> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.sotkn.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Orders Up, Sales Up 1.3%: Who Gets Paid While China’s Chip-Tool Makers Wait on One Small Part - URL: https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-naura-q3-tools-wait-on-parts-october-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-31T02:35:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-31T02:35:28.000Z - Description: Naura, China’s biggest maker of chipmaking machines, says orders keep growing, but its third-quarter sales rose just 1.3% because some parts are in short supply. Customers are paying ahead and the machines are waiting. The stuck step is one small part. - Author: Sean - Tags: #market-china, Markets *Naura is China’s biggest maker of chipmaking machines. On 29 October it said its orders keep growing. Its customers are paying it faster than ever. And yet its sales in the third quarter rose just 1.3% from a year earlier, after growing about 25% in the first half. The reason was not demand and not money. Some of the parts that go inside its machines are in short supply, so some machines could not be delivered on time. Two other Chinese tool makers showed the same stall. The stuck step is one small part.* **CHINA PULSE** · SEMICONDUCTORS · Data as at 30 Oct 2026 · Next update: Hua Hong and SMIC third-quarter results, November **Affects:** [Semiconductors](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/) · [Wafer fab equipment](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/who-makes-wafer-fab-equipment/) — Markets: [China](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/) · [Korea](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/korea/) · [Taiwan](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/taiwan/) **In short:** Naura, China’s largest chip-tool maker, reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of RMB11.31 billion on 29 October, up only 1.31% from a year earlier, against 15.26% growth for the first nine months. It said orders keep growing but tight supply of some materials slowed deliveries. Customers paid it RMB34.9 billion in cash in nine months, 42% more than a year earlier and almost three times as fast as revenue grew, while the bills it owes its own suppliers rose 53% since December. Piotech (revenue +1.84%) and AMEC (down 3.75% from the second quarter) also slowed. Brokers name gas flow controllers, piezo ceramics, vacuum pumps and valves as the scarce parts. Scarce-part makers and tool makers holding customer cash are paid first; chip factories and ordinary suppliers wait. Stuck step: one small part. Map of who gets paid — not a buy list. Education only, not advice to buy or sell any security. Company figures are as published in the third-quarter reports of Naura, Piotech and AMEC, in Chinese yuan (RMB). Broker views are labelled as such. Our own sums are labelled. ### The numbers that matter this week Naura revenue, Q3 2026 RMB11.31bn +1.31% y/y · nine months +15.26% Stalled Cash from customers, nine months RMB34.9bn +42% y/y · revenue +15% · incl. VAT Paid ahead Bills owed to suppliers (30 Sep) RMB18.0bn Up 53% from RMB11.8bn in December Rising Customer prepayments (30 Sep) RMB5.3bn Up 24% from RMB4.3bn in December Rising Gross margin, nine months 39.4% From 41.4% a year earlier · parts costs, discounts Lower Scarce-part lead times 1–2 years Flow controllers, pumps, valves (broker reports) Stuck step Naura Q3 2026 report (29–30 Oct). Lead times as reported from CITIC Securities, 23 Oct. y/y = from a year earlier; q/q = from the quarter before. Status chips are Second Order’s read. **On this page:** [Why it matters](#why-it-matters) · [The quarter](#the-quarter) · [Who pays whom](#the-cash) · [Not just Naura](#the-others) · [The missing part](#the-part) · [Who waits at the fab](#the-fabs) · [Our math](#our-math) · [Who gets paid](#money-goes) · [What is stuck?](#still-stuck) · [Dates next](#dates) · [What would change this](#change-view) · [FAQ](#faq) ## Why does a chip-tool maker’s slow quarter matter? Because chip-making machines come before chips. A new chip factory is a building full of machines that etch patterns into silicon, lay down thin films, heat, clean and test wafers. Most of a factory’s cost is these machines, and they have to be installed and signed off before the factory can make its first wafer ([who makes wafer fab equipment](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/who-makes-wafer-fab-equipment/)). Outside China, a handful of companies make most of them, such as [Applied Materials](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-applied-materials-do/), [Lam Research](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-lam-research-do/) and [Tokyo