, 3Q25: 4.9%) | Street implies 8.0% (1H26: 7.1%) |
| Gross margin | Not guided (2Q26: 17.2%, 3Q25: 14.3%) | n/a (consensus feed carries no gross profit line) |
| Net profit to shareholders | Not guided (3Q25: NT$10.6bn) | Street NT$58.5bn (1H26: NT$28.8bn) |
| Reported to date | Quarter fully reported via monthlies | 10M26 NT$850.1bn, 85% of the street's FY2026E |
Recent developments
- Second-quarter results on 12 August set records for revenue and profit. Group revenue was NT$257.7bn, up 37.1% YoY. Gross margin rose to 17.2% from 13.8%, operating profit rose 168% to NT$21.0bn, an 8.1% margin, and net profit to shareholders was NT$19.0bn, or NT$25.64 a share (ASUSTeK consolidated statements).
- Servers made up 36% of second-quarter brand revenue and roughly doubled YoY, with AI servers about 90% of server revenue. Management raised its full-year server growth target to at least 150%, from at least 100% (ASUSTeK investor conference via Futurum, 14 August; uanalyze).
- Inventory reached NT$356.3bn at the end of June, 41% of total assets, up from NT$197.6bn at the end of 2025. Management described it as stockpiling of key components. Short-term borrowings rose to NT$100.7bn from NT$29.7bn over the same six months (ASUSTeK consolidated statements; Futurum).
- Memory prices are still rising, by less each quarter. TrendForce expects PC DRAM contract prices to keep rising in the fourth quarter, with the gains narrowing as buyers push back (TrendForce, 30 October).
- The street has raised its numbers since the second-quarter release. FY2026E revenue moved to NT$999.4bn from NT$895.9bn in early August, and net profit to NT$58.5bn from NT$40.3bn (FMP consensus).
- The shares rose 10.0% to NT$937 the day after the results, reached a high of NT$1,025 on 4 September, then fell to NT$859 on 6 November, 16.2% below that high. They traded at NT$911 on 10 November (TWSE daily closes).
The quarter finished at a record, and October was higher still
All three months of the third quarter are reported, and so is October. October revenue was the highest monthly figure ASUSTeK has filed.
| Month | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | NT$84.1bn | +53.3% |
| August 2026 | NT$95.0bn | +51.2% |
| September 2026 | NT$97.2bn | +17.7% |
| 3Q26 total | NT$276.3bn | +38.0% |
| October 2026 | NT$107.6bn | +62.2% |
- July fell 21.2% MoM from June's NT$106.7bn, then August and September rose to NT$97.2bn.
- September grew 17.7% YoY, the slowest month of the quarter, against a September 2025 base that had itself grown 33.0%.
- The quarter closed at NT$276.3bn, up 38.0% YoY and 7.2% QoQ.
- October then rose 10.7% MoM to NT$107.6bn, up 62.2% YoY, passing June as the largest month on record.
The release cannot change any of these figures. It adds the margins and the profit underneath them, and the guides for the fourth quarter.
Will the street's fourth quarter move up?
ASUSTeK guides each business quarter on quarter rather than group revenue in dollars. For the third quarter it guided PC revenue up 15-20%, components up 5-10% and servers up 10-15%, with operating margin expected above the top of its 4-5% base.
The street carries FY2026E revenue of NT$999.4bn, up 35.3%, with operating profit of NT$79.7bn and net profit of NT$58.5bn. Our model carries FY2026E revenue of NT$1,000.4bn, in line with the street.
Revenue through October is NT$850.1bn, 85% of the street's full year. That leaves NT$149.4bn for November and December, a monthly average of NT$74.7bn, 30.6% below October. In 2025 November and December averaged NT$68.3bn, 3.0% above that October.
Repeating the 2025 step on October 2026 would put full-year revenue near NT$1,071.7bn, 7.2% above the street. Holding October's level for the last two months would put it near NT$1,065.3bn, 6.6% above.
Our model stays in line because ASUSTeK's monthly revenue swings hard with server shipments. June's NT$106.7bn was followed by July's NT$84.1bn, and management expects the PC market to shrink by more than 10% in the second half.
A year ago management guided fourth-quarter PC revenue down 10-15% QoQ for a product transition, and group revenue still rose 1.3% QoQ. Guides pointing to growth from 3Q26 would make the street's full-year revenue likely to move up; guides for declines like last year's would leave it close to where it is.
What to expect from the release
- Revenue is settled at NT$276.3bn. What the release adds is the brand revenue figure, the business-group split, the margins and the profit.
