Patent Current · NLST Battle MapUpdated Jul 24, 2026

Netlist is fighting for the right to get paid.

Three large jury verdicts are only the opening position. Patent validity, appeals, ITC remedies, cash conversion and dilution decide what—if anything—reaches shareholders.

Gross jury verdicts$866MAcross 3 matters

Counted as realized$0In filed financials

Active ITC tracks2Exclusion remedies sought

Enter the battle map How the score works

Next fixed move06days

Jul 30 · before 9:30 a.m. ET

Q2 results: did the operating turn convert to cash?

Watch gross margin, the Q1 inventory build, SK hynix supply language and the post-quarter share count.

Official notice

VERDICTS favorableVALIDITY mixedCOLLECTION unresolvedITC LEVERAGE risingOPERATIONS improvingDILUTION elevated

01 / Battle map

Five fronts. One conversion problem.

A verdict is not cash. Follow the chain from infringement to patent survival, appeal, remedy and collection.

01Jury verdict$866M gross

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02ValidityMixed PTAB record

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03AppealKey decisions pending

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04RemedyDamages / exclusion

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05Net cashFees, tax, time

01Favorable verdicts · contested durability

Samsung

$421Mgross jury verdicts across two Texas matters

Netlist has its biggest collection opportunity and its densest thicket of risk here: two infringement verdicts, the JDLA appeal, multiple patent-validity appeals, and both ITC investigations.

Front posture

Next watchNo fixed date: Federal Circuit decisions after Mar. 6 arguments

What could change this front ＋

The $303M and $118M figures are gross verdicts—not recognized revenue or collected cash. A durable path requires both infringement judgments and enough asserted claims to survive review.

02Large verdict · appeal pending

Micron

$445Mgross jury verdict, now at the Federal Circuit

The award is larger than either Samsung verdict. The ’314 win adds portfolio strength, while the ’912 and ’417 validity fights keep the recovery path uncertain.

Front posture

Next watchSep. 9: appeal and linked validity arguments

What could change this front ＋

Post-trial motions in the Texas case were denied in June 2025. Micron appealed in July 2025. A verdict can still be reduced, reversed, remanded, settled, or delayed.

03Leverage expanding · merits untested

Google + AI stack

2 ITCsnow reach Google, Super Micro, NVIDIA and Broadcom

The strategy has moved from bilateral patent suits to the product ecosystem around DDR5, MRDIMM and HBM. ITC exclusion remedies could create negotiating leverage.

Front posture

Next watchA schedule is still being set for the second ITC

What could change this front ＋

An ITC investigation opening is procedural, not a finding of infringement. The legacy Google district case remains stayed while related Samsung issues proceed.

04Mixed record · claim-specific

Patent office + appeals

Mixedwins on ’314 / ’608; losses and appeals elsewhere

This is the gate between a jury verdict and durable value. Netlist has meaningful affirmances and institution denials, but several award-linked claims face adverse PTAB decisions or pending appeals.

Front posture

Next watchWatch for Federal Circuit decisions; timing is not fixed

What could change this front ＋

Portfolio-level slogans obscure the real record. Each asserted patent, each challenged claim and each forum has its own procedural posture.

05Q1 inflection · cash conversion unproven

Operating runway

21.3%Q1 gross margin, up sharply from 6.1% in FY2025

The product business finally supplied earnings, but 96% of filed Q1 revenue was third-party resale, operating cash flow was negative and the term supply agreement expired.

Front posture

Next watchJul. 30: Q2 results are the immediate reality check

What could change this front ＋

The company had $17.0M unrestricted cash plus $10.0M restricted cash at quarter-end. Inventory, prepayments, warrants and new share reserves all matter to per-share outcomes.

02 / Timeline

Seventeen years, compressed.

Filter by adversary or forum. Every event opens the source that bears the weight.

GoogleDec 2009

mixed

The Google case begins

Netlist files its long-running ’912 patent action in Northern California. It is now stayed while the related Samsung matter and appeals play out.

2026 Form 10-Q

BusinessApr 2021

positive

SK hynix settlement resets the map

A $40M license payment and five-year supply arrangement resolve the SK hynix dispute. It becomes the clearest precedent for converting patents into cash and supply.

Netlist 8-K

SamsungApr 2023

positive

$303M Samsung jury verdict

An Eastern District of Texas jury finds willful infringement across five memory patents. Final judgment follows; Samsung’s Federal Circuit appeal remains pending.

2026 Form 10-Q

MicronMay 2024

positive

$445M Micron jury verdict

A Texas jury finds willful infringement of the ’912 and ’417 patents. Post-trial motions were denied in 2025; Micron’s Federal Circuit appeal is pending.

2026 Form 10-Q

SamsungNov 2024

positive

$118M second Samsung verdict

A second Texas jury finds willful infringement of the ’912, ’417 and ’608 patents. The court denied a requested injunction; validity and post-trial paths remain central.