Electron](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-tokyo-electron-do/). Inside China, more and more of those machines now come from Chinese makers, because US export rules limit what foreign companies can sell to some Chinese factories and because Chinese chipmakers want suppliers they can count on. Naura is the biggest of them. Its results are one of the clearest readings of how fast China’s new chip capacity is actually being built. This quarter they show something new. The orders are there. The customer money is there. What is missing is a small number of parts inside the machines, many of them made in Japan, Europe and the US. So the chain looks like this. The makers of the scarce parts can charge more and sell everything they make. The tool makers are collecting cash from customers ahead of delivery. The chip factories are paying and waiting for machines. And the step that decides how fast it all moves is one small part. 1 · Scarce-part makers **Who:** Gas flow controllers, piezo ceramics, vacuum pumps, valves, heaters **Paid:** Sell all they make · prices up · lead times 1–2 years Paid 2 · The missing part **Who:** One part short means the machine cannot ship or be signed off **Paid:** Revenue waits for the scarcest part Stuck step 3 · Tool makers **Who:** Naura, AMEC, Piotech **Paid:** Collect customer cash early; book revenue only on sign-off Paid early 4 · Chip factories **Who:** Memory, logic and foundry lines expanding in China **Paid:** Pay ahead, then wait for machines Waiting ## What did Naura report on 29 October? Naura Technology Group is based in Beijing. Its largest shareholder is a Beijing state-owned group, and China’s national chip investment funds, often called the Big Fund, are also among its ten largest holders. It makes etching machines, machines that deposit thin films, heat-treatment furnaces, wet-cleaning machines, ion implanters, machines that coat and develop the light-sensitive layer used in lithography, and wafer-bonding machines. Revenue in the third quarter was RMB11.31 billion, up 1.31% from a year earlier. Net profit was RMB2.02 billion, up 5.18%. For the first nine months, revenue was RMB31.47 billion, up 15.26%, and net profit was RMB5.39 billion, up 5.10%. Operating cash flow for the nine months was RMB5.59 billion, against an outflow of RMB2.57 billion a year earlier. The quarter was not weak against the one before it. Naura’s third-quarter revenue was 14.9% higher than in the second quarter, and profit 16.5% higher, Chinese media reported from the filing. The problem is the trend. Revenue in the first half grew about 25% from a year earlier (our arithmetic from the nine-month and third-quarter figures). In the third quarter, growth nearly stopped. Naura explained it in one sentence in the report. It said AI is driving fast growth in chip demand around the world, the industry is in good shape, and its orders keep getting bigger. It said its share has risen in etching, thin films, heat treatment, wet cleaning, ion implantation, coating and developing, and bonding. Then it added that, because of tight supply of some categories of materials, some order deliveries are under short-term pressure, and that it is working with its supply chain to protect deliveries to customers. It did not say which materials, how many orders were affected, how big its order book is, or when it expects supply to improve. The company told Chinese media that new orders in the first nine months were well up on a year earlier, without giving a figure. A CSC Financial note from an industry forum, reported on 26 October, put Naura’s order book at about RMB85 billion at the end of September and said delivery pressure had risen sharply; Naura has not published a figure, so treat it as a broker estimate. Two other lines in the report point the same way. Selling costs rose RMB353 million, or 41%, which Naura said was because shipments of machines rose sharply and it hired more sales and service staff. And gross margin for the nine months fell to 39.44% from 41.41%. Naura gave two reasons: several new products are still being tested at customer sites and the cost of upgrading their parts rose a lot, and it gave price breaks to some large customers buying in bulk to win share. Put simply: Naura is shipping more machines, spending more to look after them at customer sites, paying more for parts, and booking revenue more slowly. That is what it looks like when the machines are sold but not all of them can be finished, delivered and signed off. ## Who is paying whom? This is where the report gets interesting. A tool maker books revenue when the customer accepts the machine, which can be months after it arrives. Cash moves on a different clock. Naura’s cash flow statement shows the two clocks pulling