SÜSS MicroTec
Capital-equipment sales (tools for foundries, OSATs, memory & photomask makers) plus a growing recurring stream of service, spares, upgrades and consumables; revenue is lumpy and order-driven, tied to the semiconductor capex cycle.
Earnings, margins, COGS & capex
SUSS earns by selling process tools into three demand pools -- advanced backend/packaging (bonding, coating), photomask process (cleaning), and lithography-adjacent systems -- to foundries, OSATs, memory and mask makers. FY2025 was a record top line (EUR 503.2M, +12.7%) but net income fell to EUR 46.1M (-58% YoY). That headline drop overstates the operating deterioration: the FY2024 comparison base (~EUR 110M net) was flattered by a one-time gain on the MicroOptics divestment; FY2025 EBIT margin was still a healthy 13.1%, softened by unfavourable product/customer mix, ramp-support costs and one-offs tied to the Taiwan expansion. FY2026 is a transition year: management guides revenue DOWN to EUR 425-485M and EBIT margin to 8-10%, reflecting the weak order intake of mid-2025 flowing through H1 2026 revenue -- even as Q1 2026 booked a record EUR 149.3M of new orders (+69.5% YoY) and backlog rose to EUR 330.1M, setting up a second-half and 2027 recovery.
Income statement — where each revenue dollar goes
% of revenueOf every $1 of revenue, ~64¢ is cost of goods and ~23¢ operating expense, leaving ~13¢ of operating profit (~9¢ net).
Revenue trend
Margins
range-bound (39.2% Q1 2025 -> 36.1% Q1 2026); 2030 target 43-45%
trough on the low-revenue Q1 (18.0% Q1 2025 -> 4.3% Q1 2026); 2030 target 20-22%
net income -58% YoY, but the FY2024 base (~EUR 110M) included a one-time MicroOptics divestment gain -- underlying decline is milder than the headline
COGS structure
Cost of goods is dominated by bought-in precision subsystems (optics, motion stages, lasers, vacuum/fluidics), electronics and skilled assembly labor; gross margin is sensitive to product mix (higher-margin photomask/service vs lower-margin systems) and to volume-driven overhead absorption -- the Q1 2026 revenue drop, not input cost, is what compressed EBIT.
Capex
Investment in bonding and photomask capacity plus R&D for hybrid-bonding surface prep and next-gen coaters, and the Taiwan expansion; capex is scaled to the 2030 EUR 750-900M revenue plan rather than to fab-scale spend.
Latest earnings
Revenue and EBIT weak as pre-flagged (EUR 86.5M rev, 4.3% EBIT margin); the positive surprise was ORDER INTAKE -- a record EUR 149.3M (+69.5% YoY, surpassing the prior EUR 147.5M Q4 2024 record), which the stock rallied ~7-8% on. Mixed print: trough earnings, inflecting orders.
FY2026: revenue EUR 425-485M, gross margin 35-37%, EBIT margin 8-10%. Management reaffirmed the full-year revenue and profitability guidance on the back of the record backlog, with Q1 called the low point of the year.
- Q1 2026 order intake
- EUR 149.3M (+69.5% YoY, vs EUR 88.1M Q1 2025; all-time record)
- Order backlog
- EUR 330.1M (+23.7% vs EUR 266.8M at YE2025)
- Q1 2026 revenue
- EUR 86.5M (-30.8% YoY)
- Q1 2026 gross margin
- 36.1% (vs 39.2% Q1 2025)
- Q1 2026 EBIT margin
- 4.3% (vs 18.0% Q1 2025)
- Cash
- EUR 120.9M (+22.5% YoY; EUR 98.7M at YE2025)
- Free cash flow
- +EUR 23.2M (vs +EUR 8.9M Q1 2025)
Growth drivers
- AI advanced packaging — HBM stacking, 2.5D/3D (CoWoS-style) chiplet integration driving demand for temporary/permanent bonders and coaters
- Hybrid bonding — entry via surface-preparation/cleaning tools, expanding toward die-to-wafer and wafer-to-wafer bonding systems -- a new TAM
- Photomask process leadership — rising mask complexity (EUV, high-NA) raises cleanliness standards -> steady photomask-cleaning tool and service demand
- Recurring service/spares/upgrades on a growing installed base -- higher-margin, less cyclical
- 2030 plan (Nov 2025 CMD): EUR 750-900M revenue, 43-45% gross margin, 20-22% EBIT margin (~9-13% revenue CAGR)
Bull & bear
A focused, net-cash pure-play on AI advanced packaging whose record Q1 2026 order intake (+69.5%) and EUR 330.1M backlog signal that the FY2026 revenue dip is a timing trough, not a demand break -- with photomask-cleaning leadership as ballast and hybrid bonding as the optionality.
