Bank of America reportedly downgraded BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) from Buy to Neutral on October 6, 2026, and cut its price target to €212 from €401. Its concerns span delayed high-bandwidth-memory (HBM) equipment demand, possible future competition from ASML in hybrid bonding, and cyclical weakness in flip-chip packaging. The ASML risk is prospective: the reports do not establish that ASML has launched a competing tool or taken market share.
What BofA reportedly changed
Investing.com reported that Bank of America Global Research moved Besi to Neutral from Buy and lowered its target to €212, describing it as nearly half the previous target. A separate report by ABM Financial News / Dow Jones, published by MarketScreener on October 6, identified analyst Didier Scemama and gave the previous target as €401. The original BofA research note was not available in the cited coverage, so the rating, target and reasoning here are reported claims, not a direct quotation from the full note.
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A rating and price target express an analyst’s view; they are not a Besi financial result or a guarantee of where its shares will trade. The reported case against the stock has three parts, with different time horizons.
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Why hybrid bonding matters to Besi
Hybrid bonding joins chip surfaces directly, without the intervening metal bumps used in other packaging approaches. The Next Web describes the process as one that can improve heat movement. It is a way to connect chips in advanced packages, not a standalone fix for every performance, yield or manufacturing challenge.
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Besi sells semiconductor assembly equipment and is described in the coverage as an established supplier of hybrid-bonding equipment. More HBM production using the process could therefore create equipment demand for Besi. The cited reports connect HBM adoption timing to possible shipments to memory customers in 2027 and 2028, but do not provide a revised numerical shipment forecast.
The three risks behind the downgrade
1. HBM equipment demand may arrive later
Investing.com reported that BofA was concerned about delayed demand for equipment used to make HBM chips. The issue is timing: if customers adopt hybrid bonding for HBM more slowly than expected, equipment orders and shipments could be pushed out. That would affect the near-term opportunity even if adoption ultimately grows. The reports do not quantify the delay or give a new Besi shipment estimate.
2. ASML could become a competitor
The longer-term concern is that ASML may enter hybrid bonding. MarketScreener’s report said ASML had indicated interest in supporting customers in the technology; The Next Web also characterized ASML as a potential entrant. That makes ASML a competitive uncertainty for Besi, not a confirmed rival with a launched product. The reports point to ASML’s investor day in June 2027 as a possible occasion for further details, not as a stated product-launch date.
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As Investing.com reported BofA’s framing: “HBM delays are temporary, ASML is not.” The distinction is between a possible delay in customer adoption and a potential change in the competitive landscape. BofA analysts, as quoted by The Next Web, said the risk was “not reflected in the stock and could remain an overhang.”
3. Flip-chip packaging adds a separate cyclical exposure
MarketScreener’s account described a potential slowdown in the cyclical flip-chip market as another concern, one that could affect BofA’s 2028 revenue and earnings-per-share estimates. This is distinct from the HBM hybrid-bonding question: weakness in an established packaging market could weigh on Besi even if hybrid bonding remains a growth opportunity.
What Besi’s estimates and order figures do—and do not—show
Published figures offer context for the opportunity, but they are not interchangeable: one is a company scenario, one is a reported historical order count, and one is an analyst market-share estimate.
| Figure | What it represents | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| More than 2,000 hybrid bonders by 2030 | Besi’s optimistic scenario, as reported by The Next Web from the company’s August investor communication. | An optimistic scenario, not a base-case forecast or an achieved result. |
| Cumulative orders above 150 | Besi’s cumulative hybrid-bonder orders, as reported by The Next Web citing the company’s 2025 annual report. | The accessible report does not provide a further breakdown, including timing or customer detail. |
| One in four hybrid bonders in 2028 | Bernstein’s estimate of Besi’s share, as reported by The Next Web. | An analyst expectation; Bernstein’s estimate was three in four, not one in four. It is not an observed market share. |
These figures indicate that Besi has orders and that analysts have assigned it a meaningful prospective position, but they do not settle how quickly HBM customers will adopt the equipment or how a future ASML product might affect competition.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow the Applied Materials partnership fits
On October 1, 2026, Besi and Applied Materials announced an expanded collaboration. In addition to die-to-wafer hybrid bonding, the companies said their work would cover thermo-compression bonding, die-on-wafer, die-on-die and die-on-panel integration, as well as photonics-enabled interconnects. These are announced areas of development; the announcement is not evidence that the approaches have produced commercial results or secured future demand.
Applied Materials Semiconductor Products Group President Dr. Prabu Raja described the company’s rationale this way: “Advanced packaging is no longer a back-end assembly step – it is a materials engineering challenge that demands the same precision and cleanliness as front-end wafer fabrication.” That is Applied Materials’ characterization of the opportunity, not an independent performance finding. The expanded partnership gives Besi a collaborator across adjacent packaging approaches, but it does not remove adoption, execution or competitive risks.
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What the news means for Besi shareholders
The reported downgrade is best understood as a warning that Besi’s opportunity may be harder to time and defend than a simple HBM-growth thesis suggests. Near-term shipment timing depends on customer adoption; the longer-term competitive concern depends on what ASML actually develops and offers; and flip-chip cyclicality is a separate source of potential pressure on 2028 estimates.
The available reporting does not establish ASML product specifications, a launch, market-share gains, or a revised numerical HBM shipment outlook for Besi. It also does not support a stock recommendation. Investors weighing the news should keep company announcements, analyst forecasts and realized results separate rather than treating an optimistic scenario or a possible competitor as an established outcome.
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