apart. In the first nine months, customers paid Naura RMB34.91 billion in cash for goods and services, up 42% from RMB24.55 billion a year earlier. Revenue grew 15% over the same nine months, so cash came in almost three times as fast. The cash figure includes value-added tax, so it is not directly comparable with revenue; on a like-for-like basis, Naura collected roughly what it billed this year, against only about 80% a year earlier (our arithmetic, adding China’s 13% VAT rate to revenue). Customers are paying faster than Naura can turn machines into booked sales. The balance sheet shows the same thing from another angle. Money customers have paid in advance for machines not yet delivered or accepted (contract liabilities) rose to RMB5.30 billion at the end of September from RMB4.29 billion at the end of December, up 24%. Naura’s stock (inventory: materials, parts, and machines being built or not yet signed off) rose to RMB33.90 billion from RMB28.63 billion, up 18%. ![Chart of Naura's cash and working capital in the first nine months of 2026: cash from customers up 42%, money owed to suppliers up 53%, customer prepayments up 24%, stock up 18%, cash paid for goods down 3%](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/10/china-naura-q3-tools-wait-on-parts-october-2026-shift.png) Customers pay ahead; suppliers wait longer. · Education only. On the other side, Naura paid out RMB20.54 billion in cash for goods and services in the nine months, 3% less than the RMB21.25 billion a year earlier. Yet the bills it owes its own suppliers (accounts payable) jumped to RMB18.02 billion from RMB11.80 billion at the end of December, up 53%, or about RMB6.2 billion (our arithmetic). Short-term notes payable were slightly lower at about RMB3.6 billion. In plain terms: customers are paying Naura sooner, and Naura is paying many of its own suppliers later. A year ago, Naura paid out about 87 yuan to suppliers for every 100 yuan it collected from customers. This year it was about 59 yuan (our arithmetic). That is why its operating cash flow swung from an outflow to an inflow of RMB5.6 billion, even though profit barely grew. This is a common pattern in a tight market, and it tells you who has the power. A customer that wants a machine in a shortage pays early to keep its place in the queue. A tool maker with more orders than it can deliver can stretch its ordinary suppliers. The exception is the supplier of the part that is actually short; that one sets the terms ([free cash flow explained](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/free-cash-flow-explained/)). Naura is also spending heavily on new products. Total research and development spending was RMB5.43 billion in the nine months, up 17%. Part of it is held on the balance sheet as development costs, which rose to RMB8.83 billion from RMB6.72 billion. It ended September with RMB19.21 billion of cash and RMB11.59 billion of long-term loans. ## Is it just Naura? No. Two other Chinese tool makers that reported this week show the same stall in the third quarter, each with its own explanation. Piotech, which makes machines that deposit thin films and, more recently, machines that bond wafers together, reported on 28 October. Third-quarter revenue was RMB2.31 billion, up 1.84% from a year earlier, against 23.70% growth for the nine months. Piotech said its revenue was flat because of the mix of products and platforms that customers happened to accept in the quarter. It did not mention parts. Its balance sheet tells a similar story to Naura’s, with one difference. Stock rose by about RMB1.59 billion to RMB9.41 billion, which Piotech put down to the growth of its business. Bills owed to suppliers rose 50% to RMB2.59 billion. But customer prepayments fell slightly to RMB4.52 billion from RMB4.85 billion, and operating cash flow was an outflow of RMB151 million in the quarter and RMB36 million for the nine months, against an inflow of RMB2.83 billion a year earlier. Piotech said customers’ payment terms differed and it paid more to suppliers as the business grew. AMEC, which makes plasma etching machines and thin-film machines, reported on 30 October. Third-quarter revenue was RMB3.64 billion, up 17.18% from a year earlier but down 3.75% from the second quarter. Profit before one-off items was RMB500 million, up 43.8% from a year earlier but down 22.4% from the second quarter. Headline profit for the nine months jumped 241% to RMB4.13 billion, but much of that came from investment gains, including about RMB953 million from selling part of its stake in Piotech. ![Chart of third-quarter 2026 revenue growth against nine-month growth at three Chinese chip-tool makers: Naura 1.3% vs 15.3%, Piotech 1.8% vs 23.7%, AMEC 17.2% vs 28.1% (and down 3.75% from