New York, May 29, 2026, 16:01 (EDT)
Axcelis Technologies shares ended down late Friday, missing out on gains in the wider semiconductor group. Investors are watching for new signs on memory-chip demand and updates on its Veeco Instruments deal.
Axcelis shares were down 2.9% at $150.98 late in the day, off session lows of $149.35 and after reaching as high as $157.10. At the same time, the iShares Semiconductor ETF was flat. Applied Materials and Lam Research, both bigger chip equipment names, posted gains of 0.6% and 1.0%.
Tech outperformed as major U.S. indexes set fresh intraday highs Friday. Wall Street was up, with tech shares leading and AI-related demand adding to the gains, according to Reuters.
Axcelis shares moved without new operating news from the company in the past two days. The latest filings were a Form 4 insider stock change on May 28 and a specialized disclosure on May 27, according to the company’s investor feed.
Axcelis is off its 52-week high of $171.61, but the stock remains well above last year’s lows. The quote page listed a 52-week range from $55.93 to $171.61, with LSEG data delayed at least 15 minutes.
Axcelis, based in Beverly, Massachusetts, makes ion implantation systems for chip fabs, allowing them to insert atoms into silicon and change electrical properties. The company says its Purion platform is used in memory, power chips, sensors, advanced logic, and older process tech.
Axcelis shares are sliding again, bringing investors to the same debate they had after the first quarter: is stronger demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory enough to make up for weak spending in power and mature-process areas. DRAM is a standard memory chip. High-bandwidth memory is a faster chip used in higher-end computing.
Axcelis posted Q1 revenue of $199.0 million with GAAP diluted earnings at 30 cents a share. Its non-GAAP diluted EPS landed at 72 cents. Non-GAAP numbers take out some costs. For the second quarter, Axcelis expects revenue near $205 million and non-GAAP EPS around 90 cents.
Chief Executive Russell Low said results for the quarter came in “slightly above expectations,” citing DRAM and HBM demand as “a clear highlight.” He said the outlook for 2026 revenue is “relatively flat” compared to 2025, with growth in memory balanced by slower capacity absorption in power and other mature markets. PR Newswire
Interim CFO David Ryzhik said the company had “approximately $570 million of cash” at the end of the quarter and mentioned that stronger order trends could mean a better second half. PR Newswire
Chip-tool stocks moved differently Friday. Shares of Applied Materials and Lam Research were up, even as Axcelis slipped. The moves pointed to a company issue at Axcelis rather than a wider drop for semiconductor equipment stocks.
Axcelis’ rebound could still be shaky. The company’s latest quarterly filing said its mature-process customers had pulled back on investments, its top ten customers represented 72.9% of first-quarter revenue, and its deal with Veeco is waiting for a sign-off from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation. Any holdup there, or more slowdowns in chip-factory spending, would tighten margins for error.
Axcelis and Veeco are sticking to their timeline, saying they still see the merger closing in the second half of 2026. The companies said in a 10-Q filing that holders of Veeco stock will get 0.3575 newly issued Axcelis shares for each Veeco share.
Axcelis has its next investor events soon with the Stifel 9th Annual Cross Sector Conference on June 2 and the Bank of America Global Technology Conference on June 3. Management will get a chance to talk about orders, memory demand and the merger schedule.
