Short Sellers Circle Aixtron Even as AI-Driven Orders Surge to €171 Million

Aixtron posts 48% revenue drop to €59M but order intake jumps 30% to €171M, driven by AI optoelectronics. Short interest rises despite stock doubling.

The German semiconductor equipment maker Aixtron is presenting investors with a riddle. First-quarter revenues collapsed by nearly half, yet the order book is swelling at a pace not seen in years. The stock has more than doubled since January, but short interest is creeping higher. The full picture will emerge on April 30, when the company publishes its complete Q1 results.

A Quarter of Contradictions

Between January and March, Aixtron generated roughly €59 million in revenue, a drop of almost 48 percent from the €112.5 million posted in the same period last year. The operating result swung to a loss of €22 million, while the gross margin shrank from 30 percent to just 18 percent. Management attributed the deterioration to a planned delivery cycle and a negative leverage effect from lower volumes. An exceptional personnel expense in the mid-single-digit million range added further pressure.

The order intake tells a starkly different story. New bookings jumped 30 percent to approximately €171 million, with more than 65 percent coming from the optoelectronics segment. That division supplies photonic components essential for the infrastructure powering artificial intelligence data centers — a market that has turned Aixtron into a direct beneficiary of the AI capex boom.

The Bearish Bet Intensifies

Despite the stock’s meteoric rise — up 128 percent year-to-date and nearly 293 percent over the past twelve months — short sellers have been adding to their positions. The aggregate short interest now stands at 3.14 percent of the share capital, marginally above the twelve-month average of 2.40 percent.

Recent regulatory filings reveal the buildup. Walleye Capital LLC increased its short position to 0.53 percent, then to 0.66 percent within weeks. Linden Advisors LP crossed the 0.5 percent reporting threshold for the first time in mid-April, holding 0.61 percent. Under the EU Short Selling Regulation, net short positions exceeding 0.5 percent must be disclosed in the German Federal Gazette.

Cash Cushion and Upgraded Guidance

Aixtron’s balance sheet provides a buffer. Cash and equivalents rose to roughly €273 million, up from €224.6 million at the end of last year, partly reflecting the successful placement of a convertible bond. The company recently lifted its full-year revenue forecast to €560 million — from a prior range of €520 million, each plus or minus €30 million. The expected EBIT margin was raised to between 17 and 20 percent, compared with the earlier 16 to 19 percent. The guidance assumes an exchange rate of $1.20 per euro.

To hit those targets, Aixtron will need to deliver a substantial volume of equipment over the next nine months. The order backlog and the cash position support that ambition, but execution risk remains.

The AGM and the Convertible Bond

Shareholders will gather on May 13 for the annual general meeting, where a key agenda item has been removed. The company scrapped a planned vote on a capital increase after successfully placing a €450 million convertible bond. That move effectively replaced the need for an equity raise, a development the market greeted with relief.

The stock closed at €44.69 on Wednesday, just four percent below its 52-week high of €46.62. With the full Q1 report due next week, investors will scrutinize margin details and the trajectory of the order pipeline. The clash between a booming order book and a loss-making quarter has created an unusual tension — one that short sellers are betting will resolve in their favor.