- Record EUR 149.3M Q1 2026 orders and EUR 330.1M backlog point to an H2 2026 / 2027 revenue and margin recovery
- Structural AI tailwind: HBM, chiplets and hybrid bonding all lean on SUSS's bonding + coating + cleaning tool set
- Defensible photomask-cleaning franchise grows with EUV/high-NA mask complexity -- steadier than the cyclical systems line
- 2030 plan (EUR 750-900M revenue, 43-45% GM, 20-22% EBIT) plus EUR 120.9M net cash and positive FCF fund the ramp internally
- Sell-side sentiment constructive on the 2030 story -- consensus 12-month target ~EUR 108, roughly 23% above the spot price
You are paying ~48x trailing earnings and ~3.4x TTM sales for a small, lumpy semicap name whose FY2025 net income fell 58% (albeit off a divestment-inflated 2024 base), whose FY2026 revenue is guided DOWN, and which must out-execute much larger rivals to reach ambitious 2030 margins -- a lot has to go right.
- FY2026 revenue guided down to EUR 425-485M and EBIT margin to 8-10%; Q1 2026 EBIT margin already at 4.3%
- Earnings quality is volatile -- a record top line in FY2025 still produced a -58% net income year (flattered comparison base aside, EBIT margin fell too)
- Order intake is lumpy; a single quarter's record can reverse, and revenue conversion lags orders by 2-4 quarters
- Hybrid-bonding TAM is contested by Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Lam and specialist EV Group with deeper pockets
- Valuation (PE ~48) discounts flawless execution of the 2030 plan; any air-pocket or margin slip is punished (the ~EUR 113 -> EUR 87 June-July drawdown)
What it is worth
Peer-relative multiple + reverse-DCF sanity check. At ~EUR 1.69B market cap (net cash, so EV ~EUR 1.57B) on FY2025 revenue of EUR 503.2M, SUSS trades ~3.1x EV/sales (~3.4x on TTM EUR 464.8M) and ~48x trailing earnings on trough profitability -- a premium the market only justifies if the 2030 plan (EUR 750-900M revenue, 20-22% EBIT margin) is largely delivered.
Order lumpiness returns, hybrid bonding is won by AMAT/TEL/EVG, and margins stay sub-double-digit; the ~48x multiple compresses toward peer-cycle-average and the stock re-rates lower (the EUR 113 -> EUR 87 move shows the downside beta).
FY2026 revenue lands in-guide (EUR 425-485M), margins recover toward 8-10% EBIT, and 2027 reaccelerates as backlog converts. Fair value roughly tracks the current ~EUR 85-108 range (spot ~EUR 87, consensus PT ~EUR 108) -- a hold-for-execution multiple with upside gated on proof of the ramp.
2030 plan delivered near the top end (EUR ~900M rev, ~22% EBIT ~EUR 200M): a 20-25x multiple on 2030 earnings supports a materially higher price; the AI-packaging re-rating holds and photomask stays sticky.
The multiple embeds a strong recovery: the record Q1 2026 backlog must convert and margins must re-rate off the 4.3% Q1 trough. Reverse-DCF read-through: the current price implies roughly a low-double-digit revenue CAGR to 2030 AND the EBIT-margin expansion toward 20-22% landing -- i.e. near-flawless execution. Peer set: EV Group (private), AMAT, TEL, SCREEN, ONTO, VECO. Small-cap semicap peers trade wide on the cycle; SUSS sits at the higher end on the AI-packaging narrative.
SWOT
Strengths
- Leadership share in photomask cleaning / mask process — a defensible niche that scales with EUV/high-NA mask complexity
- Broad advanced-packaging tool set (temporary/permanent bonding, coating, developing) with a large installed base
- Net-cash balance sheet (EUR 120.9M) funds the 2030 growth plan without dilution
- Record order intake and backlog (EUR 330.1M) give multi-quarter revenue visibility into a recovery
Weaknesses
- Small vs the semicap giants (AMAT, TEL, Lam) that can out-invest in hybrid bonding
- Lumpy, order-timing-driven revenue -- a strong FY2025 was followed by a guided-down FY2026
- Sharp margin volatility: EBIT margin fell from 18.0% (Q1 2025) to 4.3% (Q1 2026) on operating deleverage
- Customer and end-market concentration in a handful of large AI/advanced-packaging accounts
Opportunities
- Hybrid bonding — move from surface-prep into full die-to-wafer / wafer-to-wafer bonding systems -- a large incremental TAM
- AI/HBM capex super-cycle lifting advanced-packaging tool demand through the decade
- Grow higher-margin recurring service/spares/upgrade revenue on the installed base
- 2030 targets imply +8pp gross margin and +7pp EBIT margin vs FY2025 if execution lands
Threats
- Larger competitors (Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Lam, plus specialist EV Group) targeting the same hybrid-bonding prize
- Semiconductor-capex cyclicality and order-timing air-pockets (the FY2026 revenue dip)
- Rich valuation (PE ~48 on trough earnings) leaves little room for a miss on the recovery
- Geopolitical / export-control exposure via Asian end demand and supply chains
Moats, dependencies & bottlenecks
Moats
Market-leading position in a specialized niche that scales with EUV/high-NA mask cleanliness requirements; sticky, qualification-gated.