- We expect brand revenue growth below the 11-16% the segment guides point to. In 2Q26 brand revenue was 93.6% of group revenue; growth at the guided midpoint would push that share near 99%, which would need revenue outside the ASUS brand to have fallen sharply.
- We expect gross margin below the 17.2% of 2Q26 and above the 14.3% of 3Q25. In our view the second quarter benefited from components bought before the latest memory price increases while ASUSTeK's own prices rose; memory contract prices kept rising in the third quarter, by less than before, so that benefit narrows.
- We expect operating margin between 5% and 8.1%, above the base as management indicated and below the second quarter. Either end of that range puts operating profit above the NT$9.8bn of 3Q25, at NT$13.8-22.5bn.
- On the outlook, we expect management to keep the full-year server growth target at or above 150%. The fourth-quarter guides for PCs, servers and components matter more than the third-quarter print itself.
What investors should watch
- The fourth-quarter segment guides against the street's implied 4Q26E revenue of NT$257.0bn, 7.0% below 3Q26. October has already delivered NT$107.6bn of that, so guides pointing to flat or higher revenue from 3Q26 would put the street's full year too low.
- Operating margin against the 8.1% of 2Q26 and the 4.9% of 3Q25. The street's FY2026E operating profit of NT$79.7bn needs NT$46.8bn in the second half, 8.8% of the street's second-half revenue, so a third-quarter margin near 5% would put that number at risk.
- Inventory against NT$356.3bn at the end of June and short-term borrowings against NT$100.7bn. While memory prices rise, stock bought earlier supports margin; if memory prices fall, the same stock becomes the source of write-downs.
- Brand revenue against the 11-16% the segment guides point to, and the server share of brand revenue against 36% in 2Q26.
Valuation and peer comparables
ASUSTeK traded at NT$911 on 10 November, for a market capitalization of about US$20.6bn. The shares trade at 8.4x forward EV/EBITDA against a peer median of 8.1x, and at 14.8x trailing against a median of 10.4x.
The all-peer forward median is pulled down by Lenovo at 4.1x. Among the three Taiwan-listed peers, Gigabyte, MSI and Acer, the forward median is 9.0x, so ASUSTeK is priced relatively inexpensive against the brands it competes with most directly.
The drop from 14.8x trailing to 8.4x forward is the profit growth the street already carries for 2026. The forward P/E median of 12.0x rests on two peers, Dell and MSI, so EV/EBITDA is the column to read.
The forward multiple runs off consensus profit that needs an 8.8% operating margin in the second half. A third-quarter margin near 8% supports 8.4x; a margin near 5% would mean a buyer at today's price is paying more than the screen shows.
| Company | Mkt cap (US$bn) | P/E (TTM) | P/E (Fwd) | P/B | EV/Sales (TTM) | EV/Sales (Fwd) | EV/EBITDA (TTM) | EV/EBITDA (Fwd) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US-Listed | ||||||||
| Dell Technologies | 220.0 | 19.8x | 13.3x | n.m. | 1.6x | 1.2x | 13.2x | 9.1x |
| HP Inc | 25.5 | n.m. | n.m. | n.m. | 0.5x | 0.5x | 7.6x | 6.8x |
| Taiwan-Listed | ||||||||
| Gigabyte Technology | 6.4 | n.m. | n.m. | 3.1x | 0.7x | 0.5x | 11.6x | 9.0x |
| Micro-Star International (MSI) | 3.7 | n.m. | 10.6x | 2.1x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 9.3x | 7.2x |
| Acer† | 2.9 | n.m. | n.m. | 1.2x | 0.4x | 0.4x | 12.8x | 9.3x |
| International | ||||||||
| Lenovo Group | 31.8 | n.m. | n.m. | 4.1x | 0.4x | 0.3x | 5.7x | 4.1x |
| Peer median (all peers) | 19.8x | 12.0x | 2.6x | 0.5x | 0.5x | 10.4x | 8.1x | |
| ASUSTeK Computer | 20.6 | 13.3x | 11.9x | 2.2x | 0.8x | 0.7x | 14.8x | 8.4x |
Source: FMP market data and consensus estimates, Zero One Investment Research. Prices as of trading on 10 Nov 2026. Forward multiples use each company's next unreported fiscal year (FMP consensus). P/E shown as n.m. where net margin is below 5% or the multiple exceeds 150x: near-break-even earnings make it unstable and non-comparable. † FMP operating-income defect adjudicated 2026-07-07; EBIT-derived trailing multiples treated with caution.