NEW YORK, July 2, 2026, 16:01 EDT
- Axcelis Technologies NASDAQ:ACLS dropped 18.4% to $145.50, wiping out around $1 billion in market cap by share count.
- Axcelis dropped more in a day than its $845.4 million in trailing 12-month revenue, a steep fall for a stock still at 5.3 times sales.
- The Philadelphia semiconductor index slid 6.7% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.5%. U.S. equity markets will be shut Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
- Axcelis now expects second-quarter revenue around $205 million and non-GAAP EPS near $0.90, according to its latest outlook.
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. NASDAQ:ACLS took a hit Thursday, dropping 18.4% to $145.50 and erasing about $1.0 billion in market cap—more than its $845.4 million in revenue from the past year. Shares fell $32.83 with 30.73 million outstanding, according to StockAnalysis.
Axcelis saw its valuation drop sharply after the move. The company finished the session with a $4.47 billion market cap, pricing it at 5.3 times trailing revenue, down from around 6.5 times before shares skidded. The stock settled 16.9% lower than where it opened, ending just 2.4% above the day’s low.
| Axcelis market math | Figure |
|---|---|
| Shares ended at | $145.50 |
| Stock change on the day | -18.41% |
| Value wiped out | about $1.01 billion |
| Revenue past 12 months | $845.44 million |
| Market cap to TTM sales post-close | about 5.3x |
| Market cap to TTM sales pre-drop | about 6.5x |
Chip stocks sold off. Reuters said the Philadelphia semiconductor index lost 6.7%, with the Nasdaq Composite off 1.5%. Tech shares fell for a second session. Adam Sarhan, chief executive at 50 Park Investments, told Reuters the jobs report “just takes the pressure off the Fed” in the near term. Reuters
Axcelis shares dropped more than the chip tape and more than equipment maker Applied Materials, Inc. NASDAQ:AMAT. The move looked closer to ACM Research, Inc. NASDAQ:ACMR, which is another smaller equipment stock. VanEck Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SMH fell 4.9%.
| Stock/index | Move Thursday | Read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Axcelis NASDAQ:ACLS | -18.41% | Shed around $1.0 billion in value |
| PHLX Semiconductor Index | -6.7% | Semis broadly down |
| VanEck Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SMH | -4.87% | Sector ETF drop smaller than Axcelis |
| Applied Materials NASDAQ:AMAT | -7.82% | Bigger equipment name saw less downside |
| ACM Research NASDAQ:ACMR | -17.01% | Smaller equipment rival fell almost as much |
Axcelis’s investor-relations page didn’t show any new filings Monday. The most recent was a June 17 Form 4. Looks like the selloff followed the tape instead of news from the company.
The stock ended under BofA Securities’ new $156 target, with Benzinga still showing an Underperform rating on it. BofA bumped the target up from $130 on June 23 but left its rating flat.
Axcelis has more to worry about than just revenue. Revenue was up 3.3% year over year in the first quarter, but gross and operating margins both took a hit. EPS fell to $0.30 from $0.88.
| Axcelis Q1 metric | Q1 2026 | Q1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $199.0 mln | $192.6 mln | up 3.3% |
| Gross margin | 40.5% | 46.1% | down 5.6 pts |
| Operating margin | 4.0% | 15.1% | off 11.1 pts |
| Diluted EPS | $0.30 | $0.88 | down 65.9% |
Chief Executive Russell Low said in May, “Demand in DRAM and HBM was again a clear highlight.” Still, he warned, “2026 revenue will be relatively flat” as gains in memory make up for softer Power and General Mature business. Interim CFO David Ryzhik said there are “firming order trends” and expects revenue to pick up in the back half. PR Newswire
Axcelis still has the Veeco Instruments Inc. NASDAQ:VECO merger to sort out. Shareholders signed off on the deal back in February, but Axcelis said it needs a green light from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and sees the deal closing in the second half of 2026.
Nasdaq said its U.S. equity and options markets will be shut Friday, July 3, in 2026 for Independence Day observed. The last regular U.S. equity close before the holiday falls on Thursday.
