$ASYS Risk Factor changes from 00/11/30/22/2022 to 00/12/12/24/2024

Item 1A. We note these factors for investors as permitted by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should understand it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “Amtech,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Amtech Systems, Inc., an Arizona corporation, together with its subsidiaries. 5 PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS OUR COMPANY We provide equipment, consumables and services for semiconductor wafer fabrication and device packaging. Our products are used in fabricating semiconductor devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) power devices, digital and analog devices, power electronic packages, advanced semiconductor packages and electronic assemblies. We sell these products to semiconductor device and module manufacturers worldwide, particularly in Asia, North America and Europe. Our semiconductor fabrication solutions include consumables, equipment and services for wafer polishing, cleaning, slicing and dicing. Our thermal processing solutions include reflow equipment for chip packaging and electronic assembly, diffusion furnaces and furnaces used to produce ceramic based power semiconductor packages and passive electronic components. The focus of our strategy is to expand our consumables and service business for semiconductor wafer fabrication and to capitalize on opportunities for thermal processing equipment in advanced packaging and power electronic applications. We categorize each of our subsidiaries into one of two reportable segments, based primarily on the industries they serve: These reportable segments are comprised of the following five wholly-owned subsidiaries: Thermal Processing Solutions (formerly called Semiconductor): •BTU, a Delaware corporation based in Westford, Massachusetts, with operations in China, Malaysia and the UK, acquired in January 2015. Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions (formerly called Material and Substrate): •PR Hoffman, an Arizona corporation based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, acquired in July 1997; •Advanced Compound Materials, Inc., a Delaware corporation based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, founded in 2023; •Intersurface Dynamics, a Connecticut corporation based in Bethel, Connecticut, acquired in March 2021; and •Entrepix, an Arizona corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona, acquired in January 2023. In both of our divisions we are focused on semiconductor and related processes and markets. Amtech is uniquely positioned in that our products are employed throughout the early and late stages of semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. Our products are key to the earliest stages of silicon or silicon carbide wafer manufacturing, then in semiconductor device manufacturing, then advanced semiconductor packaging and then finally in electronics assembly. Our thermal processing solutions business provides high performance equipment used in solder reflow operations for advanced semiconductor packaging and electronic assembly, furnaces used for producing power semiconductor packaging substrates and electronic components, and diffusion furnaces used in wafer processing. 6 Reflow operations provide a cost effective, high throughput process for electronic packaging and assembly. Our equipment provides the precise temperature, atmospheric control and uniformity required to achieve high yields in mass production reflow operations. Our flux management system scrubs oven gasses to minimize downtime, reduce defects from flux contamination and reduce environmental emissions. The semiconductor industry is historically cyclical with constantly evolving technical requirements and advancements and can be subject to tariffs and sourcing restrictions driven by geopolitical tensions. Therefore, future growth and profitability will depend on cyclical trends, our ability to produce equipment regionally and meeting performance requirements as technical requirements evolve. We are currently in a longer-than-historical-average contraction cycle, which we believe is due primarily to a prolonged downturn in demand for industrial equipment, computers and smartphones following a spike in demand for these products during the COVID pandemic and a decline in growth expectations for electric vehicles. Our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions business provides processing consumables, equipment and services for wafer production. Our PR Hoffman consumables are used for lapping and Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) processes in the manufacturing of SiC and Si power devices, analog devices, optics, ceramics and photonics. Our Entrepix products and services include equipment for SiC and Si wafer cleaning, testing equipment used for optimizing CMP processes, CMP equipment parts and services, and CMP foundry services. Our Intersurface Dynamics products include lubricants, cooling fluids and cleaning chemicals used for semiconductor wafer and optics processing and dispersants for CMP slurries. CMP processes are used to provide a high degree of flatness, parallelism, and surface finish. Common applications for this technology are silicon wafers used for semiconductor digital and analog devices, SiC wafers for power devices, optics and ceramics. These devices are used in a variety of applications including computers and servers, automotive electronics, industrial electronics, mobile phones, telecommunications equipment and medical devices. We have been providing manufacturing solutions to the semiconductor industry for over 30 years and have leveraged our semiconductor technology and industry presence to capitalize on growth opportunities. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Annual Report. Business” section. For information regarding risks to our business, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Our fiscal year is from October 1 to September 30. Unless otherwise stated, references to the years 2024, 2023 and 2022 relate to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. ACQUISITION On January 17, 2023 we acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Entrepix, an Arizona based manufacturer of chemical mechanical polishing (“CMP”) technology for a cash purchase price of $39. Entrepix’s CMP technology portfolio and water cleaning equipment complements our existing substrate polishing and wet process chemical offerings. Entrepix's results of operations are included in our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment from the date of acquisition. 7 GROWTH AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY We believe there are three key secular trends that are key to our future growth: •Advanced Mobility - Advanced Mobility encompasses both the development and adoption of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, including both EV and HEV, as well as advanced automotive electronics including Advanced Driver Assistance Systems ("ADAS"), infotainment and telematics. Our products intersect these markets in multiple ways: CMP consumables and wafer cleaning systems for the SiC substrates used in the EV power invertors; thermal processing systems for producing EV battery cooling systems and ceramic substrates for HEV power semiconductor packaging; and reflow ovens for ADAS, infotainment and telematics component assemblies. •Supply Chain Resiliency - There is a global trend of creating supply chain resiliency by expanding and/or relocating operations outside of mainland China. We believe these facilities will create demand for new equipment and services in growing regions like Mexico and Southeast Asia. •Artificial Intelligence - With Artificial Intelligence ("AI"), our reflow oven systems are the favored choice for Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test Services ("OSATS") providers who perform advanced packaging of the AI chips. We continue to invest in research and development, including the introduction of our next-generation reflow platform, Aurora, in 2023. Our 2023 acquisition of Entrepix bolstered our offerings in the CMP technology space and incorporated wafer cleaning into our existing capital equipment product lines. We will continue to pursue acquisitions to supplement organic growth and have added market development resources globally to accelerate organic growth. Grow consumables revenue to reduce vulnerability to semiconductor business cycles. The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical, and the conditions of this industry remain volatile. We are currently in a longer-than-historical-average contraction cycle, which we believe is due to the capacity that was pulled in during COVID as demand for consumer electronics spiked during the pandemic and reduced expectations for EV growth rates. In order to increase the portion of our business tied to these high-growth megatrends, we are employing multiple tactics and strategies, including strategic selling and customer-centric product development. Customer-centric product development in R&D. In order to both increase the output of our development teams and mitigate the risk associated with the introduction of new products, we are emphasizing and prioritizing 8 customer-centric product development in all of our divisions. For example, the development and roll out of the Aurora reflow system for BTU employed direct customer input in the manufacturing requirements, and the new systems were first deployed as beta units to customers in multiple regions for validation. In addition, development of equipment and aftermarket solutions at Entrepix has focused on eliminating customer pain points, often in areas overlooked by the industry. We have added key customer-facing resources for our Semiconductor Fabrications Solutions segment to enable this type of customer collaboration in all geographic regions. In evaluating potential R&D projects in our portfolio, opportunities where a strong customer partner or partners exist will be given priority over internally-driven programs. Our legacy business is key to funding both organic and inorganic growth opportunities across our divisions. We have increased cross-divisional sharing of resources and expertise, such as best practices and global sourcing. During 2024, we made investments to strengthen and expand our manufacturing capacity for CMP consumables to meet anticipated growth demands from the SiC industry segment and reduce single-point failure risks to our business. We also relocated our domestic BTU facility to a smaller facility that significantly reduced fixed costs and was better aligned with a fab-lite manufacturing model that was implemented with the support of contract manufacturing partners. THERMAL PROCESSING AND SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION SOLUTIONS OPERATIONS We provide reflow equipment for chip packaging and electronic assembly, diffusion furnaces for wafer processing and furnaces used to produce ceramic based power semiconductor packages and passive electronic components as well as wafer cleaning equipment, CMP polishing consumables, wafer