The share price has still increased by almost 100 percent since the beginning of the year. The LPKF Laser & Electronics share is one of the strongest stocks on the German stock market this year. This was mainly thanks to a course fireworks display in the middle of the year. But this burned down some time ago. Anyone who sees the setback as an opportunity to gain entry should exercise caution: there were hardly any good reasons for the interim rally. For the subsequent price decline, however, it does.
The laser specialist from Garbsen near Hanover is celebrating its 50th company anniversary this year. In the early years, the Lower Saxony company developed copy milling systems for circuit boards. From the mid-1990s onwards, the medium-sized company focused on laser manufacturing technology, which can be used to produce the smallest electronic circuits.
LPKF was particularly successful with lasers that can be used to apply antenna structures for cell phones to plastic parts. With the change in the mobile communications standard from 3G to 4G starting in 2010, this business collapsed.
The Swiss asset manager Bantleon, which also has a headquarters next door in Hanover, then sensed an opportunity to get involved. He bought into LPKF in 2016, filled the supervisory board and pushed the company restructuring. The business became broader.
Today, LPKF develops laser-based manufacturing solutions for the semiconductor, electronics, solar and medical technology industries. In May 2020, Bantleon sold its 29 percent stake for a nice profit. The activist investor AOC Alpha is currently the largest individual shareholder with a capital share of 10.6 percent.
One out, one in. And also: up and down. LPKF's share price has been on a rollercoaster ride for years. Since 2012 it has gone up and down between just under six euros and 30 euros. But things have never risen as steeply as this year. Between the end of March and mid-May, the laser specialist's share price rose by 400 percent within just a few weeks.
Peter Mümmler demonstrated a good hand, at least when starting out. The LPKF CFO, who has been with the company since April 2025, bought 4,500 shares for his own account on March 26 of this year at a price of 5.95 euros each. On October 2, 2025, Mümmler had already bought 6,000 shares at seven euros each.
However, with their recent share purchases, the board members are already under water again. Mümmler bought another 1,500 shares at 14 euros on July 23rd, and CEO Klaus Fiedler bought 2,000 shares at 21 euros on May 19th. The share has now lost a good 60 percent of its annual high, most recently standing at just under twelve euros.
What had happened? The expansion of AI infrastructure had fueled hopes among investors that demand for optical components that can transmit data in data centers faster and more energy efficiently than copper connections would skyrocket. This drove photonics stocks like LPKF higher on the stock exchanges beyond the fundamental data.
LPKF's great hope for the future is called LIDE (Laser Induced Deep Etching). This is a laser technology that creates the finest structures and vias in glass without causing microcracks or thermal damage. This could play a key role for new chip generations in the area of advanced packaging.
However, investors only asked important questions after the spectacular price increases in the spring. How quickly will copper cables disappear from data centers? Nvidia announced, for example, that copper cables remain important in server cabinets.
The half-year figures, which were presented on July 23rd, caused disillusionment. At 36.5 million euros, sales were a good 38 percent below the previous year's figure. The main reason for the decline was the slump in the solar division. Customers are holding back investments there. The operating loss increased from 1.7 million to 14.1 million euros.
At 34.7 million euros, the order backlog was roughly at the same level as the previous year, while incoming orders were only slightly higher at 44 million euros. That's not a boom yet. LPKF is still waiting for a large series order from the semiconductor sector. The LIDE technology is currently only running in test environments for customers. For the share this means: back on track.