the second quarter)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/10/china-naura-q3-tools-wait-on-parts-october-2026-print.png) Third-quarter sales stalled at all three. · Education only. AMEC’s operating cash flow was an outflow of RMB790 million in the third quarter and RMB105 million for the nine months. It put that mainly down to building up stock of materials (in Chinese, “bei huo”, buying parts ahead to be ready), research spending and wages. It said its stock rose with its order book. Research spending was RMB3.22 billion, about 31% of revenue. So three tool makers, three slightly different stories. Naura names materials. Piotech names the timing of customer sign-offs. AMEC is spending cash to stock up on parts. But the shape is the same: nine-month growth of 15% to 28%, then a third quarter that barely grew. Orders did not fall; the industry is busy. The machines are taking longer to turn into revenue. ## Which part is short? Naura did not say. But Chinese brokers have been naming the same short list for weeks, and it lines up with what the world’s biggest maker of one of those parts says about itself. CITIC Securities, after the Bay Area chip show in Shenzhen on 14 to 16 October, said new tool orders in the third quarter stayed strong and some companies expect the order boom to last into 2028 or 2029\. It said that from the third quarter, some foreign parts makers had in effect stopped meeting demand from Chinese tool makers, a “soft supply cut”, with lead times stretched to one to two years. The scarce parts it named were mass flow controllers, molecular pumps, vacuum capacitors, valves, heaters and electrostatic chucks (the plates that hold a wafer in place). Japanese and European makers have large shares of all of them. A mass flow controller is a small box that measures and controls exactly how much of each gas flows into the chamber where a wafer is etched or coated. Almost every etching, deposition, furnace and implant machine needs several of them. A small error in gas flow can ruin a wafer, so chip factories are slow to approve new suppliers. The best flow controllers use a valve driven by a piezo ceramic, a material that changes shape very precisely when a voltage is applied. That is where the shortage seems to start. A CSC Financial note on an industry forum, reported on 26 October, said Japan’s HORIBA has more than 60% of the flow controller market, followed by US makers, and that Chinese-made flow controllers have under 10% of the market. It said more than 90% of the piezo ceramics are made by a few Japanese and German companies, with lead times of more than six months, the longest in years, and no clear plans to expand. HORIBA itself has been open about its limits. In the Q&A it published on 18 August, it said it expects sales of flow controllers to keep growing to 2028, that it keeps pushing for higher prices with customers, and that output at its new Fukuchiyama factory in Kyoto is still limited, so it does not yet have enough supply to meet demand. It said it would invest quickly in more production equipment and is also using a plant in Malaysia that started in January. The shortage is not only in China. ASML said on 14 October that its own supply plans for 2027 and 2028 still fall short of what customers want ([the ASML supply Wire](https://www.sotkn.com/wire/asml-2027-2028-supply-short-of-chip-demand-wire/)), and it raised prices on some lithography parts ([the ASML parts Wire](https://www.sotkn.com/wire/asml-lithography-parts-price-10-percent-samsung-sk-hynix-wire/)). We saw the same squeeze at the Swiss vacuum-valve maker VAT Group, whose orders ran far ahead of what its factories could ship ([the VAT Group Analysis](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/vat-group-factory-output-stuck-step-what-price-assumes/)). What is different in China is that the squeeze lands on top of the push to replace foreign parts. Chinese flow controller makers are being asked to fill the gap. The CSC Financial note said one, Huacheng, saw demand for its chip flow controllers jump from just over 1,000 a month in the first half to 14,000 to 15,000 a month now, and expects about 20,000 a month in 2027\. It also said piezo ceramics from a Chinese maker, Bangci, had passed testing at Huacheng and at Naura. Those are broker figures, not company filings, but they show where the money is moving. ## Who is waiting at the chip factory? The customers. When a tool maker cannot deliver, a chip factory has a clean room, power and staff ready, and a gap where a machine should be. It has often paid part of the price already. The CSC Financial note said large expansions at China’s memory makers, CXMT and YMTC, are behind much of the order pressure on Naura. CXMT, China’s biggest DRAM