processing lubricants, coolants and cleaning chemicals and related services to leading semiconductor manufacturers. Electronic equipment continues to become more complex, yet end users demand smaller, lighter and less expensive devices. Although the semiconductor market has experienced significant growth over the past fifteen years, it remains cyclical by nature. The market is characterized by short-term periods of under or over utilization of capacity for most semiconductors, including microprocessors, memory, power management chips and other logic devices. When capacity utilization decreases due to the addition of excess capacity, semiconductor manufacturers typically slow their purchasing of capital equipment. Conversely, when capacity utilization increases, so does capital spending. THERMAL PROCESSING SOLUTIONS PRODUCTS Our furnace equipment is manufactured in our facilities in Massachusetts and China and via contract manufacturers in Canada and Mexico.5D and flip-chip. These products are manufactured at our ISO 9001:2015 certified facility in Shanghai, China and utilize forced impingement convection technology to transfer heat to the substrate. These products are available in four models based on the heated lengths of thermal processing chambers. High-Temperature Belt Furnace. These furnaces operate at temperatures up to 1180°C and are capable of processing in controlled atmospheres, such as nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen. Horizontal Diffusion Furnaces. We produce and sell 200mm and 300mm horizontal diffusion and deposition furnaces. Our horizontal furnaces currently address several steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process, including diffusion, high temperature oxidation (used in silicon power chips), and annealing. Our horizontal furnaces generally consist of three large modules: the load station, where the loading of the wafers occurs; the furnace section, which is comprised of one to four thermal reactor chambers; and the gas distribution cabinet, where the flow of gases into the reactor chambers is controlled and is often configured through a range of options to meet the requirements of our customers’ particular process needs. Our products are capable of processing all currently existing wafer sizes. SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION SOLUTIONS PRODUCTS Our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment manufactures the products described below in Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Connecticut and sells them under our Entrepix, PR Hoffman and Intersurface Dynamics brand names. Double-Sided Wafer Cleaning System. The Entrepix Double-Sided Wafer Cleaning System (OnTrak) is a single wafer cleaner that uses water or mild chemistries supplied through PVA brushes to clean both sides of a substrate simultaneously. These wafers (substrates) require cleaning following various process steps that leave the substrate contaminated by material particles. The system is designed to accept wet wafers in and send each substrate through two brush cleaning steps followed by a rinse and a spin dry while also providing heat via a high-powered lamp to dry any residual liquid droplets. The Entrepix cleaner is commonly used in post polishing steps, prime silicon/silicon carbide cleaning, epitaxial silicon deposition processes, and general wafer cleaning needs. Entegrity Head Tester. The Entrepix Entegrity Head Tester is a table-top CMP head testing system that provides our customers with invaluable data regarding their head consumables that make up the polishing heads. The system allows users to customize operation and recipe programming. This allows the user to test individual zones for leaks or cross talk and track each head's performance by generating data that can be used to track issues with head rebuild before it is installed on the polisher. The Entegrity’s user friendly touch interface displays data in real time, and also provides a live graph of the individual zone’s performance. The ability to scan each head barcode prior to testing allows the user to create a data set for each specific head that can be viewed on the screen or downloaded via network connection. We manufacture carriers in a variety of sizes and materials. Sizes range from 3 to 38 inches in diameter using a variety of special steels, laminates and extruded polymer raw materials. Silicon wafers, compound semiconductor wafers, and large optics require these special insert carriers. These carriers combine the strength of hardened steel as the processing backbone with a softer plastic material in the work holes known as an insert. Inserts are permanently molded into the work holes via a pressurized process. These inserted work holes provide smoother processing, improved wafer total thickness variation (TTV) and improved wafer edge quality. Insert carriers are widely accepted as the industry solution for both prime wafer and reclaim wafer manufacturers when dual sided lapping or polishing are utilized in the front-end wafer process. Substrate Polishing Templates. Polishing templates are customized for specific applications and are manufactured to extremely tight tolerances. We offer a variety of options to provide the best solution for each specific process. Polishing templates are manufactured for all brands of tools and virtually any wax-free customer process. Critical front-end wafer surface specifications are finalized during the polishing process. Substrate Process Chemicals. Through Intersurface Dynamics, we produce and sell substrate process chemicals which are used to achieve specific surface morphologies on a variety of materials. Our substrate process chemical customers include some of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductor devices, silicon wafers, precision optics, ophthalmic lens, advanced displays and flat glass. We offer three different product lines: Tensor Series Products, Vector Series Products, and Challenge Series Products. Tensor Series Products are used by manufacturers of integrated circuits in applications such as cleaning, etching, dicing and CMP. Vector Series Products were designed specifically for grinding, sawing, lapping, cleaning, etching and polishing semiconductor materials such as silicon wafers. Challenge Series Products address similar processes for manufacturers of precision optics, technical ceramics and advanced displays helping to achieve optimum yields. These products are engineered and designed for specific applications and to meet the increasingly tight tolerances required by our customers. Our cleaner manufacturing activities include electrical and mechanical assembly of components and assemblies for the construction of two versions of our double-side scrubbers/cleaners at our Phoenix facility. Many items are purchased from suppliers who manufacture these items to our specifications. We also utilize our second manufacturing center in north Phoenix to manufacture and machine parts from raw materials, for our own use in construction of the cleaners as well as for customers. Quality control is maintained through inspection of incoming materials and components, in-process inspection during equipment assembly, testing of assemblies and final inspection and, when practical, operation of manufactured equipment prior to shipment. Injection molding for our insert carriers is subcontracted out to a third party. To minimize the risk of production and service interruptions and/or shortages of key parts, we seek to maintain appropriate inventory levels of key raw materials and parts. In addition, in order to respond to the anticipated growth rates for SiC substrate manufacturing and to provide our customers with assurance for business continuity and risk mitigation, we have opened a new manufacturing facility for SiC related polishing consumables in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This facility, run by our ACMI subsidiary, not only provides additional manufacturing capacity, but it also brings us geographically closer to key customers in the region allowing for even faster response times. 11 During 2023, we partnered with contract manufacturers (“CM”) to improve our lead times and diversify our manufacturing operations. One CM is located in Canada and is building our high temperature belt furnaces. By partnering with this CM, we achieved record shipments of our high temperature belt furnaces. We also have partnered with a CM in Mexico, who will build our Pyramax furnaces and ship to our North American and European customers. In addition, we are using a CM partner as well as our Shanghai factory as backup sources to manufacture key components for certain high temperature belt furnaces. This CM strategy is key to ensuring we are not concentrated in one geographic location and to give us additional capacity during peak semiconductor cycles. CUSTOMERS AND SEASONALITY Our customers are primarily manufacturers of semiconductor substrates, devices and electronic assemblies. This group represented 52% of revenues in 2023. In 2023, one Thermal Processing Solutions customer accounted for 11% of our net revenues. Our business is not seasonal in nature, but is cyclical based on the capital equipment investment patterns of semiconductor manufacturers. These expenditure patterns are based on many factors, including capacity utilization, anticipated demand, the development of new technologies and global and regional economic conditions. Historically, these cycles typically last between 10-17 quarters, with each complete cycle made up of a contraction phase of about 4-6 quarters, followed by an expansion phase of approximately 6-11 quarters. We are currently in a longer-than-historical-average contraction cycle, which we believe is due primarily to a prolonged downturn in demand for personal computers and smartphones following a spike in demand for these products during the COVID pandemic and a reduction in anticipated growth rates for EVs. We use a mix of direct sales, representatives and distributors globally. Sales to distributors are generally on terms comparable to sales to end-user customers, as our distributors generally quote their customers after first obtaining a quote from us and have an order from the end-user before placing an order with us. Our sales to distributors are not contingent on their future sales and do not include a general right of return. Historically, returns have been rare. Distributors of our semiconductor equipment do not stock a significant amount of our products, as the inventory they hold is generally limited to parts needed to provide timely repairs to customers. Historically, each of our segments have been responsible for their own sales and marketing activities, including managing sales personnel and representative and distributor relationships, however, as we continue to refocus and grow our organization, we are developing opportunities for increased collaboration and teamwork across our divisions. These cross-segment collaboration opportunities will continue to be a focus at all levels and departments of our organization, as we believe they can lead to greater efficiencies while reducing operating costs. To