LPKF Laser’s Standoff: How a Cost-Cutting CEO Is Resisting Shareholder Demands for a LIDE-Fueled Sprint

LPKF Laser shares plunge 28% as shareholders push for a capital increase to scale LIDE technology, while CEO Klaus Fiedler favors cost-cutting. Q1 revenue fell but orders rose, fueling AGM tensions.

The battle lines are drawn ahead of LPKF Laser’s annual general meeting on June 4, 2026 in Hanover, and the core dispute is as clear as the glass the company’s prized technology aims to process. On one side sit a group of influential shareholders who want the laser specialist to raise capital immediately and pour it into scaling up its LIDE (Laser Induced Deep Etching) technology for the booming advanced packaging market. On the other is CEO Klaus Fiedler, who is refusing to countenance a capital increase, arguing that the company’s “North Star” cost-reduction program and existing resources are the better path to sustainable growth.

The tension has already hit the stock hard. After an explosive 246.09% year-to-date rally that pushed the shares to an all-time high of €29.20 on May 25, the market has reversed course with a vengeance. On Monday, LPKF shares slid another 5.02% to €20.80, bringing the weekly decline to 28.77%. The sell-off reflects growing uncertainty over which strategy will prevail—and what it means for the company’s medium-term prospects.

At the heart of the debate is LIDE, a high-precision glass-machining technique that LPKF has been developing for the semiconductor industry’s advanced packaging segment. The technology is already being tested by multiple chip customers, and the company is simultaneously building out a broader portfolio that includes glass-substrate singulation and laser-based bonding of multilayer glass stacks. Shareholders see the next logical step: a rapid capacity build-out to capture what could be a wave of volume orders before competitors catch up.

But Fiedler is taking a more cautious approach. He wants to maintain the company’s financial independence in a volatile end-market and is leaning on the “North Star” efficiency program—which already included moving the production of plastic welding systems from Fürth to Suhl—to improve margins from within. The CEO’s recommendation to the AGM is to reject all shareholder counter-proposals, including those calling for an accelerated LIDE commercialization timetable and a possible rights issue.

The first-quarter results underscore the dilemma. Revenue fell to €17.1 million from €25.3 million a year earlier, dragged down by a weak solar business. Earnings before interest and taxes turned negative at minus €6.9 million, and the net loss widened to €7.4 million. That is not the backdrop for a major equity raise, management argues, even though new orders paint a brighter picture. Orders booked in the quarter climbed to €24.1 million from €20.5 million, giving a book-to-bill ratio of 1.4—meaning LPKF is taking in more work than it ships.

Development and electronics segments provided much of the momentum, and the order pipeline suggests that volume orders from advanced packaging customers could tip the company toward its 2026 revenue target of €105 million to €120 million. For now, that guidance does not include any such volume wins. The adjusted EBIT margin for the full year is forecast to land between minus 3.0% and plus 4.5%, a wide range that reflects the uncertainty around LIDE’s commercial ramp.

The long-term target of a “sustainable double-digit EBIT margin” by 2028 remains intact, but the path to getting there is now the subject of open conflict. The AGM will not be a routine vote on executive compensation or board composition. It has become a referendum on whether LPKF should press the accelerator on LIDE by tapping the capital markets, or stick with the belt-tightening strategy that Fiedler believes will deliver the same destination—just on a slower, less leveraged timetable.