---
title: "ACM Research pays its ASML-hired COO in options struck at $83.58, nearly double the $44.61 close"
description: "An SEC pay filing that arrived November 6 grants Yue Ma, hired from ASML to run operations, stock options struck at $83.58, a price November's chip rout has since erased. ACM's raised 2026 revenue guide says demand is fine; the grant says converting that demand into shipped tools is the job."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Chips"
published: 2026-11-11T19:23:29.053Z
modified: 2026-11-11T19:23:29.053Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/acm-research-pays-its-asml-hired-coo-in-options-struck-at-83-58-nearly-double-the-44-61-close
language: en
keywords: "ACM Research, Semiconductor Equipment, Executive Compensation, Insider Trades, ASML"
---

# ACM Research pays its ASML-hired COO in options struck at $83.58, nearly double the $44.61 close

> An SEC pay filing that arrived November 6 grants Yue Ma, hired from ASML to run operations, stock options struck at $83.58, a price November's chip rout has since erased. ACM's raised 2026 revenue guide says demand is fine; the grant says converting that demand into shipped tools is the job.

[ACM Research](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/acm-research) just disclosed, in a [Form 4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1680062/000114036126042540/0001140361-26-042540-index.htm), the SEC filing that reports insiders' equity grants, what it thinks its next hard problem is worth [1]. The document landed on EDGAR, the SEC's public filing database, on November 6 and details the pay of Yue Ma, chief operations officer since October 1 [1]. He was granted 100,000 stock options struck at $83.58 [1]. A quarter of them vest in October 2027, the rest monthly through late 2030 [1].

On top sit 13,470 restricted stock units [1]. The stock closed November 6 at $44.61 [2], so his options pay nothing unless the company he was hired to run nearly doubles the share price. That is an honest way to pay the person whose job is the hard part.

## The hire came quietly, from ASML

Ma, 53, spent 2014 to 2026 at [ASML](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/asml), the Dutch maker of the lithography scanners that pattern advanced chips, finishing as a Technical Expert [2]. [ACM](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/acm-research) does not pattern chips; it cleans, plates and bakes them [2]. But its next platform, track coaters now in customer evaluation, is built to run integrated with lithography scanners, the equipment category his former employer makes [4]. ACM's own press-release index carries no announcement of his arrival; the news traveled through a [data-vendor notice](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/acm-research-inc-announces-appointment-of-yue-ma-as-chief-operations-officer-effective-october-1-ce785fd2dd81f623) and the SEC filing [2][5].

## Demand stopped being the constraint

Third-quarter revenue grew 37 percent to a record $367.7 million [3], and management [raised its 2026 outlook](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/acm-research-reports-third-quarter-2026-results-1036721246) to $1.24 billion to $1.28 billion [3]. The backlog [our September piece](https://theinference.org/article/acm-nearly-doubles-its-order-book-and-its-own-release-says-it-may-not-be-revenue) examined now comes with [year-to-date orders up 147 percent](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/acm-research-acmr-q3-2026-190328970.html) [4]. The driver is AI packaging: large chips are moving to 2.5D and 3D stacks, and ACM just shipped its first production panel-plating tool for that road [3].

GAAP net income fell to $1.5 million, but the cause is an accounting mark, not the factory [3]. A $39.1 million unrealized loss on ACM Shanghai's investments did the damage, while operating income nearly doubled [3][6].

*Chart: **Quarterly revenue has climbed for two years to a record** Line chart of ACM Research quarterly revenue from Q4 2023 through Q3 2026, rising from about $170 million to a record $367.7 million.*

*Quarterly revenue, US$ millions, from ACM Research's SEC filings; Q3 2026 also stated in the company's November 5 release. [9][3]*

## The scaling bill arrived before the COO did

The second building at Lingang, the plant of ACM Shanghai, ACM's principal operating subsidiary, is entering use now; with the first, it supports up to $3 billion of annual output [3][4]. Filling it means hiring and training workers, and second-sourcing parts that suppliers cannot deliver fast enough [4].

