It's not really deceptive, it's just that many people have a poor understanding of the accounting difference between LOIs, contractual bookings, and recognized

It's not really deceptive, it's just that many people have a poor understanding of the accounting difference between LOIs, contractual bookings, and recognized revenue. These LOIs would not appear on an income statement, balance sheet or P&L... and no one ever suggested otherwise. It's just one signal (of many) that indicate market demand for high-capex products with long lead times.