Mühlbauer Holding AG (MUB.DE) fair value

ACCE thesis

Mühlbauer makes semiconductor and electronics production equipment, including wafer and chip handling systems and ID card and smart card manufacturing machines, with a substantial installed base across Germany and Asia. The structural case rests on its position as a niche equipment supplier to chip and electronics manufacturers, a business where customer switching costs are high once a line is qualified. Revenue grew 21.1% on the last reported year, and the 58.7% gross margin is well above what a hardware assembler would earn, though the 4.8% operating margin shows how much of that is absorbed by overhead and the cyclicality of order intake. At a trailing P/E of 28.4 and a 13.2% return on equity, the stock is priced for the current growth to persist, so the question for a deeper look is whether operating margin can expand toward its gross margin as volumes build. With a market capitalisation of about 622M EUR and no index membership, liquidity and coverage are thin, which is worth weighing before any position sizing.