Shares of Synopsys (SNPS.US) fell sharply in early trading on Friday, dropping nearly 9% to hit a low not seen since April 2025. The stock was last trading at $381.98.

The decline follows reports that the US-based electronic design automation (EDA) leader plans to discontinue a suite of manufacturing process control software widely used by global semiconductor manufacturers. The move is reportedly aimed at shifting resources toward more profitable business lines, such as artificial intelligence (AI) chip design.

The affected software products are said to include the Equipment Engineering System (EES) and Fault Detection and Classification (FDC). This automation software suite acts as a "central nervous system" for semiconductor wafer fabs, monitoring production processes and identifying anomalies before they evolve into costly defects.

Market concerns about potential customer attrition and the resulting revenue gap from discontinuing this critical software are seen as the primary factors continuing to weigh on the company's share price.