compete effectively, we must continually maintain or exceed the pace of such change by improving our products and our process technologies and by developing new technologies and products that are competitive based on price and performance. To assure that these technologies and products address current and future customer requirements, we obtain as much customer cooperation and input as possible, thus increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our research and development efforts. In addition, we look for strategic acquisitions that will provide us with new technologies to compete effectively in the markets in which we operate. RD&E expenses may vary from period to period depending on the engineering projects in process. Expenses related to engineers working on strategic projects or sustaining engineering projects are recorded in RD&E. However, from time to time we add functionality to our products or develop new products during engineering and manufacturing to fulfill specifications in a customer’s order, in which case the cost of development, along with other costs of the order, are charged to cost of goods sold.4 million, respectively. We plan to continue to develop new products and invest in upgrades to existing products to stay competitive in the markets we serve. Each of these markets is highly competitive. Significant competitive factors for succeeding in these markets include the product’s technical capability, productivity, cost-effectiveness, overall reliability, ease of use and maintenance, contamination and defect control and the level of technical service and support. The Thermal Processing Solutions Market. Our thermal processing equipment primarily competes with equipment produced by other OEMs. Some of these manufacturers are well-established firms that are much larger and have substantially greater financial and other resources than we have with which to pursue development, engineering, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of products. Additionally, these manufacturers may generally be better situated to withstand adverse economic or market conditions. The principal competitors for solder reflow systems are ITW/EAE Vitronics-Soltec, Heller, Folungwin, ERSA, Shenzhen JT Automation Equipment Co., Ltd. and Rehm. The principal competitors for advanced semiconductor packaging are ITW/EAE Vitronics-Soltec and Heller. Our in-line, controlled atmosphere furnaces compete primarily against products offered by Centrotherm and SierraTherm/Schmid Thermal Systems. We also face competition from emerging low-cost Asian manufacturers and other established European manufacturers. Although price is a factor in buying decisions, we believe that technological leadership, process capability, throughput, safer designs, uptime, mean time-to-repair, cost of ownership and after-sale support have become increasingly important factors to purchasers of our products. As such, we believe we compete primarily on the basis of these criteria, rather than on the basis of price alone. Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions Markets. Our CMP wafer carriers experience price competition from foreign manufacturers for which there is very little publicly available information. To maintain our competitive position, we work closely with customers to update our product line to keep pace with their requirements and provide a high level of quality and customer service. 13 Entrepix competes with other cleaning equipment providers including Screen and TEL with the OnTrak double sided scrubber. The OnTrak is normally paired with a stand-alone CMP tool to match the throughput. The OnTrak competes with other cleaning technologies in several other applications like SiC substrate manufacturing and others that require particle removal from the surface of a device wafer. Entrepix also competes with other companies specializing in refurbishment of older legacy CMP equipment. Competitors include Axus Technology and many other companies located in geographical regions such as China, South Korea and Taiwan. Entrepix’s strategy consists of providing solutions for obsolete equipment for legacy 200mm, 300mm and smaller wafer processing equipment where support has been discontinued by the OEM. In addition, Entrepix provides support for their customers various wafer production and R&D requirements in their class 1000 clean room foundry. and Cabot. To encourage achieving these objectives, Amtech’s leadership team developed Amtech’s core values, which are communicated to employees on a regular basis. These core values include the following: •Safety – Employees should never be injured at work. Adherence to safety protocols underscores our commitment to disciplined operation. •Customer Focus – We know our success depends on the success of our customers. We aim to exceed customer expectations at every interaction. •Continuous Improvement – Our company’s dedication to continuous improvement is what enables us to adapt, evolve, and excel in our ever-changing industry. Amtech’s Employees Our employees are critical to our success as a leading, global manufacturer of capital equipment and related consumables used in fabricating and packaging semiconductor devices. To continue producing and delivering high-quality products and services to our customers, and to compete and succeed in the highly competitive and continually evolving markets in which we operate, it is critical that we continue to attract, retain and develop a diverse group of talented individuals at all levels of our organization. Our management seeks to align employment levels with the needs of our business. We also employ individuals on a temporary full-time basis and use the services of contractors as necessary. Of our 328 total employees, 38% were engaged in manufacturing, 21% were engaged in sales and service, 9% were engaged in research, development and engineering, and 32% were engaged in other roles. We have a three-year agreement with this union, which expires on September 30, 2025. We expect this agreement to be renewed prior to expiration. We have never experienced a work stoppage or strike, and other than employees at the Carlisle facility, no other employees are represented by a union. At select business units, we have hired certain highly specialized employees under employment contracts that specify a term of employment, pay and other benefits. We consider our employee relations to be good. As part of our effort to do so, we offer competitive rewards, compensation and benefits, including an employee equity award program, performance-based bonuses, health and wellness benefits, retirement benefits, flexible schedules and holiday and paid time off. We are committed to helping our employees develop in their careers and thrive within the Company. Management provides regular performance reviews to ensure our employees are receiving timely and constructive feedback, as well as rewards based on their performance. These performance reviews also assess each employee’s performance as it relates to Amtech’s core values.5% was voluntary.3% of voluntary turnover were employees that retired from the workforce. The average tenure of our employees is approximately 11 years and approximately 47.3% of our employees have been employed with us for more than 10 years.4%, of which approximately 70.8% was voluntary. Approximately 4.6% of voluntary turnover were employees that retired from the workforce. Throughout 2024, we made targeted labor reductions as a result of our shift to contract manufacturing and the longer than expected slowdown in the broader semiconductor industry. We strongly believe that a diversity of experience, perspectives and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and better products and service for our customers. Amtech’s commitment to diversity covers our Board of Directors, our leadership team and all teams and functions across our global locations. We provide our employees with ongoing safety training to ensure safety policies and procedures are communicated and implemented in an effective and timely manner. As noted above, safety is one of our core values. 15 PATENTS The following table shows our material patents and the expiration date of each patent: To our knowledge, there are currently no pending lawsuits against us regarding infringement of any existing patents or other intellectual property rights or any material unresolved claims made by third parties that allege we are infringing the intellectual property rights of such third parties.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION We file our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements, and other documents (including registration statements) with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or the Securities Act of 1933, as applicable. Our SEC filings are available to the public on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and through The Nasdaq Global Select Market, 165 Broadway, New York, New York 10006, on which our common stock is listed. AMTECH WEBSITE In addition to the information contained in this Report, extensive information about Amtech can be found at www.amtechsystems.com, including information about our management team, products and services, and corporate governance practices. The corporate governance information on our website includes our Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance guidelines and the charters for each of the committees of the Board. In addition, amendments to these documents and waivers granted to directors and executive officers under the Code of Conduct, if any, will be posted in this area of the website. In addition, our filings with the SEC, as well as Section 16 filings made by any of our executive officers or directors with respect to Amtech's common stock, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after the filing is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. These details about our website and its content are only for information. The contents of our website are not, nor shall they be deemed to be, incorporated by reference in this Report. RISK FACTORS There are many factors that affect our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows, as well as the market price for our securities. The following is a description of important factors that may cause our actual results of operations in future periods to differ materially from those currently expected or discussed in forward-looking statements set forth in this Annual Report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks we face. We operate in a continually changing business environment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we may currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. Forward-looking statements and such risks, uncertainties and other factors speak only as of the date of this Report, and we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein, to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto, or any other change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except to the extent otherwise required by law. The semiconductor equipment industry is highly cyclical and volatile. The