Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) Faces Premarket Decline of 8.8% Following Financial Results

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (ACLS) is currently seeing a notable premarket price drop of 8.8%, with its stock priced at $61.60. This decline comes after the company announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024.

In its recent report, Axcelis revealed a revenue of $252.4 million for the fourth quarter, which is a slight decrease from the previous quarter's revenue of $256.6 million. For the full year, the company reported a total revenue of $1.02 billion, down from $1.13 billion in 2023. The decrease in revenue has raised concerns among investors, leading to the significant premarket decline.

Despite the revenue drop, Axcelis reported a gross margin of 46.0% for the fourth quarter, which is an improvement from 42.9% in the third quarter. The operating profit for the quarter was $54.5 million, compared to $46.9 million in the previous quarter. However, the overall decline in annual revenue and earnings per share from $7.43 in 2023 to $6.15 in 2024 has contributed to the negative market sentiment.

Axcelis' President and CEO, Russell Low, mentioned that the company anticipates a near-term cyclical digestion period as customers adjust to their previous investments in mature node capacity, particularly in China. This outlook may have further influenced investor confidence, leading to the current stock price drop.

As the market opens, all eyes will be on Axcelis Technologies to see how it navigates this challenging period and whether it can regain investor trust moving forward.