1

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                            ------------------------


                                   FORM 8-K


                                 CURRENT REPORT


     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 18, 2003


                              Data I/O Corporation
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


                                   Washington
                 (State of other jurisdiction of incorporation)


                   0-10394                            91-0864123
          (Commission File Number)       (IRS Employer Identification No.)


       10525 Willows Road N.E., Redmond, WA                      98073-9746
       (Address of principal executive offices)                  (Zip Code)


        Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (425) 881-6444


                                 Not Applicable
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


                                Page 1 of 4 Pages





Items 9 and 12. Regulation FD Disclosure

A copy of a press release made on April 18, 2003 entitled "Data I/O reports
first quarter profits" follows:


Data I/O Corporation
10525 Willows Road N.E.
Redmond, WA 98052
Tel: (425) 881-6444
Fax: (425) 881-6856

For information please contact:

Joel Hatlen                                               Fred Hume
VP Finance/CFO                                            President/CEO
425/881-6444                                              425/881-6444

                     DATA I/O REPORTS FIRST QUARTER PROFITS

Redmond,  Washington (April 18, 2003) -- Data I/O(R) Corporation (NASDAQ:  DAIO)
today announced a net income for the first quarter of 2003 of $317,000, or $0.04
per share, compared to a net loss of $1.2 million, or ($0.15) per share, for the
first quarter of 2002. Revenues for the first quarter of 2003 were $6.2 million,
compared to $5.4 million for the first quarter of 2002, an increase of 14%.

Gross  margins  increased in dollars and as a percentage  of sales for the first
quarter of 2003  compared  with the same  period of 2002,  primarily  due to the
increased   sales  volume  and  reduced  costs   resulting  from  the  Company's
restructuring  actions  taken  during  the last year and  unfavorable  inventory
reserves  recorded  in 2002.  The first  quarter of 2003  included a reversal of
previously accrued restructuring charges of $27,000.

"I am  pleased  to  report  Data  I/O's  return  to  profitability  for a second
consecutive  quarter.  The Company remains in a strong financial position with a
cash and short-term  investment position of $6 million and no debt at the end of
the first  quarter.  I am  especially  pleased that the Company has been able to
increase its market share against its competition,"  stated Fred Hume, President
and CEO. "The Company  introduced  important new products at the APEX trade show
earlier  this month  including  a version of  ProLINE-RoadRunner  to support the
Panasonic Panasert placement machines,  and  microcontroller  support on ProLINE
FlashCORE programming systems."

Second  Quarter  2003  Forward-Looking  Statement:  Management  is  committed to
long-term profitable growth and has reason to believe that the financial results
for the current  quarter will be  generally  in line with the previous  quarter.
However,  there are  economic  and  political  forces  affecting  the  Company's
customers  that  could  impact the  Company's  financial  performance.  For this
reason, the Company has decided not to provide specific earnings guidance.

Web-Cast  Conference  Call:  The Company has  scheduled  a  conference  call for
Wednesday,  April 23, 2003 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time regarding its first quarter
results and a business  update for the second  quarter that will be broadcast on
the web. Please see Data I/O Corporation's web site at  "http://www.data-io.com"
for details.

Forward-Looking  Statements:  Statements in this news release  concerning future
revenues,  future  results  from  operations,  breakeven  operations,  financial
position, economic conditions, product releases and any other statement that may
be construed as a prediction of future performance or events are forward-looking
statements  which  involve  known and  unknown  risks,  uncertainties  and other
factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed
or implied by such statements.  These factors include uncertainties as to levels
of  orders,  ability  to  record  revenues  based  upon the  timing  of  product
deliveries  and  installations,  market  acceptance of new products,  changes in
economic  conditions  and  market  demand,   pricing  and  other  activities  by
competitors,  and other risks including those described from time to time in the
Company's  filings  on  Forms  10K and 10Q  with  the  Securities  and  Exchange
Commission (SEC), press releases and other communications.

Corporate  Information:  Celebrating  30 years of  innovative  leadership in the
device programming industry,  Data I/O Corporation provides manual and automated
device  programming  systems  that  specifically  address  the  requirements  of
engineering and manufacturing  customers.  The Company, which is publicly traded
(NASDAQ:  DAIO), is headquartered  in Redmond,  Wash., and has sales and service
offices    worldwide.     The    Company's     worldwide    web    address    is
http://www.data-io.com.

                                       ###






                                                 DATA I/O CORPORATION
                                          COMPARATIVE STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
                                         (in thousands except per share data)




                                                                   First Quarter
                                                        ------------ ------------- ---------
                                                                                   Percent
                                                        3/31/2003    3/31/2002     Change
                                                        ------------ ------------- ---------
                                                                          
Net sales                                                 $6,155      $ 5,389         14.2%
Gross margin                                               3,437        2,503         37.3%
Gross margin as percent of sales                           55.8%        46.4%          9.4%
Operating expenses:
Research & development                                     1,161        1,308        -32.5%
Selling, general and administrative                        1,928        2,295        -23.4%
                                                        ------------ -------------
Operating income (loss)                                      375       (1,100)
Non-operating income (expense):
Interest, net                                                 29           23
Foreign currency exchange                                    (76)         (55)
                                                        ------------ -------------
Income (loss) before taxes                                   328       (1,132)

Income tax expense                                            11           23
                                                        ------------ -------------
Net income (loss)                                           $317      $(1,155)

Diluted earnings per share                                 $0.04       $(0.15)

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding                7,847        7,649






                                                   CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET
                                                        (in thousands)

                                                                  3/31/03     12/31/02
                                                                ------------ ------------
                                                                        
Cash and cash equivalents                                         $ 5,645      $ 4,383
Short-term investments                                                339        1,076
Accounts receivable, net                                            4,675        4,328
Inventories                                                         4,383        4,476
Current deferred tax asset and other assets                           236          509
Property, plant and equipment, net                                  1,196        1,508
Other long-term assets, net                                            67           87
                                                                ------------ ------------
         Total assets                                             $16,541      $16,367
                                                                ============ ============

Current liabilities, excluding current portion
of funded debt                                                   $  5,469      $ 5,647
Total funded debt                                                       -            -
Deferred gain on sale of property                                   1,353        1,435
Shareholders' equity                                                9,719        9,285
                                                                ------------ ------------
         Total liabilities and shareholders' equity               $16,541      $16,367
                                                                ============ ============













SIGNATURES


     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                    Data I/O Corporation


April 18, 2003                      By /s/Frederick R. Hume
                                       --------------------
                                    Frederick R. Hume
                                    President
                                    Chief Executive Officer



                                    By /s/Joel S. Hatlen
                                       -----------------
                                    Joel S. Hatlen
                                    Vice President - Finance
                                    Chief Financial Officer
                                    Secretary and Treasurer