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# Rambus Drops $82.7 Million Korean Tax Refund Claims At No Cost To Earnings, As Inventory Nearly Doubles
- URL: https://www.bullished.co/rambus-drops-82-7-million-korean-tax-refund-claims-at-no-cost-to-earnings-as-inventory-aa03cf0a/
- Published: 2026-10-26T20:21:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-26T20:21:32.000Z
- Description: The chip designer's reserve already covered the receivable, while inventory hit $87.2 million and buybacks reached $135.9 million in the quarter.
- Author: Matteo Parrino
- Tags: Earnings, RMBS, Industry: Technology

Rambus, which makes memory interface chips and licenses chip designs and patents for data center and AI systems, withdrew its [$82.7 million](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000917273/000119312526431941/rmbs-20260930.htm?ref=bullished.co) of South Korean withholding-tax refund claims in the third quarter, its 10-Q filed Monday says. The write-off hit nothing on the income statement because a reserve already covered the receivable.

## A reserved receivable disappears

Rambus had set aside an uncertain-tax-position reserve against the Korea refund receivable, so the company said there was no impact on its financial statements at September 30.

Unrecognized tax benefits, the tax positions not yet booked as sure things, stood at about $26.4 million at September 30\. At December 31, 2025 the company carried $108.0 million, including $82.7 million tied to refundable taxes withheld from licensees in South Korea.

## Chips piling up on the balance sheet

Inventories rose to $87.2 million from $44.1 million at December 31\. Work in process, the biggest piece, climbed to $47.9 million from $17.0 million, and raw materials rose to $26.1 million from $17.3 million.

The inventory reserve fell to about $4.4 million from $8.1 million at year-end. The company's risk factors warn that it buys inventory in advance of demand and could be stuck with excess if orders fall short. Rambus uses outside manufacturers rather than its own factories.

Product revenue was 52% of third-quarter revenue of $218.3 million, which the company's [earnings release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000917273/000119312526431918/rmbs-ex99%5F1.htm?ref=bullished.co) put up 22% from a year earlier. Cost of product revenue rose $11.2 million, which management attributed to additional inventory and production costs supporting higher chip sales.

## Buybacks pick up speed

Rambus repurchased about 1.4 million shares for $135.9 million in the third quarter, part of about 1.5 million shares for $138.9 million over nine months. Those nine months included a $100.0 million accelerated repurchase program and two repurchase plans.

A new plan, entered into September 10, took effect October 1 and runs to September 30, 2027\. About 4.1 million shares remained authorized under the 2020 program at September 30\. Cash and marketable securities totaled $776.9 million, and the company's market value was $9.3 billion at Monday's report.

For the fourth quarter, Rambus guided to product revenue of $127 million to $133 million, the figure the larger inventory is meant to support.

### Sources

- [10-Q Filing — Rambus (RMBS)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000917273/000119312526431941/rmbs-20260930.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [10-Q Filing — Rambus (RMBS), Q2 FY2026 filed 2026-07-28 (comparison basis)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000917273/000119312526321000/rmbs-20260630.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Earnings release (8-K Item 2.02, rmbs-ex99\_1.htm) — Rambus, filed 2026-10-26](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000917273/000119312526431918/rmbs-ex99%5F1.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Rambus Inc. (RMBS) Stock Price, News, Quote & History - Yahoo Finance](https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/quote/RMBS/?ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance
- [Top Wall Street Forecasters Revamp Rambus Expectations Ahead Of Q3 Earnings](https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-stock-ratings/price-target/26/10/62585143/top-wall-street-forecasters-revamp-rambus-expectations-ahead-of-q3-earnings?ref=bullished.co) — benzinga.com
- [KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Chase Home Lending Mortgage Trust 2026-JINV2 (CHASE 2026-JINV2)](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/kbra-assigns-preliminary-ratings-chase-170700052.html?ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance
- [PennyMac's first all-investment property RMBS raises $298.1 million | Asset Securitization Report](https://asreport.americanbanker.com/news/pennymacs-first-all-investment-property-rmbs-raises-298-1-million?ref=bullished.co) — asreport.americanbanker.com
- [Rambus and ChipAgents Collaborate to Accelerate Chip Design with Agentic AI – Company Announcement - FT.com](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202610221700BIZWIRE%5FUSPRX%5F%5F%5F%5F20261021%5FBW802252-1&ref=bullished.co) — Financial Times