maker, has been running flat out on the memory shortage ([the CXMT Catalyst](https://www.sotkn.com/catalyst/cxmt-q3-2026-131b-nine-month-profit-q3-flat/); [the CXMT server DRAM Pulse](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-cxmt-server-dram-october-2026/)). Memory lines need large numbers of etching and deposition machines, which is exactly what Naura, AMEC and Piotech sell ([memory process tools explained](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/memory-process-tools-hbm-explained/)). Foundries are waiting too. CLSA said on 14 October that Hua Hong’s order backlog is 1.5 to 2 times its current capacity, and that it expects prices to rise another 10% to 15% by the end of 2026\. SMIC has been running close to full for months ([the SMIC utilisation Pulse](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-smic-utilization-october-2026/)). Factories that are full and have orders waiting want machines now, which is why they pay early. And further down the chain, China’s AI chip designers are waiting on wafers. Cambricon built up more than two years of stock while it waited for foundry capacity ([the Cambricon Pulse](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-cambricon-q3-inventory-october-2026/)). Every machine that arrives late is a little less foundry capacity for chips like these. CLSA’s view, published before the results, is that the parts squeeze slows deliveries in the short run but should ease gradually from the fourth quarter of 2026 into 2027\. CITIC Securities also expects foreign shortages to speed up the switch to Chinese parts. Both are forecasts. Naura gave no date. ## Our math, in plain sums - Naura first half: RMB31.47 billion nine-month revenue − RMB11.31 billion third quarter = about RMB20.16 billion, about 25% above the first half of 2025 (our arithmetic from reported growth rates). - Naura second quarter: third quarter RMB11.31 billion ÷ 1.149 = about RMB9.84 billion (our arithmetic from the reported 14.9% quarter-on-quarter rise). - Cash vs billing: RMB34.91 billion collected ÷ (RMB31.47 billion revenue × 1.13 VAT) = about 98%, against RMB24.55 billion ÷ (RMB27.30 billion × 1.13) = about 80% a year earlier (our arithmetic; 13% is the standard VAT rate, so this is approximate). - Paying suppliers later: cash paid for goods ÷ cash collected = RMB20.54bn ÷ RMB34.91bn = about 59%, against RMB21.25bn ÷ RMB24.55bn = about 87% a year earlier (our arithmetic). - Bills owed to suppliers: RMB18.02 billion − RMB11.80 billion = about RMB6.2 billion more since December, up about 53% (our arithmetic). - Stock: RMB33.90 billion − RMB28.63 billion = about RMB5.3 billion more, up about 18%; customer prepayments up about RMB1.0 billion, or 24% (our arithmetic). - Order book (broker report, not disclosed by Naura): about RMB85 billion ÷ RMB11.31 billion a quarter = roughly seven and a half quarters of revenue at the third-quarter pace (our arithmetic). - AMEC second quarter: RMB3.635 billion ÷ (1 − 0.0375) = about RMB3.78 billion (our arithmetic). - Piotech stock: RMB9.41 billion − RMB7.83 billion = about RMB1.59 billion more, up about 20%; bills owed to suppliers up about 50% (our arithmetic). What this tells you: at Naura, the money is moving in the right direction for the tool maker — in early from customers, out later to most suppliers — while revenue waits. That only works while customers are desperate for machines. If the missing parts arrive, a lot of delayed revenue can land quickly. If they do not, the gap between cash collected and machines signed off keeps growing. ## Who gets paid first? ![Infographic: who gets paid while China's chip-tool makers wait on parts, from scarce-part makers to the tool makers holding customer cash, with chip factories and ordinary suppliers waiting and one small part as the stuck step](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/10/china-naura-q3-tools-wait-on-parts-october-2026-infographic.png) Who gets paid / stuck step in China’s chip tools. · Education only. First, the makers of the scarce parts — on price and volume. HORIBA says it is selling all the flow controllers it can make and keeps pushing prices up. The few makers of piezo ceramics, vacuum pumps, valves, heaters and chucks are in the same spot. When a part has a lead time of a year or more, the buyer pays the price and takes the slot. Second, Chinese parts makers that have passed testing — on new orders. Domestic flow controller and piezo ceramic makers are getting orders they could not win a year ago, because tool makers need a second source. The ones already approved at the tool maker and the chip factory win; the ones still in testing cannot ship into this shortage. Third, the tool makers — in cash now, in revenue later. Naura’s cash from customers