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Bank of America reportedly cut its rating on BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) from Buy to Neutral on October 6, 2026, and lowered its price target to €212. The concern is not that ASML has already displaced Besi: it is that slower HBM-related demand could delay equipment sales while ASML may become a future competitor in hybrid bonding.
What BofA reportedly changed
Investing.com reported the downgrade and target cut on October 6. A Dutch-language MarketScreener report attributed to ABM Financial News / Dow Jones identified Bank of America analyst Didier Scemama and said the target fell from €401 to €212.
| Item | Reported change | Attribution |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | Buy to Neutral | Bank of America Global Research, as reported by Investing.com and ABM Financial News / Dow Jones via MarketScreener on October 6, 2026 |
| Price target | €401 to €212 | Didier Scemama, as reported by ABM Financial News / Dow Jones via MarketScreener on October 6, 2026 |
These are an analyst’s revised opinion and target, not a change to Besi’s reported financial results. The original BofA note was not available in the cited coverage, so the details of its reasoning are based on those secondary reports.
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Hybrid bonding joins chip surfaces directly, rather than connecting them through the metal bumps used in other packaging approaches. The Next Web describes the process as one that can improve heat movement. It is one advanced-packaging technique, not a guarantee of better performance in every design or a solution to every manufacturing challenge.
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Besi makes semiconductor assembly equipment and is described in the coverage as an established supplier of hybrid-bonding equipment. The investment question is whether customers adopt the process quickly enough to support equipment shipments, especially for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.
The three risks behind the downgrade
HBM adoption could take longer
The reports say BofA expects slower hybrid-bonding adoption in HBM to delay potential equipment demand from memory customers. The coverage connects possible shipments with 2027 and 2028, but does not provide a revised numerical shipment forecast. A timing delay could push revenue opportunities out; it does not establish that the demand has disappeared.
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ASML could become a competitor
BofA’s reported concern is that ASML may participate in hybrid bonding, potentially changing the competitive outlook for Besi. The quoted line, “HBM delays are temporary, ASML is not,” captures the distinction between a near-term adoption delay and a possible longer-lasting competitive shift. The available reports describe a prospective risk: they do not establish that ASML has launched a competing hybrid-bonding tool or taken market share.
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Flip-chip packaging adds a separate cyclical risk
The third concern is a possible slowdown in the cyclical flip-chip packaging market. MarketScreener’s report said this could affect BofA’s 2028 revenue and earnings-per-share estimates. Flip-chip is distinct from the HBM-linked hybrid-bonding opportunity, so weakness in one part of Besi’s business should not be treated as proof that the other has failed.
What the available figures do—and do not—show
The Next Web reported several indicators, each of which needs to be read according to its source and status:
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- Besi’s 2025 annual report recorded cumulative orders above 150 hybrid bonders, as reported by The Next Web. The accessible account does not give a further breakdown.
- Besi described more than 2,000 hybrid bonders by 2030 as an optimistic scenario in an August investor communication, according to The Next Web. This is a company scenario, not an achieved result or a base-case forecast.
- Bernstein estimated that Besi could hold three in four hybrid-bonder sales in 2028, as reported by The Next Web. That is an analyst expectation, not measured market share.
These figures offer context for Besi’s position and ambitions, but they do not settle how fast customers will adopt the equipment or how ASML might compete.
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How the Applied Materials partnership fits
On October 1, 2026, Besi and Applied Materials announced an expanded collaboration. Beyond die-to-wafer hybrid bonding, the companies said they would work on thermo-compression bonding, die-on-wafer, die-on-die and die-on-panel integration, as well as photonics-enabled interconnects.
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Applied Materials Semiconductor Products Group President Dr. Prabu Raja described the rationale as treating advanced packaging as “a materials engineering challenge” requiring precision and cleanliness comparable to front-end wafer fabrication. That is the company’s characterization of its strategy. The announcement establishes areas of planned collaboration, not commercially proven results, guaranteed demand or protection from future competition.
What to watch next
- Customer adoption and orders: whether HBM-related hybrid-bonding demand converts into equipment orders on the timelines discussed in coverage.
- ASML’s disclosures: whether the company gives concrete information about its role, technology or plans at its June 2027 investor day.
- Flip-chip conditions: whether the separate cyclical market affects Besi’s reported results or estimates for 2028.
- Partnership progress: whether the announced work with Applied Materials advances beyond development plans into demonstrated commercial activity.
The reported downgrade therefore reflects a combination of near-term timing uncertainty and a longer-term competitive possibility, alongside cyclical exposure. The evidence cited here does not support treating ASML as an established hybrid-bonding rival or turning analyst estimates into realized results.
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