The scale-up already consumes cash: operations used $70 million last quarter while inventory swelled ahead of the ramp [4][8]. The bear case, laid out by [Seeking Alpha](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4966276-acm-research-growth-looks-good-cash-tells-another-story)'s Motti Sapir on November 11, is exactly this: he keeps the stock at Hold until operating cash flow turns positive and the $851 million inventory shrinks [7]. This is the work a chief operations officer exists to do, and the timing of the hire says ACM knows it.

*Chart: **Free cash flow has swung negative and hit its worst quarter as the scale-up begins** Line chart of ACM Research quarterly free cash flow from Q4 2023 through Q3 2026, swinging from negative $50.7 million to positive $77.2 million and back down to negative $95.6 million.*

*Quarterly free cash flow, US$ millions, operating cash flow less capital spending, from ACM Research's SEC filings, retrieved 11 November 2026. The company separately reported operations used $70 million in Q3 2026. [10]*

## The strike price is the marker to watch

Ma's options vest through late 2030 and expire in 2036, so his payday depends on a multi-year conversion, not the next print [1]. His units reference $74.24, the average closing price over the 30 trading days before the grant [1]; that points to a share price near the strike when the package was set.

[November's rout in chip stocks](https://theinference.org/article/asml-missed-by-50-million-raised-its-floor-and-chip-tools-sold-off-anyway) then cut the price roughly in half, to the $44.61 close of November 6 [2][4], before a bounce to the low $50s [3]. Analyst targets after the earnings span $60 to $140, a disagreement about exactly this conversion [3]. Whoever turns the $2.5 billion backlog [4] into shipped, accepted tools is the one creating the value here, and ACM has arranged to pay its new operator only if he does it.

*Chart: **Ma's options pay off only near $84, and the stock closed at $44.61** Column chart comparing the $83.58 strike on Yue Ma's options, the $74.24 average closing price before the grant, and the $44.61 close on November 6, 2026.*

*US dollars per share. Strike and the 30-trading-day average close before the grant from Yue Ma's Form 4; November 6, 2026 close per the market data cited in this story. [1][2]*

His options clear $83.58, or the scaling story did not happen.

## Takeaway

ACM Research granted its ASML-hired chief operations officer 100,000 options struck at $83.58, nearly double the $44.61 close; his payout rides on converting record demand and a $2.5 billion backlog into shipped tools while free cash flow runs negative.

## Sources

1. [SEC Form 4, Yue Ma, ACM Research, Inc., filed 6 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1680062/000114036126042540/0001140361-26-042540-index.htm)
2. [MarketScreener / S&P Capital IQ, "ACM Research, Inc. Announces Appointment of Yue Ma as Chief Operations Officer, Effective October 1, 2026," 3 November 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/acm-research-inc-announces-appointment-of-yue-ma-as-chief-operations-officer-effective-october-1-ce785fd2dd81f623)
3. [GlobeNewswire via Markets Insider, "ACM Research Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results," 5 November 2026](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/acm-research-reports-third-quarter-2026-results-1036721246)
4. [Motley Fool via Yahoo Finance, "ACM Research (ACMR) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript," 5 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/acm-research-acmr-q3-2026-190328970.html)
5. [ACM Research investor relations, press-release index, fetched 11 November 2026](https://ir.acmr.com/news-events/press-releases)
6. [24/7 Wall St., "ACM Research Beat Q3 2026 Estimates and Raised Guidance," 5 November 2026](https://247wallst.com/cards/acm-research-q3-2026-earnings-acmr-01m6nw0hp3rs4d80wk0kgygbvc)
7. [Seeking Alpha, Motti Sapir, "ACM Research: Growth Looks Good, Cash Tells Another Story," 11 November 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4966276-acm-research-growth-looks-good-cash-tells-another-story)
8. [GuruFocus via Yahoo Finance, "ACM Research Inc (ACMR) (Q3 2026) Earnings Call Highlights," 5 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/acm-research-inc-acmr-q3-011548393.html)
9. [ACM Research, quarterly revenue from its SEC filings (EDGAR), retrieved 11 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001680062)
10. [ACM Research, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 11 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001680062)


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ACM Research pays its ASML-hired COO in options struck at $83.58, nearly double the $44.61 close — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/acm-research-pays-its-asml-hired-coo-in-options-struck-at-83-58-nearly-double-the-44-61-close