purchasing decisions of our customers are highly dependent on their capacity utilization, which changes when new facilities are put into production and with the level of demand for our products, as well as our customers’ capital expenditure budgets. Purchasing decisions are also impacted by changes in the economies of the countries served by our customers, as well as the state of the worldwide industries in which we operate or expect to operate in the future. The timing, length, and severity of the up-and-down cycles in the semiconductor equipment industry are difficult to predict. Additionally, we generally experience a one-to-two quarter lag between upturns/downturns experienced by larger equipment manufacturers. When cyclical fluctuations result in lower than expected revenue levels, our operating results are adversely affected. During a down cycle, our operating results may be adversely affected if we are unable to make timely adjustments to our cost and expense structure to correspond to the prevailing market conditions, effectively manage our supply chain, and motivate and retain key employees. Our industry includes large manufacturers with substantial resources to support customers worldwide. Our future performance depends, in part, upon our ability to continue to compete successfully in these markets. We face competition from companies whose strategy is to provide a broad array of products, some of which compete with the products and services we offer. These competitors may bundle their products in a manner that discourages customers from purchasing our products. In addition, we face competition from emerging semiconductor equipment companies whose strategy is to provide a portion of the products and services that we offer often at a lower price than ours and use innovative technology to sell products into specialized markets. We also face competition from Chinese equipment manufacturers that may receive greater support than we do from Chinese customers and governmental agencies because they are locally based. In addition, our local Chinese competitors may offer lower prices and more liberal payment terms than ours. Loss of our competitive position due to any of these factors could impair our prices, customer orders, revenue, gross margin, and market share, any of which would negatively affect our business, financial position and results of operations. Risks Related to Our Business We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows or obtain access to external financing necessary to fund existing operations and our growth plan. We paid off and terminated our existing credit facility with UMB Bank in September 2024. We may be unable to successfully expand or contract our business to meet fluctuating demands. Market fluctuations place significant strain on our management, personnel, systems, and resources. If we are unable to effectively manage our business through these cycles, we may not be able to take advantage of market opportunities, develop new technologies and other products, satisfy customer requirements, execute our business plan or respond to competitive pressures. Our inability to attract, train and retain effective employees and management could harm our business. Our success depends upon the continued contributions of our executive officers and certain other employees, many of whom have many years of experience with us and would be extremely difficult to replace. We must also attract and retain experienced and highly skilled engineering, sales and marketing and managerial personnel. Competition for qualified personnel is intense in our industry, and we may not be successful in hiring and retaining these people. If we lost the services of our executive officers or our other highly qualified and experienced employees or cannot attract and retain other qualified personnel, our business could suffer as a result of less effective management due to loss of accumulated knowledge of our business or through less successful products due to a reduced ability to design, manufacture and market our products. We may be unable to implement certain business strategies and any issue with the pursuit of such business strategies could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. We may from time to time determine to implement business strategies and restructuring initiatives in order to remain competitive. Because our strategies and restructuring activities may involve changes to many aspects of our business, including the location of our production facilities, the use of contract manufactures, and the potential exit of certain product lines and businesses, our ability to successfully do so depends on a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control. If we are not able to effectively manage or efficiently implement these strategies and/or restructuring initiatives for reasons within or outside of our control, then our business operations could be materially adversely affected. In addition, implementation of a business strategy may lead to the disruption of our existing business operations. For example, the contingent risks associated with outsourcing certain of our existing manufacturing operations to third parties, as is the case with our use of third party manufacturers, primarily in Canada and Mexico, could materially impact our financial condition or results of operations and/or could disrupt our existing operations, especially if a contract manufacturer is unable to meet its commitments under any agreements or encounters financial difficulty. Furthermore, our efforts to outsource certain of our manufacturing operations may require additional management time and effort to implement successfully, and lead to higher than anticipated capital expenditures. The failure to successfully and timely realize the anticipated benefits of these transactions or strategies could have a material adverse effect on our profitability, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, even if we fully execute and implement these activities, there may be other unforeseeable and unintended consequences that could 18 materially adversely impact our profitability and business, including unintended employee attrition or harm to our competitive position. To the extent that we do not achieve the profitability enhancement or other anticipated benefits of strategy or restructuring initiatives, our results of operations may be materially adversely affected. We continually evaluate potential acquisitions and consider acquisitions an important part of our future growth strategy. In the past, we have made acquisitions of, or significant investments in, other businesses with synergistic products, services and technologies and plan to continue to do so in the future. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition opportunities in the future or that we will be able to consummate any such transactions on terms and conditions acceptable to us. Additionally, we cannot predict if or when acquisitions will be completed, and we may face significant competition for acquisition targets. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including: (a) difficulties in integrating the operations, technologies, management information systems, products and personnel of the acquired companies; (b) diversion of management’s attention from normal daily operations of the business; (c) loss of key employees; (d) difficulties in entering markets in which we have no or limited prior experience and where our competitors in such markets have stronger market positions; (e) difficulties in complying with regulations, such as antitrust and environmental regulations, and managing risks related to an acquired business; (f) an inability to timely obtain financing, including any amendments required to our existing financing agreement; (g) an inability to implement uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies; (h) undiscovered and unknown problems, defects, liabilities or other issues related to any acquisition that become known to us only after the acquisition; and (i) loss of key customers or suppliers. Our reliance on sales to a few major customers, often on credit terms, places us at financial risk. We currently sell to a relatively small number of customers and expect to do so for the foreseeable future. Therefore, our operating results depend on the ability of these customers to sell products that require our equipment in their manufacturing operations. Many of our customer relationships have developed over a short period of time and certain ones are in the early stages of development. The loss of sales to any of these customers would have a significant negative impact on our business. They also may seek to renegotiate the terms of current agreements or renewals. We cannot be certain our existing customers will generate significant revenue for us in the future or that these new customer relationships will be maintained or continue to develop. If we are unable to maintain or expand our customer base, we may not be able to maintain or increase our revenue. In addition to having a relatively limited number of customers, we manufacture a limited number of products for each of our customers. If we lose any of our largest customers (as we have in the past from time to time), experience a significant reduction in sales to any such customers or no longer manufacture a particular product line for one of our largest customers, we will experience a significant reduction in our revenue. We attempt to manage this credit risk by requiring significant partial payments prior to shipment, where appropriate, and by actively monitoring collections. We also require letters of credit from certain customers depending on the size of the order, type of customer or its creditworthiness and its country of domicile. Our major customers may seek and, on occasion, may receive pricing, payment or other commercial terms that are less favorable to us than the current terms we customarily obtain. If any one or more of our major customers were to seek to re-negotiate their agreements on more favorable terms, or not pay us or continue business with us, it could adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations. Some key parts to our products are subject to long lead times and/or are obtainable only from a single supplier or limited group of suppliers. Cyclical industry conditions and the volatility of demand for manufacturing equipment increase capital, technical, operational and other risks for us and for companies throughout our supply chain. Further, these conditions may cause some suppliers to scale back operations, exit businesses, merge with other companies, file for bankruptcy protection or possibly cease operations. We use third parties for certain of our manufacturing activities. If our contract manufacturers do not perform effectively, we may not be able to achieve the expected cost savings and may incur additional costs to correct errors or fulfill customer demand. Depending on the function involved, such errors may also lead to business disruption, processing inefficiencies, the loss of or damage to intellectual property through security breach, or an impact on employee morale. Our operations may also be negatively impacted if any of these contract manufacturers do not have the financial capability to meet our growing needs. