Lasertec Corporation (6920.T) fair value

ACCE thesis

Lasertec makes the actinic EUV mask inspection tools that chipmakers use to check photomasks for defects before they reach the wafer fab, and it is the only supplier of that equipment at production scale. Its moat is that position: the tools are hard to replicate, customers qualify them over long cycles, and the installed base feeds recurring service revenue. The near-term story is EUV adoption at more fabs and the move to High-NA lithography, which needs new mask inspection capability, though that demand arrives unevenly and FY revenue fell 26.3% on lumpy order timing. The stock trades at 46.1x trailing and 34.1x forward earnings against a 44.4% operating margin and 33.9% ROE, so the market is pricing a recovery in orders rather than the current top line. For a portfolio manager, the question is whether the order cadence in the next two or three quarters supports that multiple, which is worth a deeper look at the backlog and customer capex guidance.