2026 Form 10-Q

SamsungMar 2025

positive

Netlist wins the JDLA retrial

A California jury again backs Netlist in its Samsung joint-development agreement dispute. Final judgment is on appeal at the Ninth Circuit.

2026 Form 10-Q

Patent officeDec 2025

mixed

Validity record splits

The Federal Circuit affirms an adverse ’506 outcome and a favorable ’608 outcome. The message is durable but mixed: patent-by-patent, claim-by-claim.

Federal Circuit

ITCJan 2026

positive

First ITC investigation opens

Investigation 337-TA-1472 targets Samsung, Google and Super Micro products across six patents covering DRAM, DDR5, MRDIMM and HBM-related technology.

USITC case record

Patent officeFeb 2026

positive

’314 validity win survives appeal

The Federal Circuit affirms the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s favorable decision for Netlist on challenged ’314 patent claims.

Federal Circuit opinion

SamsungMar 2026

Watch

Key Samsung appeals argued

The Federal Circuit hears arguments touching the $303M judgment and several underlying validity disputes. Decisions have no fixed public date.

Federal Circuit audio

Patent officeMar 2026

positive

New ’366 challenges are denied

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board declines to institute Samsung challenges to the newer ’366 patent, improving its near-term enforceability posture.

2026 Form 10-Q

BusinessApr 2026

negative

SK hynix supply term expires

The five-year supply provisions expire. Netlist says purchases continue order by order on similar terms, without a disclosed replacement agreement.

2026 Form 10-Q

BusinessMay 2026

mixed

Q1 operating inflection

Revenue reaches $104.9M, gross margin 21.3% and net income $8.6M. Operating cash flow remains negative $21.8M amid a large inventory and prepayment build.

Netlist Q1 release

ITCJun 2026

positive

New AI-memory actions filed

Netlist brings the newer ’537 and ’937 patents to the ITC and Eastern District of Texas, naming a broader HBM and DDR5 ecosystem.

Netlist release

ITCJul 2026

positive

Second ITC investigation instituted

Investigation 337-TA-1511 opens against Samsung, Google, Super Micro, NVIDIA and Broadcom. Institution starts the case; it is not a merits finding.

USITC news release

UpcomingJul 30, 2026

Watch

Q2 results and conference call

The first hard check on Q1’s margin, inventory conversion, cash generation and post-expiry SK hynix supply.

Official event notice

UpcomingSep 9, 2026

Watch

$445M appeal + linked validity arguments

The Federal Circuit is scheduled to hear Micron’s merits and damages appeal alongside the ’912 claim 16 and ’215/’417 PTAB appeals at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Federal Circuit calendar

UpcomingNov 23, 2026

Watch

First ITC evidentiary hearing begins

The scheduled hearing in investigation 337-TA-1472 is the first major merits test in the ITC track.

USITC case record

UpcomingDec 7, 2026

Watch

Micron’s Idaho case set for trial

A separate Micron declaratory and contract action is scheduled for trial, subject to the court’s calendar and later orders.

2026 Form 10-Q

UpcomingMay 3, 2027

Watch

First ITC initial determination due

The administrative law judge’s scheduled initial determination in 337-TA-1472, before Commission review.

USITC case record

UpcomingSep 3, 2027

Watch

First ITC target date

The Commission’s current target for completing investigation 337-TA-1472. Schedules can move.

USITC case record

03 / Operating reality

One company. Three economic layers.

Netlist is not an HBM chip fabricator. Today’s revenue is primarily third-party memory resale, with proprietary modules and IP leverage layered on top.

Layer 01 · current engine

Third-party memory resale

95.9%

of filed Q1 revenue. The vast majority of recent product sales used SK hynix supply.

Layer 02 · operating option

Proprietary modules

4.1%

of filed Q1 revenue: Lightning DDR5 now; CXL NVvault and low-power MRDIMM in development or sampling.

Layer 03 · asymmetric option

Patent licensing + enforcement

license revenue reported in Q1. Verdict value remains a contingent, litigation-dependent outcome.

Q1 revenue$104.9M+262% year over year

Gross margin21.3%vs. 4.5% in Q1 2025

Net income$8.6MFirst-quarter inflection

Operating cash flow−$21.8MInventory + prepayment build

Unrestricted cash$17.0MPlus $10.0M restricted

Estimated shares333.3MAfter exercises through May 8

The Q2 test

Was 21% margin a turn—or a moment?

Q1 operating break-even was roughly a 13.2% gross margin at that revenue level. Each margin point was worth about $1.05M of quarterly gross profit.

