Lasertec Corp.

Lasertec's full-year results for the fiscal year ending June 2026 showed revenue of 230.4 billion yen, down 8.3% year on year, operating profit of 105.2 billion yen, down 14.3%, ordinary profit of 107.8 billion yen, down 9.7%, and net profit of 77.4 billion yen, down 8.5%, with all major profit lines falling below the previous year in a decline in both revenue and profit. On the other hand, orders, which lead to future revenue, recovered to more than double. The company attributed the revenue decline to the delayed impact of the trough in orders in the previous fiscal year, with its mainstay semiconductor-related equipment posting a revenue decline in the high teens. For the next fiscal year ending June 2027, the company forecasts revenue of 290 billion yen, up 25.8%, and operating profit of 125 billion yen, up 18.8%, marking a sharp turnaround to significant growth in both revenue and profit. The share price has fallen by more than 20% over the past month, closing at 38,820 yen on August 14, with a PER of 38.7 times and a PBR of 14.1 times, far above the general level for electrical equipment makers.

Lasertec announced that its consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ending June 2027 is expected to rise 16.2% year-on-year to 90 billion yen. Revenue is forecast to increase 25.8% to 290 billion yen, and operating profit is seen growing 18.8% to 125 billion yen. The company's net profit forecast falls short of the average estimate of 99.9 billion yen from 17 analysts polled by IBES. For the fiscal year ended June 2026, net profit declined 8.5% year-on-year to 77.4 billion yen.

A selloff in Asian chip stocks deepened after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's strong results failed to satisfy investors' elevated expectations, stoking worries over heavy spending and a weaker profitability outlook. Shares of the world's largest contract chipmaker fell as much as 4.5% in Taipei after it raised its 2026 spending forecast to between $60 billion and $64 billion, at least $4 billion higher than previously projected, while a Bloomberg index of Asian chip stocks tumbled more than 5%, pushing it down about 19% from its June peak. Losses were led by Kioxia Holdings Corporation, a Japanese flash memory maker whose shares have lost half their value in recent weeks but remain up about 400% on the year. Analysts pointed to cost inflation from higher equipment prices and disappointment over the negative impact on TSMC's margins, while some market participants cited overheating and inflated valuations, with TSMC trading at around 20 times forward earnings estimates compared with a five-year average of 18 times. Chip-heavy indexes including Taiwan's Taiex, Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average, and China's Star 50 Index each slid more than 4% on Friday, though strategists noted that the structural AI demand case remains intact.