Axcelis breaks ground on a $35 million Korea plant as its $4.4 billion Veeco merger awaits China's approval
Axcelis Technologies broke ground on a $35 million plant in Pyeongtaek, expanding the only factory it runs outside the United States, inside the closing window of its $4.4 billion Veeco merger and beside the biggest fab buildout in the industry.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
On October 20, 2026, about 50 people gathered in the Oseong Foreign Investment Zone in Pyeongtaek, South Korea: Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, Pyeongtaek's mayor, Axcelis chief executive Russell Low, and representatives of Samsung Electronics−3.02% — Samsung Electronics, down 3.02 percent today and SK hynix−8.27% — SK hynix, down 8.27 percent today, the two chipmakers the plant exists to supply 1. Axcelis Technologies−10.67% — Axcelis Technologies, down 10.67 percent as of its last quote, a Beverly, Massachusetts maker of ion implantation systems, the machines that fire charged atoms into silicon wafers to set a chip's electrical properties, already runs its only factory outside the United States at that address, opened in 2021 2.
The location is the bet: Samsung's P5 campus is rising nearby, redesigned into what would be the world's largest fab complex on a single site with production targeted for late 2028, and SK hynix's Yongin cluster sits about 30 minutes away, backed by a $38.3 billion fab investment its board approved in August 2026 5.
A $35 million plant for a two-horse market
The project costs about $35 million, or KRW 57.5 billion, putting up roughly 200,000 square feet on a 22,327-square-metre site: Class 1,000 and Class 10,000 cleanrooms, a parts warehouse serving Asia and Europe, and a customer training center 34. Construction completes in the first half of 2028, production starts in the second half 34.
Ion implantation is effectively a two-company market: Axcelis holds roughly 40% of it and Applied Materials'−7.57% — Applied Materials, down 7.57 percent today VIISta line is the main rival, and the process generated 98.2% of Axcelis' fiscal 2025 revenue of $839 million 5.
Korean press records add what the company's own release skips: Axcelis compared sites in Korea, Singapore and Malaysia before choosing Pyeongtaek 4, and it plans to move some equipment now built in the US onto the Korean lines, raising the share of Asian exports manufactured locally 14. Some American factory work becomes Korean factory work; the trade is shorter delivery and service loops for the region's biggest chip buyers.
Revenue is back, profit is not
Revenue is climbing off the 2025 trough, but net income is less than half its 2024 level
- Revenue
- Net income
Data
| Revenue | Net income | |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 '24 | $252.37M | $51.6M |
| Q2 '24 | $256.51M | $50.87M |
| Q3 '24 | $256.56M | $48.58M |
| Q4 '24 | $252.42M | $49.96M |
| Q1 '25 | $192.56M | $28.58M |
| Q2 '25 | $194.54M | $31.38M |
| Q3 '25 | $213.61M | $25.99M |
| Q4 '25 | $238.33M | $34.3M |
| Q1 '26 | $198.96M | $9.21M |
| Q2 '26 | $215.18M | $23.29M |
Q2 2026 came in at $215.18 million, up 10.6% year over year, while net income fell 25.8% to $23.29 million 6. Axcelis reports Q3 on Thursday November 5, with consensus at $1.11 a share on $230.08 million in revenue, matching the company's own guidance, and a full-year outlook lifted to mid-single-digit revenue growth 78. The stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating, a $148.67 average price target and a 52-week range of $73.60 to $193.78 7.
The deal inside the window
Every dollar of this lands inside the closing window of the $4.4 billion all-stock merger with Veeco−8.11% — Veeco, down 8.11 percent as of its last quote Instruments, agreed September 30, 2025 8. Shareholders of both companies approved it on February 6, 2026 5, and proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis recommended voting for it 9.
Veeco chief executive Bill Miller said on his company's Q2 earnings call that every regulatory clearance is secured except China antitrust approval, with a second-half 2026 closing still targeted 10.
The combined company projects $1.6–1.7 billion in sales and $35 million of targeted synergies 8. Veeco's side is not small: Q2 revenue of $193 million, $200 million in advanced packaging orders for 2027, and a raised full-year revenue guide of $780 million to $810 million 10.
The merger would roughly double the annual revenue base
- Annual revenue
- Estimate
Data
| Annual revenue | |
|---|---|
| Axcelis FY2025 | $839M |
| Veeco 2026 guide (estimate) | $795M ($780–810M) |
| Combined target (estimate) | $1,650M ($1,600–1,700M) |
Axcelis is staffing for the combination, naming Jeroen Delsman chief financial officer from November 12, while interim CFO David Ryzhik becomes Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations, with responsibility for leading integration planning and execution for the Veeco merger 11.
Three dates decide the bet
November 5 brings Q3 earnings, the first test of whether the revenue recovery holds 7. November 12 puts the new CFO in front of the books mid-integration 11. And before December 31, China's market regulator holds the last public gate on a merger that would make Pyeongtaek the combined company's Asia manufacturing hub 910. Veeco shareholders taking Axcelis stock are inheriting the Korea bet with it.
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