rose 42% while revenue rose 15%, and it holds RMB5.3 billion of prepayments. It is paid early. But its margin is lower, because parts cost more and big customers got price breaks, and its revenue now depends on the slowest part. Waiting: Naura’s ordinary suppliers — on their bills. The RMB6.2 billion rise in what Naura owes suppliers is money those suppliers have earned but not yet received. In a shortage, the supplier of the common part waits; the supplier of the scarce part does not. Waiting: the chip factories — for machines. Memory makers and foundries pay ahead and wait for tools to arrive and be signed off. Behind them, AI chip designers wait for the wafers those tools will make ([China’s AI compute and power](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-ai-compute-146-percent-power-35-percent-october-2026/)). One-line rule: in China’s chip tools this quarter, the scarce-part makers are paid first, the tool makers collect cash early and book revenue late, and the chip factories and ordinary suppliers wait. The stuck step is one small part. ## So what is the stuck step? One small part: the scarcest component inside a chipmaking machine, most often named as the gas flow controller and the piezo ceramic inside it. Not demand, which Naura says keeps growing. Not money, which customers are paying early. Not factory space, which the tool makers have. Four things make it stick: - **One part holds up a whole machine.** A tool with dozens of parts cannot ship or be signed off if one is missing, so a shortage of a small, cheap part delays a large, expensive sale. - **The parts come from a few foreign makers.** Brokers say Japanese, European and US makers hold most of the market for flow controllers, piezo ceramics and vacuum parts, and some have stretched lead times to one to two years. - **New suppliers need testing.** A Chinese part has to pass the tool maker’s tests and then the chip factory’s before it can go into volume production, which takes months. - **Revenue waits for sign-off.** Tool makers book revenue when the customer accepts the machine, so every week a part is late pushes revenue into a later quarter. This is the bind our [stuck-step Analysis](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/where-does-the-stuck-step-move/) describes: once orders and money are in place, the bind moves to the slowest physical step. We saw it move to clean rooms at Samsung ([the Samsung Pulse](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/korea/korea-samsung-q3-clean-rooms-october-2026/)) and to new floors at ASE ([the ASE Pulse](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/taiwan/taiwan-ase-q3-capex-new-floors-october-2026/)). In China’s tool makers this quarter it moved further upstream, into the parts inside the machines. ## Which dates test this read next? ![Calendar of dates that test the China read: Hua Hong and SMIC third-quarter results in early to mid November, China customs October trade data, HORIBA third-quarter results, Naura's fourth quarter and annual report in 2027](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/10/china-naura-q3-tools-wait-on-parts-october-2026-calendar.png) Dates that test the read. · Education only. - **Early November —** Hua Hong third-quarter results: did it get the machines it needs to add capacity, and is its backlog still well above capacity? - **Around 7 November —** China customs October trade data, with more detail later in the month on imports of chipmaking machines and parts. - **6 or 13 November —** SMIC third-quarter results (date not yet confirmed by SMIC): its capital spending plan and any comment on tool deliveries. - **Around 13 November —** HORIBA third-quarter results (date from a third-party calendar): flow controller output, prices and any word on piezo ceramic supply. - **Spring 2027 —** Naura’s full-year 2026 report: did fourth-quarter revenue jump as delayed machines shipped, and does it disclose its order book? ## What would change this view? - Delayed revenue lands. If Naura’s fourth-quarter revenue jumps well above the third quarter, the stall was timing and the parts bind is loosening. - Chinese parts fill the gap. If domestic flow controllers and piezo ceramics pass testing and ship in volume, the bind moves off the foreign parts makers. - The squeeze spreads. If more tool makers name parts shortages, or prepayments and bills owed to suppliers keep climbing, the bind is getting tighter, not looser. - Demand cools. If Chinese memory makers or foundries slow their expansion plans, customer prepayments would shrink first, and the parts shortage would matter less. ## Practical takeaways - Naura’s third-quarter revenue rose just 1.31% from a year earlier, after about 25% growth in the first half; it blamed tight supply of some materials - Customers paid Naura RMB34.9 billion in cash in nine months, 42% more than a year earlier, while revenue rose 15% - Bills Naura owes its suppliers rose 53% since December, while cash it paid for goods fell 3% - Piotech (+1.84%) and AMEC (down 3.75% from the second quarter) stalled too; brokers name flow controllers, piezo ceramics and vacuum parts as scarce - Scarce-part makers are paid first; tool makers collect cash early; chip factories and ordinary suppliers wait; stuck step: one small part ## FAQ **What did Naura report for the third quarter of 2026?