FY25 · 6.1%Break-even · 13.2%Q1 · 21.3%

What the headline misses

Supply: SK hynix’s term provisions expired in April; orders continue without a disclosed replacement agreement.
Concentration: three customers produced 52% of Q1 sales.
Dilution: share count grew about 22.5% from 2024 year-end to the post-exercise estimate.
Controls: the Q1 filing still reported an unremediated material weakness.

Primary sourceQ1 2026 Form 10-Q · Filed May 12, 2026

04 / Outlook

Three paths. No price targets.

These are conditional pathways, not probabilities. Each tells you what evidence would have to appear.

Base path

The record stays mixed—and time stays expensive.

Some claims survive, others fall, and the headline verdicts remain tied up in appeals. Product sales help carry the legal campaign, but legal costs, working capital and financing keep pushing realized value into the future.

Evidence that would confirm it

01No decisive appellate sweep in either direction
02ITC schedules advance without a near-term resolution
03Gross margin normalizes below Q1’s 21.3%
04Netlist continues funding the gap through warrants or equity

ImmediateJul 30

Q2 revenue, margin, cash and supply language

LegalNo fixed date

Federal Circuit decisions after March arguments

MeritsNov 23

First ITC evidentiary hearing scheduled to begin

Long arcSep 3, 2027

Current target date for first ITC investigation

05 / Confidence pulse

Separate posture from certainty.

The posture score asks how favorable the record is. Evidence confidence asks how much primary-source coverage supports that judgment.

Netlist litigation posturev1.0

58out of 100

Constructive / unresolved

Strong jury record. Weak cash realization.

Current merits and procedural momentum clear the midpoint. Remedy and appellate uncertainty hold the score back.

Last change55 → 58

Jul. 15: the USITC instituted the second investigation, improving procedural momentum and commercial leverage—not merits.

Evidence confidence

86%High

Weighted toward SEC filings, court opinions and USITC records. No anonymous or social claims affect the score.

Primary / official 91% Company releases 9% Rumor input 0%

Weighted model

What makes the 58

Each factor is scored against published anchors from strongly unfavorable to strongly favorable, then multiplied by its disclosed weight.

Merits + validityMajor verdicts and several validity wins; key claims remain disputed.

30%

Procedural momentumTwo active ITC tracks and argued appeals create forward motion.

15%

Remedy + collectability$866M gross verdicts, but no award is counted as realized.

20%

Appellate durabilityThe Federal Circuit record is mixed and key decisions are pending.

20%

Commercial leverageHBM and DDR5 ecosystem exposure broadens potential leverage.

15%

Score guardrail

A new complaint can move procedure, not merits. A jury verdict moves merits, not collection. A final appeal can move several factors.

Evidence guardrail

Final rulings receive the most weight. Pleadings are allegations. Company releases can confirm actions, not adjudicate them.

Change log

Every pulse update should publish the old score, new score, affected factor, source, editor and plain-English rationale.

07 / Source room

Trust should be inspectable.

Primary documents stay outside the paywall. Open the filings, court record and agency schedules for yourself.

Q1 2026 Form 10-QSEC · financials + case matrix

2025 Form 10-KSEC · business + risks

ITC 337-TA-1472USITC · live case record

ITC 337-TA-1511USITC · institution notice

’314 Federal Circuit opinionCourt · favorable validity affirmance

Q2 results scheduleCompany · next fixed catalyst

Independence

Not affiliated with Netlist, its management, any litigant or any court. Sponsor influence belongs in a public registry, not the score.

Scope

Informational, impersonal research only. No individualized investment advice, trade alerts, options calls or price targets.

Accuracy

Gross verdicts are not cash. Allegations are not findings. Scheduled court dates can move. Financial cards show their source period.

Netlist is fighting for the right to get paid.

Q2 results: did the operating turn convert to cash?

Five fronts. One conversion problem.

Samsung

Micron

Google + AI stack

Patent office + appeals

Operating runway

Seventeen years, compressed.

The Google case begins

SK hynix settlement resets the map

$303M Samsung jury verdict

$445M Micron jury verdict

$118M second Samsung verdict

Netlist wins the JDLA retrial

Validity record splits

First ITC investigation opens

’314 validity win survives appeal

Key Samsung appeals argued

New ’366 challenges are denied

SK hynix supply term expires

Q1 operating inflection

New AI-memory actions filed

Second ITC investigation instituted

Q2 results and conference call

$445M appeal + linked validity arguments

First ITC evidentiary hearing begins

Micron’s Idaho case set for trial

First ITC initial determination due

First ITC target date

One company. Three economic layers.

Third-party memory resale

Proprietary modules

Patent licensing + enforcement

Was 21% margin a turn—or a moment?

Three paths. No price targets.

The record stays mixed—and time stays expensive.

Separate posture from certainty.

Strong jury record. Weak cash realization.

What makes the 58

Keep the evidence open. Buy the work behind it.

Follow the next court move without paying.

Pay for the research—not the answer.

Trust should be inspectable.