Moderate-Strong Qualified tools embedded in customer process flows create switching costs and pull-through service revenue.
Deep engineering IP, but the highest-growth hybrid-bonding frontier is contested by far larger rivals.
Long qualification cycles with foundries/OSATs/mask makers protect incumbency once designed in.
Dependencies
The order-intake surge and the entire growth thesis ride the AI packaging build-out; a capex pause hits directly.
Order lumpiness and timing (the mid-2025 air-pocket) flow straight through to revenue.
Record orders driven by Asia/AI (incl. renewed China demand); exposed to export controls and regional capex swings.
lasers, motion, vacuum/fluidics) Bought-in high-precision components gate build capacity and gross margin.
Cleaning demand tracks mask complexity; a lithography roadmap stall would slow the steadier segment.
Advantages
- Pure-play exposure to the highest-growth part of the chain (advanced packaging) without diluted conglomerate mix
- Net-cash, self-funded growth plan -- no dilution risk to fund the 2030 ramp
- Niche leadership (photomask cleaning) provides a steadier margin anchor beneath the cyclical systems business
- Record backlog gives unusually clear near-term revenue visibility for a semicap small-cap
Weaknesses
- High earnings and margin volatility undermines valuation multiple stability
- Small absolute scale limits R&D and pricing power vs incumbents
- Revenue lumpiness makes any single quarter a poor read on trajectory
- Reliance on a few large accounts and on the AI capex cycle staying hot
Bottlenecks
- Order-to-revenue conversion lag (2-4 quarters) means strong bookings don't rescue the current-quarter P&L
- Operating deleverage -- low-revenue quarters crush EBIT margin (18.0% -> 4.3% in a year)
- Scale disadvantage vs AMAT/TEL/Lam in funding the hybrid-bonding race
- Precision-component supply and skilled-assembly capacity cap how fast backlog can be shipped
Top signals & trends
Top signals
Leading indicator that the FY2026 revenue dip is timing, not demand destruction.
Bearish (near-term) · Transition year; the market already knows, but leaves no room for a further cut.
Operating deleverage; watch for sequential margin recovery as backlog ships.
High beta; sentiment swings hard on order/guidance data points.
Constructive on the structural advanced-packaging story.
Trends
Primary demand driver for SUSS bonders, coaters and cleaning tools.
Positive but contested · New TAM SUSS enters via surface prep; AMAT/TEL/Lam/EV Group compete for the systems prize.
Supports the steadier photomask-cleaning franchise.
Negative / risk · Drives the boom-bust in revenue and margins (FY2025 record -> FY2026 down).
Negative / risk · Asia (incl. China) exposure adds regulatory and demand-timing risk.
Ecosystem & competitor graph
Suppliers feed the company; customers pull from it. Line thickness shows the strength of each tie (supply-chain dependency, customer earnings contribution). Hover to isolate a tie.
Vacuum, motion, photonics and fluidics subsystems used in process tools.
Lasers and optical components for lithography/bonding process modules.
Private; precision optics for lithography-adjacent systems.
Advanced-packaging (CoWoS/SoIC) and photomask process demand -- key AI-packaging buyer.
Foundry + HBM memory; advanced packaging and photomask tools.
HBM leader; bonding/packaging tool demand for stacked memory.
HBM/DRAM advanced packaging customer.
Foundry + advanced packaging (Foveros/hybrid bonding) tool buyer.
Largest OSAT; advanced-packaging bonders and coaters.
Major OSAT; advanced-packaging equipment customer.
Merchant photomask maker -- customer for photomask-cleaning tools.
Private Austrian company; the closest head-to-head rival in wafer bonding, lithography and hybrid bonding.
Semicap giant pushing into advanced packaging and hybrid bonding with far deeper R&D.
Leader in coater/developer (track) and a bonding/packaging player; direct overlap on coating.
Coater/developer and wafer/mask cleaning -- overlaps SUSS's cleaning and coating lines.
Advanced-packaging lithography, metrology and inspection -- adjacent competitor in packaging capex.
Advanced-packaging lithography (ex-Ultratech) and process tools; overlaps in packaging litho.
Etch/deposition giant with bonding/3D-integration adjacency and hybrid-bonding ambitions.