ASML profit beats as AI demand stretches orders into 2030
What's the deal? ASML reported third-quarter net profit of €4.96 billion, beating consensus estimates of €4.1 billion, as AI-driven demand pushes customer orders toward the end of the decade. The Dutch company said some customers are now expressing interest in placing orders for its lithography tools for 2029 and 2030.
Why now? "Our customers continue to increase their short- and medium-term equipment demand forecasts with us, driven primarily by their views on the size and duration of AI-related investments," chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet said.
What's the endgame? ASML is the only company that makes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, the key tool used by the likes of TSMC to build the world's most advanced chips. During the quarter, SamsungDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and TSMC committed to its next-generation High NA EUV machines, which analysts see as central to future growth.
By the numbers: Third-quarter net sales came in at €11.66 billion, just shy of the €11.72 billion expected. ASML raised the lower end of its 2026 sales forecast to €44 billion to €45 billion ($49.3 billion to $50.4 billion), up from €43 billion, marking its third guidance update this year.
The company guided fourth-quarter net sales of €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion, with the upper end ahead of consensus. Its stock rose around 2% in early European trade and has gained 56% this year.
What could go wrong? Current supply planned for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet demand, Fouquet said, and ASML is investigating ways to lift 2028 capacity beyond a previously forecast 30% increase. China, where ASML is restricted from selling EUV and some DUV tools, is expected to make up 20% of sales, and a July report suggested a Chinese firm had begun building its own immersion DUV machine.
The signal: Investors watch ASML's earnings as a barometer for AI chip demand, and orders reaching into 2030 point to spending that customers expect to run for years.
Read more: CNBC
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