** Naura reported third-quarter revenue of RMB11.31 billion, up 1.31% from a year earlier, and net profit of RMB2.02 billion, up 5.18%. For the first nine months revenue rose 15.26% to RMB31.47 billion. The company said orders keep growing but tight supply of some categories of materials put short-term pressure on delivering some orders. **Why are China’s chip-tool makers short of parts?** Chip factories around the world are expanding at the same time, so the small precision parts inside chipmaking machines are in demand everywhere. Brokers point to gas flow controllers, the piezo ceramics inside them, vacuum pumps, valves, heaters and wafer chucks, mostly made in Japan, Europe and the US, with lead times of up to one to two years. Naura did not name the materials. **What is the stuck step?** One small part. A finished chipmaking machine cannot ship and be signed off by the customer if one part is missing, and the tool maker books revenue only when the customer accepts the machine. So the orders and the customer cash are there, but revenue and new chip-making capacity wait on the scarcest part. **Is this investment advice?** No. Education only. It maps who gets paid and which step is stuck. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security, and we leave out share prices, broker ratings and price targets on purpose. ## Keep reading on the map - [China Markets hub](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/) — country page - [Cambricon waits on wafers](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-cambricon-q3-inventory-october-2026/) · [China’s AI compute and power](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-ai-compute-146-percent-power-35-percent-october-2026/) · [China’s 8-inch lines](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-8inch-power-foundry-october-2026/) · [CXMT server DRAM](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-cxmt-server-dram-october-2026/) · [SMIC’s margin guide](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/china/china-smic-margin-logicfolding-october-2026/) - [Samsung’s clean rooms](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/korea/korea-samsung-q3-clean-rooms-october-2026/) · [ASE’s new floors](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/taiwan/taiwan-ase-q3-capex-new-floors-october-2026/) — other markets - [What does Applied Materials do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-applied-materials-do/) · [What does Lam Research do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-lam-research-do/) · [What does Tokyo Electron do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-tokyo-electron-do/) · [What does KLA do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-kla-do/) · [What does ASML do?](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/semiconductors/what-does-asml-do/) - [Who makes wafer fab equipment?](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/who-makes-wafer-fab-equipment/) · [Clean rooms explained](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/clean-room-explained/) · [Memory process tools explained](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/memory-process-tools-hbm-explained/) - [VAT Group’s orders outrun its factory](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/vat-group-factory-output-stuck-step-what-price-assumes/) · [Lam Research and the China licence](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/lam-research-china-licence-stuck-step-what-price-assumes/) · [If ASML supply stays short](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/if-asml-supply-stays-short-2028-where-cash-sticks/) · [Where does the stuck step move?](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/where-does-the-stuck-step-move/) - [ASML supply short of demand](https://www.sotkn.com/wire/asml-2027-2028-supply-short-of-chip-demand-wire/) · [ASML raises parts prices](https://www.sotkn.com/wire/asml-lithography-parts-price-10-percent-samsung-sk-hynix-wire/) · [CXMT’s nine-month profit](https://www.sotkn.com/catalyst/cxmt-q3-2026-131b-nine-month-profit-q3-flat/) - [All Markets doors](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/) — Taiwan, Korea, US, China, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia **Get the Wire.