Besi shares fall 6% on UBS downgrade to 'sell' citing hybrid bonding risks

BE Semiconductor Industries shares fell about 6% after UBS cut its rating on the Dutch chip-equipment maker to "sell" from "buy" and reduced its price target by 57% to €159. UBS said expectations for demand for hybrid bonding, a chip-packaging technique central to Besi's investment case, were "not stacking up". It said adoption of hybrid bonding in high-bandwidth memory was likely to slow as AI accelerator customers focus on expanding capacity rather than improving performance. The broker said hybrid bonding will account for 10% of tool demand in 2028, versus about 50% implied by consensus expectations.

It also estimated Besi's 2027-28 hybrid bonding revenue would be 50%-60% below consensus. UBS said demand from co-packaged optics, AI accelerators and PC processors was unlikely to make up the shortfall, while existing installed capacity at TSMC and Intel can already support "meaningful volumes", limiting upside without stronger-than-expected adoption. 4% lower following a BofA Global Research rating downgrade on similar concerns.