Lasertec Shares Drop After Outlook Misses Market Expectations

Lasertec Corp.’s stock price plunged 10% after the company raised its outlook less than investors had anticipated in the face of an AI-related surge in spending.

The Yokohama-based company’s stock fell by its biggest intraday decline since April after it raised its annual operating income outlook by 17.6% to ¥100 billion ($645 million), which still indicated a profit decline from the previous year. That was despite reporting second-quarter results that beat estimates and record orders at Netherlands-based ASML Holding NV, whose extreme ultraviolet lithography requires Lasertec’s equipment to verify the industry’s most advanced transistor patterns.