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we opened a new SiC consumables facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina to complement our manufacturing facility in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We are also working with contract manufacturing facilities in Canada and Mexico. The establishment and operation of new manufacturing facilities or contract manufacturing involves significant risks and challenges, some of which we have experienced and may experience in the future, including, but not limited to, the following: (a) design and construction delays and cost overruns; (b) issues in installing and qualifying new equipment and ramping production; (c) poor production process yields and reduced quality control; and (d) insufficient personnel with requisite expertise and experience to operate a manufacturing facility for the products we manufacture. Because we depend on revenue from international customers, our business may be adversely affected by changes in the economies and policies of the countries or regions in which we do business. Each geographic region in which we, our customers, and our suppliers operate exhibits unique characteristics that can cause capital equipment investment patterns to vary significantly from period to period. Our business and results of operations could be negatively affected by periodic local or international economic downturns, trade balance issues and political, social and military instability in countries such as China, Russia, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine and possibly elsewhere. In addition, we face competition from a number of suppliers based in Asia that have certain advantages over suppliers from outside of Asia. These advantages include lower operating, shipping and regulatory costs, proximity to customers, favorable tariffs and other government policies that favor local suppliers. Our business may be adversely affected by significant exchange rate fluctuations. Though our business has not been materially affected in the past by currency fluctuations, there is a risk that it may be materially adversely affected in the future. Such risk includes possible losses due to currency exchange rate fluctuations, future prohibitions against repatriation of earnings, or proceeds from disposition of investments. We are exposed to risks associated with an uncertain global economy. Uncertain global economic conditions and slowing growth in China, Europe and the United States, along with difficulties in the financial markets, national debt concerns and government austerity measures in certain regions, pose challenges to the industries in which we operate. Related factors, including unemployment, inflation and fuel prices, exacerbate negative trends in business and consumer spending and may cause our customers to delay, cancel, or refrain from placing orders for equipment or services. These actions may, in turn, reduce our net sales, reduce backlog, and negatively affect our ability to convert backlog to sales. Uncertain market conditions, difficulties in obtaining capital, or reduced profitability also may cause some customers to scale back operations, exit businesses, merge with other manufacturers, or file for bankruptcy protection and potentially cease operations, which can result in lower sales and/or additional inventory or bad debt expense for us. These conditions may similarly affect key suppliers, impairing their ability to deliver parts and potentially causing delays or added costs for delivery of our products. In addition, these conditions may lead to strategic alliances by, or consolidation of, other equipment manufacturers, which could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. Uncertainty about future economic and industry conditions also makes it more challenging for us to forecast our operating results, make business decisions, and identify and prioritize the risks that may affect our businesses, sources and uses of cash, financial condition and results of operations. We may be required to implement additional cost reduction efforts, including restructuring activities, and/or modify our business model, which may adversely affect our ability to capitalize on opportunities in a market recovery. If we fail to maintain optimal inventory levels, our inventory obsolescence costs could increase, our liquidity could be significantly reduced, or our revenue could decrease. While we must maintain sufficient inventory levels to operate our business successfully, meet our customers’ demands, and mitigate the possible impact of supply chain issues, accumulating excess inventory may have a significant unfavorable impact on our operating results and financial condition. Changing customer demands, supplier lead times and uncertainty surrounding new product launches expose us to risks associated with excess inventory or shortages. Our products are manufactured using a wide variety of purchased parts and raw materials and we must maintain sufficient inventory levels to meet the demand for the products we sell, which can change rapidly and unexpectedly. During peak years of our business, increases in demand for capital equipment result in longer lead times for many important system components. Because of the variability and uniqueness of customer orders, we seek to avoid maintaining an extensive inventory of materials for manufacturing. However, long lead times for important system components during industry upturns sometimes require us to carry higher levels of inventory and make larger purchase commitments than we otherwise would make. Conversely, if we do not have a sufficient inventory of a product to fulfill customer orders, we may lose orders or customers, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may not be able to accurately predict market demand to avoid inventory shortages or build inventories and issue purchase commitments in excess of our current requirements. We use numerous suppliers covering a wide range of materials and services in the production of our products including custom electronic and mechanical components. Key vendors include suppliers of controllers, quartz and silicon carbide for our diffusion systems, steel mills capable of producing the types of steel to the tolerances needed for our wafer carriers, an injection molding machine that molds plastic inserts into our steel carriers, an adhesive manufacturer that supplies the critical glue and a pad supplier that produces a unique material used in the manufacture of our polishing templates. We also rely on third parties for certain machined parts, steel frames and metal panels and other components used particularly in the assembly of our production equipment. Although we strive to ensure that parts are available from multiple suppliers, we procure some key parts from a single supplier or a limited number of suppliers. Thus, at times, certain parts may not be available in sufficient quantities, or on a timely and cost-efficient basis, to adequately meet our needs and the needs of our customers. If, in the future, we do not receive, in a timely and cost-effective manner, a sufficient quantity and quality of parts to meet our production requirements, our business, financial position and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Our income taxes are subject to variables beyond our control. Our net income and cash flow may be adversely affected by conditions affecting income taxes which are outside our control. Examples of the potential uncontrollable circumstances that could affect our tax rate are as follows: •We sell and operate globally in the United States, Europe and Asia. Disagreement could occur on the jurisdiction of income and taxation among different governmental tax authorities. Potential areas of dispute may include transfer pricing, intercompany charges and intercompany balances. •We are subject to a Chinese withholding tax on certain non-tangible charges made under our transfer pricing agreements. The interpretation of what charges are subject to the tax and when the liability for the tax occurs has varied and could change in the future. •Tax rates may increase, or new tax rates may be implemented (i.e., a global minimum rate), and, therefore, have a material adverse effect on our earnings and cash flows. Natural disasters, outbreaks of infectious diseases, terrorist attacks, wars and threats of war may negatively impact our operations, revenue, costs, and stock price. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, severe weather conditions, outbreaks of infectious diseases in addition to COVID-19 or other catastrophic events may severely affect our operations or those of our suppliers and customers. Acts of terrorism, as well as events occurring in response or connection to them, including potential future terrorist attacks, rumors or threats of war, actual military conflicts or trade disruptions impacting our domestic or foreign customers or suppliers, may negatively impact our operations by causing, among other things, delays, or losses in the delivery of supplies or finished goods and decreased sales of our products. More generally, any of these events could cause consumer confidence and spending to decrease and/or result in increased volatility in the worldwide financial markets and economy. They also could result in economic recession either globally or in the markets in which we operate. Any of these occurrences could have a significant adverse impact on our business, financial position and results of operations. We maintain cash deposits in excess of federally insured limits. Adverse developments affecting financial institutions, including bank failures, could adversely affect our liquidity and financial performance. We maintain domestic cash deposits in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insured banks that exceed the FDIC insurance limits. We also maintain cash deposits in foreign banks where we operate, some of which are not insured or are only partially insured by the FDIC or similar agencies. Bank failures, events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance, or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, or concerns or rumors about such events, may lead to liquidity constraints. The failure of a bank, or other adverse conditions in the financial 22 or credit markets impacting financial institutions at which we maintain balances, could adversely impact our liquidity and financial performance. There can be no assurance that our deposits in excess of the FDIC or other comparable insurance limits will be backstopped by the U.S. or applicable foreign government, or that any bank or financial institution with which we do business will be able to obtain needed liquidity from other banks, government institutions, or by acquisition in the event of a failure or liquidity crisis. