Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.710-0.710 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.900. The company issued revenue guidance of $195.0 million-$195.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $204.1 million.

Axcelis Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ACLS opened at $98.50 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.95 and a quick ratio of 3.32. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 1.77. Axcelis Technologies has a 12 month low of $40.40 and a 12 month high of $102.93.

Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ:ACLS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $238.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.04 million. Axcelis Technologies had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Axcelis Technologies’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. Axcelis Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.710-0.710 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Axcelis Technologies will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACLS has been the subject of several analyst reports. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Axcelis Technologies from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut Axcelis Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Axcelis Technologies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axcelis Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Axcelis Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axcelis Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axcelis Technologies

In related news, Director Jorge Titinger sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.05, for a total transaction of $172,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,395.85. This represents a 21.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gerald M. Blumenstock sold 3,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.46, for a total value of $271,421.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,661 shares in the company, valued at $1,669,413.06. This trade represents a 13.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Axcelis Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Axcelis Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue and non‑GAAP EPS beat consensus; strong gross margins (≈47%) signal healthy pricing/GM despite lower volumes. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Company reported non‑GAAP diluted EPS of $1.49 which beat the Zacks consensus and underlying profitability on a non‑GAAP basis exceeded expectations. Zacks Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and the conference call transcript are available for detail review — useful for judging backlog/comments on demand and OEM timing. Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Management set soft Q1 2026 guidance — EPS ~$0.71 vs. street ~$0.90 and revenue ~$195M vs. ~$204M consensus — which spooked the market because it implies near‑term demand/headwind uncertainty. Investing.com
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying GAAP operating profit, net income and operating cash flow declined year‑over‑year (operating cash flow turned negative), adding concerns about near‑term free cash generation. QuiverQuant

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axcelis Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,807,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,207,000 after acquiring an additional 835,242 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 176.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,761,000 after purchasing an additional 246,939 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Axcelis Technologies by 10,368.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 243,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,563,000 after buying an additional 241,177 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 143.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 261,776 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,560,000 after acquiring an additional 154,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axcelis Technologies by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 629,814 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $50,599,000 after buying an additional 135,039 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

About Axcelis Technologies

Axcelis Technologies, Inc is a leading developer and manufacturer of ion implantation and cleaning equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. The company specializes in high-current, medium-current and high-energy ion implantation systems, which are critical for introducing precisely controlled dopants into silicon wafers. Axcelis also offers plasma-based cleaning and dry strip tools that support advanced process nodes in logic, memory and power device manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses single-wafer and multi-wafer cluster tools designed to deliver high throughput, accuracy and uniformity for semiconductor process steps.