** Second Order’s free daily brief on what moved in the AI chip map. [Read the Wire →](https://www.sotkn.com/the-wire/) · [Subscribe free →](https://www.sotkn.com/#/portal/signup) **Members’ Analysis (teaser):** When the money and the orders are in place, where does the stuck step move? The free line: whoever controls the slowest physical step is paid before whoever owns the contract. [Read the Analysis →](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/where-does-the-stuck-step-move/) **How we check this.** Naura’s revenue, profit, the materials-supply statement, research spending, selling costs, gross margin, balance sheet and cash flow come from its own third-quarter 2026 report (announcement 2026-060), approved by its board on 29 October and printed in Shanghai Securities News on 30 October, in Chinese yuan. Piotech’s and AMEC’s figures come from their own third-quarter reports of 28 and 30 October, read from reproductions of the reports and a summary. HORIBA’s comments are from its own published Q&A of 18 August. The list of scarce parts, lead times, the reported order book and the outlook come from broker notes (CITIC Securities, CSC Financial, CLSA) as reported by Chinese financial media; we say so each time and treat them as reports, not company disclosures. Every sum we worked out is labelled “our arithmetic”. Share prices, broker ratings and price targets are left out on purpose. The references we used are listed at the end. [Our editorial standards →](https://www.sotkn.com/editorial-standards/) Not investment advice. Do your own research. --- ### References 1. Naura Technology Group, 2026 third-quarter report (announcement 2026-060), as printed in Shanghai Securities News, 29–30 Oct 2026\. [paper.cnstock.com](https://paper.cnstock.com/html/2026-10/30/content%5F2284355.htm?ref=sotkn.com) — revenue, profit, the materials-supply statement, R&D, selling costs, gross margin and operating cash flow. 2. Naura Technology Group, 2026 third-quarter report, full financial statements (reproduced by 9fzt), 30 Oct 2026\. [9fzt.com](https://www.9fzt.com/detail/sz%5F002371%5F9%5F754357e86ffbcc8e0628c58983067bb6.html?ref=sotkn.com) — the balance sheet (bills owed to suppliers, stock, customer prepayments) and the cash flow statement. 3. Piotech, 2026 third-quarter report (reproduced by 9fzt), 28 Oct 2026\. [9fzt.com](https://www.9fzt.com/detail/sh%5F688072%5F9%5F8718323e19b7ebea2c1407bddd358bb3.html?ref=sotkn.com) — Piotech revenue, the acceptance-mix explanation, stock, bills owed to suppliers and operating cash flow. 4. IT Home via 10jqka, AMEC 2026 third-quarter report summary, 30 Oct 2026\. [stock.10jqka.com.cn](https://stock.10jqka.com.cn/20261030/c681299286.shtml?ref=sotkn.com) — AMEC revenue, profit, investment gains, R&D and operating cash flow. 5. Biggo Finance, AMEC posts 2.4-fold profit surge in first three quarters, 30 Oct 2026\. [finance.biggo.com](https://finance.biggo.com/news/8478c693-0c6e-4276-b2f6-470dc503042c?ref=sotkn.com) — AMEC’s quarter-on-quarter revenue and profit change and the Piotech share-sale gain. 6. HORIBA, main Q&A from the 2026 second-quarter results and MLMAP2028 update briefing, 18 Aug 2026\. [static.horiba.com](https://static.horiba.com/fileadmin/Horiba/Company/Investor%5FRelations/IR%5FLibrary/Briefing%5FMaterial/2022-/20260818%5FPR%5Fjp%5FO8t.pdf?ref=sotkn.com) — HORIBA’s own comments on limited mass flow controller supply, its new factory and prices. 7. Sina Finance / 21st Century Business Herald, CITIC Securities on the Bay Area chip show, 23 Oct 2026\. [finance.sina.com.cn](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2026-10-23/doc-iniwfmnq2593072.shtml?ref=sotkn.com) — orders in the third quarter, the list of scarce parts and lead times of one to two years. 8. Tencent News, CSC Financial industry-forum notes on mass flow controllers and piezo ceramics, 26 Oct 2026\. [news.qq.com](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20261025A0C7Z800?ref=sotkn.com) — the reported order book, the foreign share of flow controllers and piezo ceramics, and domestic order growth. 9. 10jqka, Naura nine-month revenue up 15.26%, operating cash flow sharply improved, 30 Oct 2026\. [stock.10jqka.com.cn](https://stock.10jqka.com.cn/20261030/c681269094.shtml?ref=sotkn.com) — Naura’s quarter-on-quarter revenue and profit change and its comment on new orders. 10. Sina Finance, CLSA: upstream parts shortage slows China chip deliveries, 14 Oct 2026\. [finance.sina.com.cn](https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/hkstock/hkyx/2026-10-14/doc-iniveefm7253046.shtml?ref=sotkn.com) — CLSA’s view that the parts squeeze eases from the fourth quarter into 2027.