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting which, if not remediated, could result in material misstatements in our financial statements. During the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2023, we identified a material weakness in internal control related to ineffective information technology general controls in the areas of user access, segregation of duties, and program change-management over information technology systems that support substantially all of the Company’s financial reporting processes. This resulted in our inability to segregate user duties within the Company’s business processes. A substantial portion of the Company's controls are dependent upon the information derived from the information technology systems and therefore the dependent controls were concluded to be ineffective. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Additionally, in the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2023, we identified a material weakness because we did not design and maintain adequate internal controls over non-routine and complex transactions, including the preparation and review of the third-party service provider valuation reports in the areas of goodwill and intangible assets. In fiscal 2024, our management, under the oversight of our Audit Committee, began designing and implementing measures designed to remediate the control deficiencies contributing to these material weaknesses. The material weaknesses are considered remediated once all necessary internal controls have been implemented, tested and determined to be operating effectively for a sufficient period of time, which we concluded occurred as of September 30, 2024. Notwithstanding the remediation of the control deficiencies, we cannot assure you that we will not identify additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. If we are unable to remediate the material weaknesses, our ability to record, process and report financial information accurately, and to prepare financial statements with the time periods specified by the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission, could be adversely affected. Continued changes in corporate governance requirements, policies and practices may impact our business. Corporate governance, public disclosure and compliance practices continue to evolve based upon continuing legislative action, SEC rulemaking and policy positions taken by large institutional stockholders and proxy advisors. As a result, the number of rules, regulations and standards applicable to us may become more burdensome to comply with, could increase scrutiny of our practices and policies by these or other groups and increase our legal and financial compliance costs and the amount of time management must devote to governance and compliance activities. For example, the SEC has recently adopted rules requiring that issuers provide significantly increased disclosures concerning cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incident reporting and adopt more stringent executive compensation clawback policies. Increasing regulatory burdens and corporate governance requirements could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our Board and qualified executive officers. 23 Risks Related to Regulations and Litigation We are subject to various laws and regulations, including recent pronouncements related to laws and regulations governing climate related disclosures, cybersecurity, privacy, anti-corruption and the environment. Obligations and liabilities under these laws and regulations may materially harm our business. Noncompliance with applicable regulations, implementation of new regulations or modifications to existing regulations may increase costs of compliance, require a termination of certain activities or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Climate Disclosure, Cybersecurity and Other Pronouncements - Pronouncements by the SEC, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and from the state of California, among others, related to antitrust, climate related disclosures, cybersecurity and privacy could have the impact of increasing Company compliance costs, increasing potential liability to the Company as a result of frivolous lawsuits, or place the Company in a position of not knowing when or if the laws are settled in a particular area in order for the Company to effectively comply. Anti-Corruption Laws and Regulations - We are a U.S.-based multinational company with extensive operations in Asia and elsewhere. We operate in several high-risk jurisdictions, including, but not limited to China. Various U.S. and certain non-U.S. These laws and regulations may include, among others, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. Travel Act, domestic anti-corruption laws such as 18 U.S.C. §201, the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, the USA PATRIOT Act, the U.S. Export Control Reform Act of 2018, the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. §§730 et seq.), U.S. sanctions contained in 31 C.F.R. Parts 500-599, the U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act, the International Boycott Provisions (Section 999) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, the UK Bribery Act 2010, the UK Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and certain other anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-kickback, anti-fraud, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing, anti-narcotics, anti-boycott, export control, sanctions, embargo, import control, customs, tax, insider trading, insurance, banking, false claims, anti-racketeering, and other laws, regulations, decrees, government or executive orders, or judicial or administrative decisions or determinations to the extent applicable. These laws and regulations are interpreted very broadly and will impact and raise legal compliance risks for our business in the various jurisdictions where we operate. Violations of any of these laws and regulations may result in substantial civil and/or criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm, and other consequences. Anti-corruption/anti-bribery and the other laws and regulations referenced above are actively enforced by U.S. and other government agencies. Among various matters, anti-corruption/anti-bribery laws prohibit our companies, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, and business partners, as well as third parties acting for or on our behalf, from authorizing, promising, offering, providing, soliciting, or accepting, whether directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to or from recipients in the public or private sector. We have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or government-affiliated organizations. These activities raise our anti-corruption/anti-bribery risk exposure. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our officers, directors, employees, and business partners, as well as the conduct of third parties acting for or on our behalf, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of their misconduct. The application of these laws to us also may place us at a competitive disadvantage to foreign companies that are not subject to similar laws/regulations. Environmental Laws and Regulations - We are subject to a variety of national, state, regional and local environmental laws and regulations. Among other things, these laws and regulations impose limitations and prohibitions on the discharge and emission of, and establish standards for the use, disposal and management of, regulated materials and waste and impose liabilities for the costs of investigating and cleaning up, and damages resulting from, present and past spills, disposals or other releases of hazardous substances or materials. In the ordinary 24 course of business, we use and generate substances that are regulated or may be hazardous under environmental laws. We have an inherent risk of liability under environmental laws and regulations, both with respect to ongoing operations and with respect to contamination that may have occurred in the past on our properties or as a result of our operations. While we endeavor to comply with all regulatory requirements, from time to time, our operations or conditions on properties that we have acquired have resulted in liabilities under these environmental laws. We may in the future incur material costs to comply with environmental laws or sustain material liabilities from claims concerning noncompliance or contamination. Under certain environmental laws, we could be held responsible for all the costs relating to any contamination at, or migration to or from, our or our predecessors' past or present facilities. These laws often impose liability even if the owner, operator or lessor did not know of, or was not responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances. While we maintain certain related insurance coverages, we have no reserves for any such liabilities. We are also required to obtain environmental permits from governmental authorities for certain of our operations. If we violate or fail to obtain or comply with these laws, regulations, or permits, we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators. We could also become liable if employees or other parties are improperly exposed to hazardous materials. We cannot predict what environmental legislation or regulations will be enacted in the future, how existing or future laws or regulations will be administered or interpreted, or what environmental conditions may be found to exist at our facilities or at third party sites for which we may be liable. Enactment of stricter laws or regulations, stricter interpretations of existing laws and regulations or the requirement to undertake the investigation or remediation of currently unknown environmental contamination at sites we own or third-party sites may require us to make additional expenditures, some of which could be material. Responding to governmental investigations or other actions may be both time-consuming and disruptive to our operations and could divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations. The impact of these and other investigations and lawsuits could have a material adverse effect on our financial statements. The United States could withdraw from or materially modify certain international trade agreements, or change tariff, trade, or tax provisions related to the global manufacturing and sales of our products in ways that we currently cannot predict. A portion of our business activities are conducted in foreign countries, including China, Malaysia and Taiwan. Our business benefits from free trade agreements, and we also rely on various U.S. corporate tax provisions related to international commerce as we build, market and sell our products globally. Changes in U.S. or international social, political, regulatory and economic conditions could impact our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations. Any negative sentiment toward the United States as a result of any such changes could also adversely affect our business. In addition, changes in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories or countries where we currently sell our products or conduct our business could adversely affect our business. U.S. presidential administrations