LPKF Laser's AGM Showdown: LIDE Orders, Short Bets, and a CEO's Bet on His Own Stock

Investors in LPKF Laser are heading into Thursday's annual general meeting with the stock nursing a double-digit weekly loss and a shareholder revolt simmering under the surface. The shares, which had ridden a 264% year-to-date rally to a five-year high of €29.20, slid more than 22% in just seven days to close Monday at €22.70. The sell-off has handed ammunition to two hedge funds that are building bets against the company.

Voleon Capital Management has raised its net short position from 1.70% in late April to 2.13%, while Marshall Wace also appears in the public short register. Their timing coincides with the peak of the stock's run-up and the release of first-quarter numbers that gave bears plenty of material. Revenue slumped 32.4% year-on-year to €17.1 million and the EBIT loss widened to €6.9 million from €3.9 million a year earlier. The solar segment, once a reliable contributor, is suffering as customers hold back investment while the industry shifts toward perovskite cell technology.

A Crucial Board Shake-Up

On the agenda for the June 4 meeting at Hannover's Hotel Wienecke XI is the election of Dr. Arne Schneider to the supervisory board. The CEO of Elmos Semiconductor SE will replace Dr. Dirk Michael Rothweiler, bringing hands-on semiconductor experience as LPKF sharpens its focus on chip applications. No dividend is proposed — the retained earnings of roughly €7.6 million will be carried forward.

Shareholders have submitted a countermotion questioning the company's restructuring plan, dubbed "North Star," which CEO Klaus Fiedler has built around cost cutting and a targeted double-digit operating margin by 2028. The opposition wants management to launch a capital increase instead, using the proceeds to accelerate the commercialization of Laser Induced Deep Etching (LIDE), the technology that has electrified the stock. LIDE is a patented process for precision machining of glass substrates, seen as a key enabler for next-generation chip packaging. The supervisory board has recommended rejecting the motion.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying LPKF Laser?

LIDE's Timeline: Hopes and Realities

First production orders for LIDE are expected to land as soon as the current quarter, though the company's guidance stresses that a meaningful ramp won't begin until 2027 and high-volume output remains unlikely before 2029. For now, customers are testing the technology in development environments. LPKF is in active discussions with multiple parties, but finalization depends on the customers qualifying their own downstream process steps, which is outside the supplier's control.

The sector backdrop provides reason for optimism. Nvidia is investing $500 million in Corning, betting on glass-based co-packaged optics — exactly the interface where LIDE competes. Meanwhile, TPK Holding and ASE Technology are planning a pilot line for through-glass vias. These industry moves support LPKF's narrative but do not replace signed contracts, and the company's 2026 forecast of €105 million to €120 million in revenue and an adjusted EBIT margin between -3% and +4.5% explicitly excludes any potential large orders from advanced packaging.

A CEO's Vote of Confidence

Amid the short-selling pressure and operational headwinds, Fiedler purchased shares at €21.00 on May 19, a signal that carries weight given the weak first-quarter performance. The stock now trades at nearly 2.5 times its 200-day moving average of €8.95, leaving it vulnerable to further correction if the LIDE orders fail to materialize in the coming weeks.

LPKF Laser at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.

Production has been relocated from Fürth to Suhl, cutting the cost base. Order intake rose to €24.1 million, pushing the book-to-bill ratio to 1.4 — a healthy indicator of future demand. But the market's attention is fixed on the transition from orders to revenue. After Thursday's AGM, the next key date is June 18, when Fiedler speaks at the SdK investor forum. The half-year report follows on July 23, by which time the company will need to show whether its LIDE conversations have translated into production contracts — or whether the hedge funds betting against the stock are on to something.

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