LPKF Laser: AGM Backs Semiconductor Veteran, but Index Nod Fails to Stem Slide

Shareholders appoint semiconductor expert Dr. Arne Schneider to board with 99.87% approval, yet shares retreat 30% from peak as Q1 revenue drops 32% and EBIT turns negative despite order growth.

The annual general meeting of LPKF Laser & Electronics in Hanover delivered a clear mandate for the company's strategic pivot — but the stock market remains unconvinced. Shareholders voted overwhelmingly to appoint Dr. Arne Schneider, CEO of Elmos Semiconductor, to the supervisory board, with 99.87% approval. The move injects deep semiconductor expertise into the control committee, underscoring the boardroom’s focus on advanced packaging and glass processing technology.

Yet the equity narrative is telling a different story. Despite a 251% year-to-date surge, the shares have fallen nearly 12.5% in the past week and currently trade at €21.00 — a 30% retreat from the 52-week peak of €30.00 reached just ten days ago on 25 May. Even the official confirmation of LPKF’s promotion to the SDAX index, which takes effect on 22 June, failed to spark a rally. On Thursday, the stock lost another 3%, settling at €21.00 as index-related buying failed to materialize.

The disconnect between strong order dynamics and weak financials helps explain the market’s caution. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue slumped to €17.1 million from €25.3 million a year earlier, pushing EBIT into negative territory at minus €6.9 million. LPKF blamed the weak solar business for the downturn. However, order intake jumped to €24.1 million from €20.5 million, lifting the book-to-bill ratio to 1.4 — a sign that incoming orders are outpacing deliveries. The Development and Electronics segments drove the improvement, while the flagship LIDE technology for high-precision glass processing remains in test and R&D environments at several semiconductor customers.

That progress, though promising, has no commercial timeline. Management explicitly excluded volume orders from the 2026 guidance, acknowledging that the production ramp depends not only on LIDE itself but also on the qualification of downstream process steps. For the full year, LPKF guides for group revenue of €105 million to €120 million and an adjusted EBIT margin between minus 3.0% and plus 4.5% — a wide range that reflects the uncertainty.

At the AGM, governance issues also drew scrutiny. The German Association for the Protection of Securities Holdings (DSW) recommended voting against the discharge of the supervisory board and the approval of the compensation report. The DSW objected to the dual role of supervisory board chair Ms. Siebert, who also heads the audit, risk and ESG committee — a structure the German Corporate Governance Code advises against. On compensation, the DSW highlighted an EBIT collapse of 435% with management pay remaining nearly unchanged, which it argued violates the pay-for-performance principle.

Shareholders largely ignored those concerns. The supervisory board discharge passed with 93.57% approval, and the compensation report received 98.13% support. The decision to retain the full net retained profit of €7.6 million from fiscal 2025 — rather than paying a dividend — was also endorsed by 99.76% of votes, signaling that investors back the company’s reinvestment strategy despite near-term earnings pressure.

With a 30-day annualised volatility of 143.78%, LPKF remains one of the more nerve-racking bets in the German small-cap universe. The next catalysts are the SdK investor forum on 18 June, where CEO Klaus Fiedler will face questions, and the half-year report due 23 July. Both events will test whether the strong order intake from the first quarter can translate into hard revenue and margin improvement — and whether the LIDE story can move beyond the prototype phase.