have instituted or proposed changes in trade policies that include the negotiation or termination of trade agreements, the imposition of higher tariffs on imports into the U.S., economic sanctions on individuals, corporations or countries, and other government regulations affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries where we conduct our business. Changes or proposed changes in U.S. or other countries' trade policies may result in restrictions and economic disincentives on international trade. Tariffs and other changes in U.S. trade policy have in the past and could in the future trigger retaliatory actions by affected countries, and certain foreign governments have instituted or are considering imposing retaliatory measures on certain U.S. goods. Further, any emerging protectionist or nationalist trends either in the United States or in other countries could affect the trade environment. Such changes have the potential to adversely impact the U.S. economy or certain sectors thereof or the economy of another country in which we conduct operations, our industry and the global demand for our products, and as a result, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly reduce global trade and, in particular, trade between the impacted nations and the United States. Any of these factors, or any changes to U.S. corporate tax policies related to international commerce, could depress economic activity and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security that could negatively impact our business in China. For example, the U.S.S. Entity List, including many entities active in the semiconductor industry in China, restricting our ability to provide products and services to such entities without an export license. Even if we apply for licenses to sell our products or provide services to companies on the U.S. Entity List, there can be no assurance that licenses will be granted. In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed new export licensing requirements on exports to China-based customers engaged in development or production in China of advanced semiconductors and supercomputers, military end uses, support for military end users, or where Commerce has determined there is a risk of diversion to a military end use, as well as requiring our customers to obtain export licenses when they use certain semiconductor capital equipment based on U.S. technology to manufacture products connected to certain entities on the U.S. Entity List. The U.S. Department of Commerce has also imposed restrictions on the activities of U.S. persons supporting or facilitating transactions with projects in China for the development or production of advanced semiconductors and supercomputers. To date, these new rules have not significantly impacted our operations, but we are continually monitoring their impact. If additional companies are added to the U.S. Entity List, or other licensing requirements or restrictions are imposed, thereby limiting our ability to sell our products or services to other customers in China, our business could be significantly harmed. Similar actions by the U.S. government or another country could impact our ability to provide our products and services to existing and potential customers. We face a risk of product liability claims or other litigation, which could be expensive and may divert management’s attention from running our business. Amtech and our subsidiaries are defendants from time to time in actions for matters arising out of our business operations. The manufacture and sale of our products, which, in our customers’ operations, involve toxic materials and robotic machinery, involve the risk of product liability claims. In addition, a failure of one of our products at a customer site could interrupt the business operations of our customer. Our existing insurance coverage limits may not be adequate to protect us from all liabilities that we might incur in connection with the manufacture and sale of our products if a successful product liability claim or series of product liability claims were brought against us. As of September 30, 2024 and 2023, our accrued warranty costs amounted to $0.0 million, respectively. Our assumptions regarding the durability and reliability of our products may not be accurate, and because our products have relatively long warranty periods, we cannot assure you that the amount of accrued warranty by us for our products will be adequate considering the actual performance of our products or that we won't experience higher than expected warranty claims. If we experience a significant increase in warranty claims, we may incur significant repair and replacement costs associated with such claims. Furthermore, widespread product underperformances or failures will damage our reputation and customer relationships and may cause our sales to decline, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We also may be involved in other legal proceedings or claims and experience threats of legal action from time to time in the ordinary course of our business. For example, securities class action litigation is often brought against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of its securities or in connection with strategic transactions. We may in the future be the target of securities litigation due to volatility in the market price of our common stock or for other reasons. Any securities litigation could result in substantial costs and could divert the attention and resources of our management. However, any actual or threatened claims, even if not meritorious or material, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. The continued defense of these claims and other types of lawsuits could divert management’s attention away from running our business. In addition, amounts required to be paid in settlement of any claims, and the legal fees and other costs associated with their defense or settlement, cannot be estimated and could, individually or in the aggregate, materially harm our financial condition. Social and environmental responsibility regulations, policies and provisions, as well as customer and investor demands, may make our supply chain more complex and may adversely affect our relationships with customers and investors. With the increasing focus on corporate social and environmental responsibility in the semiconductor industry, a number of our customers have adopted, or may adopt, procurement policies that include social and environmental responsibility provisions or requirements that their suppliers should comply with, or they may seek to include such provisions or requirements in their procurement terms and conditions. We may face difficulties in satisfying these customers’ demands, which may harm our sales and operating results. Many investors also expect companies to disclose corporate social and environmental policies, practices and metrics under voluntary disclosure standards and frameworks. We periodically communicate our strategies, goals and targets related to our corporate social and environmental policies and programs. These strategies, goals and targets, and their underlying assumptions and projections, reflect our current plans and aspirations, but we may be unable to achieve them. It is also possible that our investors might not be satisfied with our policies, programs, goals, performance and related disclosures, or the speed of their adoption, implementation and measurable success, or that we have adopted such policies, programs and commitments at all. In addition, unfavorable ratings or assessment of our corporate social and environmental policies and programs, including our compliance with certain voluntary disclosure standards and frameworks, may lead to negative investor sentiment toward us, which could have a negative impact on our stock price and our access to and cost of capital. Success in the semiconductor equipment industry depends, in part, on continual improvement of existing technologies and rapid innovation of new solutions. For example, the semiconductor industry continues to shrink the size of semiconductor devices. Technical innovations are inherently complex and require long development cycles and appropriate professional staffing. We also must manufacture these new products in a timely and cost-effective manner. To realize future growth through technical innovations in the semiconductor industry, we must acquire the technology through product development, merger and acquisition activity or through the licensing of products from our technology partners. Potential disruptive technologies could have a material adverse effect on our business if we do not successfully develop and introduce new products, technologies or uses for existing products in a timely manner and continually find ways of reducing the cost to produce them in response to changing market conditions or customer requirements. Third parties may violate our proprietary rights, in which we have made significant investments, resulting in a loss of value of some of our intellectual property or costly litigation. Our success is dependent in part on our technology and other proprietary rights. We own various U.S. and international patents and have additional pending patent applications relating to some of our products and technologies. Protecting and defending our patents domestically, and especially internationally, is costly. In addition, the process of seeking patent protection is lengthy and expensive. In addition, the patent for the technology that we license and use in our manufacture of insert carriers has expired, which, along with the other risks related to our patents described above, may have the effect of diminishing or eliminating any competitive advantage we may have with respect to our manufacturing process. We also maintain trademarks on certain of our products and claim copyright protection for certain proprietary software and documentation. We can give no assurance, however, that our trademarks and copyrights will be upheld or will successfully deter infringement by third parties. We attempt to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information through confidentiality agreements with our customers, suppliers, employees and consultants and through other security measures. We also maintain exclusive and non-exclusive licenses with third parties for the technology used in certain products. However, these employees, consultants and third parties may breach these agreements, and we may not have adequate remedies for wrongdoing. In addition, the laws of certain territories, such as China, in which we develop, manufacture or sell our products may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. From time to time, we have received communications from other parties asserting the existence of patent rights or other intellectual property rights that they believe cover certain of our products, processes, technologies or information. Some of these claims may lead to litigation. We cannot assure that we will prevail in these actions, or that other actions alleging misappropriation or misuse by us of third-party trade secrets, infringement by us of third-party patents and trademarks or the validity of our patents, will not be asserted or prosecuted against us. If there is a successful claim of infringement against us, we may be required to pay substantial damages (including treble damages if we were to be found to have willfully infringed a third party’s patent) to the party claiming infringement, incur costs to develop non-infringing technology, stop selling or using technology that contains the allegedly infringing intellectual property, or enter into royalty or license agreements that may not be available on acceptable or commercially practical terms, if at all. Intellectual property litigation, regardless of outcome, is expensive and time-consuming, and could divert management’s attention from our business. Our failure to successfully defend against infringement claims, or to develop non-infringing technologies or license the proprietary rights on a timely basis, could have a material negative effect on our business, operating results or financial condition. Risks Related to Our Common Stock Our stock price may be volatile. Historically, our common stock has experienced substantial price volatility, particularly as a result of fluctuations in our revenue, earnings and margins over the past few years, and variations between our actual financial results and the published expectations of analysts.37. If our future operating results or margins are below the expectations of stock market analysts or our investors, our stock price will likely decline. Speculation and opinions in the press or investment community about our strategic position, financial condition, results of operations or significant transactions can also cause changes in our stock price. Competition in some of the markets we address such as the SiC industry, and the effect of tariffs or COVID-19 or other pandemics on our business, may have a dramatic effect on our stock price. Additional factors may affect our stock price, including sales of our common stock by us or our existing shareholders as well as changes to the coverage and/or rating of our stock by securities analysts. Our officers, directors and largest shareholders could choose to act in their best interests and not necessarily those of our other shareholders. These shareholders have significant influence over all matters submitted to our shareholders, including the election of our directors and approval of business combinations, and could potentially initiate or delay, deter or prevent a change of control. Circumstances may occur in which the interests of these shareholders may conflict with the interests of Amtech or those of our other shareholders, and these shareholders may cause us to take actions that align with their interests. Should conflicts of interest arise, we can provide no assurance that these shareholders would act in the best interests of our other shareholders or that any conflicts of interest would be resolved in a manner favorable to our other shareholders. In addition, involvement of certain activist shareholders may impact our ability to recruit and retain talent or otherwise distract management or make decisions that we believe are in the long-term interest of all shareholders. Shareholder activists could cause a disruption to our business. An activist investor may indicate disagreement with our strategic direction or capital allocation policies and may seek representation on our Board of Directors. These provisions may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of Amtech. ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS None. CYBERSECURITY Our Board recognizes the importance of maintaining the trust and confidence of our customers, suppliers, business partners and employees. Our Board, through the Audit Committee, oversees our cybersecurity program as part of our enterprise-wide approach to risk management. Our cybersecurity policies, standards, processes and practices are fully 29 integrated into our risk management approach and are based on recognized frameworks established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the International Organization for Standardization and other applicable industry standards. In general, we seek to address cybersecurity risks through a comprehensive, cross-functional approach that is focused on preserving the confidentiality, security and availability of the information that we collect and store by identifying, preventing and mitigating cybersecurity threats and effectively responding to cybersecurity incidents when they occur. Risk Management and Strategy As one of the critical elements of enterprise-wide approach to risk management, our cybersecurity program is focused on the following key areas: Governance: As discussed in more detail under the heading “Governance” below, our cybersecurity program is led by our IT Director, who reports to our Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for publishing cybersecurity policies and standards, conducting annual risk assessments and maintaining our compliance. Our IT Director leads our information technology team and regularly reports to our Audit Committee. Collaboration: We have implemented a comprehensive, cross-functional approach to identifying, preventing and mitigating cybersecurity threats and incidents, while also implementing controls and procedures that provide for the prompt escalation of certain cybersecurity incidents so that decisions regarding the public disclosure and reporting of such incidents can be made by management in a timely manner. We work with third-party firms to monitor our cybersecurity environment and report findings to executive leadership, internal audit and the Audit Committee regularly. Technical Safeguards: We deploy technical safeguards that are designed to protect our information systems from cybersecurity threats, including firewalls, intrusion prevention and detection systems, anti-malware functionality and access controls, which are evaluated and improved through vulnerability assessments, certifications, audits and cybersecurity threat intelligence. Incident Response and Recovery Planning: We have established and maintained comprehensive incident response and recovery plans that fully address our response to a cybersecurity incident, and such plans are tested and evaluated on a regular basis. Third-Party Risk Management: We maintain a comprehensive, risk-based approach to identifying and overseeing cybersecurity risks presented by third parties, including vendors, service providers and other external users of our systems, as well as the systems of third parties that could adversely impact our business in the event of a cybersecurity incident affecting those third-party systems. Additionally, we have in place insurance coverage designed to provide coverage in connection with cybersecurity breaches, provided, however, that such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all insured losses or all types of claims that may arise. Education and Awareness: We provide regular, mandatory training for personnel regarding cybersecurity threats as a means to equip our personnel with effective tools to address cybersecurity threats, and to communicate our evolving information security policies, standards, processes and practices. We engage in the periodic assessment and testing of our policies, standards, processes and practices that are designed to address cybersecurity threats and incidents. These efforts include a wide range of activities, including audits, assessments, vulnerability testing and other exercises focused on evaluating the effectiveness of our cybersecurity measures and planning. We regularly engage third parties to perform assessments on our cybersecurity measures, including information security maturity assessments, audits and independent reviews of our information security control environment and operating effectiveness. The results of such assessments, audits and reviews are reported to our Board and Audit Committee by our IT Director based on materiality. We adjust our cybersecurity policies, standards, processes and practices as necessary based on the information provided by these assessments, audits and reviews. Governance 30 Our Board, through the Audit Committee, oversees our enterprise-wide approach to risk management, including the risks arising from cybersecurity threats. Our Audit Committee regularly receives presentations and reports on cybersecurity risks, which address a wide range of topics, including recent developments, evolving standards, vulnerability assessments, third-party and independent reviews, the threat environment, technological trends and information security considerations arising with respect to our peers and third parties. Our Audit Committee also receives prompt and timely information regarding any cybersecurity incident that meets established reporting thresholds, as well as ongoing updates regarding any such incident until it has been addressed. On an annual basis, our Audit Committee discusses our Company’s approach to cybersecurity risk management with management. Our Audit Committee, in connection with management led by our Chief Financial Officer, works collaboratively across our Company to implement a program designed to protect our information systems from cybersecurity threats and to promptly respond to any cybersecurity incidents in accordance with our incident response and recovery plans. To facilitate the success of our cybersecurity risk management program, multidisciplinary teams are deployed to address cybersecurity threats and respond to cybersecurity incidents. Through ongoing communications with these teams, our Audit Committee monitors the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity threats and incidents in real-time and report such threats and incidents to management when appropriate. Our IT Director has served in various roles in technology leadership for more than 20 years, including cybersecurity. With an undergraduate degree in Information Systems, an MBA, and certification as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from ISC2, the IT Director plays a key role in managing risks at our company. This includes risks arising from cybersecurity threats, drawing on extensive experience gained from similar companies and leadership positions across the technology sector. Although the Company does not have both a Chief Technology Officer or a Vice President of Security, the IT Director’s expertise ensures robust risk management practices are in place. Our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and IT Director each hold undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in their respective fields, and each has experience managing risks at our Company and at similar companies including risks arising from cybersecurity threats.

Cybersecurity Threats As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we do not believe that any risks from cybersecurity threats, including as a result of previous cybersecurity incidents, are reasonably likely to have a material effect on us, our business strategy, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. .

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