ASML reports record €13.2 billion orders as AI boom fuels unprecedented demand for EUV machines

The AI infrastructure boom shows no sign of slowing down

One way to track the speed of the AI boom is to follow the hardware supply chain. Nvidia is the classic example: As AI companies build out data centers, they're buying up billions of dollars of GPUs each month, turning Nvidia into the most valuable company on earth. But Nvidia has suppliers too, and looking at them can give us an even longer-term view of the market. That's why we care about ASML, a Dutch photolithography company that has become a key linchpin for the semiconductor industry. ASML is the sole supplier of the EUV equipment needed to make cutting-edge chips, making it a central supplier for the entire industry. When ASML does well, it's because companies are expecting to sell a lot of semiconductors. And based on the quarterly earnings released Wednesday morning, the company is doing very well indeed. The topline figure is 32.7 billion euros in net sales, which is a lot of money by any standards. But for our purposes, the most important figure is "new bookings," which represent the new orders that came in this quarter. Looking at those orders tells us how much capacity chip manufacturers think they'll need, based on the orders they expect from data center buildouts in the years to come. By that metric, the AI infrastructure boom is still going strong. Last quarter, ASML brought in 13 billion euros worth of new orders, a new record for the company and more than double the orders that came in the quarter before. In an earnings statement, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet made it clear the extra demand was coming from AI. "In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," Fouquet wrote. In non-CEO English, that means their customers expect AI labs will really need all the data centers they're building, and they're spending money now so they can be ready to supply the chips. To be clear: none of this is guaranteed to happen. The future is unwritten! It may be years before all those orders are filled, and some clients may pull out before delivery time. The dreaded Zitron predictions could still come true and bring it all crashing down. But if you were waiting for companies to back-pedal on the trillions of dollars in projected infrastructure spending...you may be waiting for a while.

ASML projects $71 billion in revenue by 2030, as demand for EUV lithography machines intensifies due to AI boom -- China sales lag behind while company cashes in on high-end Twinscan systems

Everyone wants EUV machines but Chinese chipmakers cannot get them. ASML this week posted its highest yearly result ever as demand for its chipmaking tools set records. The company's revenue for the fiscal year 2025 totaled €32.7 billion ($39 billion USD), up 15% from the previous year. As expected, sales of lithography and other wafer fab equipment to China-based entities decreased in 2025 due to export rules imposed by the U.S. and the Netherlands. When it comes to sales of lithography systems, EUV tools became the leading source of ASML's revenue. Driven by the Made in China 2025 program and the buildout of the Chinese semiconductor industry amid tightening export curbs by the U.S. in recent years, ASML's sales to the People's Republic set records and culminated with 41% of the company's system unit share in 2024. Last year, sales of ASML's fab tools to China dropped, but 33% of ASML's tools (in terms of units) were sold to the PRC, meaning that Chinese chipmakers kept buying dozens of lithography and other machines for their fabs that use trailing nodes. Some of those older DUV systems are reportedly being upgraded by grey-market means. China is followed by sales of wafer fab equipment to customers in South Korea (25%) and Taiwan (22%). By contrast, only 12% of ASML-produced tools (by unit count) were shipped to the U.S. U.S.-based Intel bought the world's first High-NA EUV Twinscan EXE:5200B lithography tool with 0.55 numerical aperture optics, designed for mass production of chips using next-generation process technologies, such as Intel's 14A (1.4nm-class). Another system was assembled at SK hynix's fab M16 in Icheon, South Korea. Meanwhile, ASML has supplied eight High-NA EUV tools (including six EXE:5000 and two EXE:5200B machines) to additional partners so far. Speaking of EUV lithography systems, it's important to note that both current-generation Low-NA EUV scanners and next-generation High-NA EUV machines accounted for 48% of ASML's system revenue in 2025 (or €11.6 billion / $13.8 billion USD), up from 38% a year earlier. For the whole year, the company shipped 48 EUV systems and 131 immersion DUV tools, up from 44 EUV scanners and 129 immersion DUV machines in 2024. Sales of EUV and sophisticated DUV tools are primarily driven by leading-edge logic fabs that build chips for AI infrastructure as well as smartphones and PCs. In fact, logic fabs accounted for 66% of ASML's system sales, whereas memory accounted for 34%. Although both logic and memory makers strive to increase their output and procure new tools, logic producers buy more expensive EUV systems. "In advanced Logic, our foundry customers have become more positive on the long-term sustainability of demand on a number of fronts," said Fouquet. "AI accelerators are migrating from the 4nm node to the more litho-intensive 3nm node. At the same time, customers continue to ramp the 2nm node in support of next-generation HPC and mobile applications." However, as DRAM vendors adopt more sophisticated fabrication processes that rely on EUV, they will also intensify procuring EUV scanners, which will significantly increase demand for this type of equipment as memory makers tend to operate very large fleets to fab commodity products in the most cost-efficient way. "In memory, our customers are reporting very strong demand for both HBM and DDR products with supply remaining very tight through at least 2026 as they ramp both their 1b and 1c nodes in support of the demand," Fouquet added. "In addition, DRAM customers continue to adopt more EUV layers on these nodes. This is expected to continue on their future nodes as they migrate more multi-patterning DUV to single-exposure EUV, resulting in an increase in litho intensity." ASML closed 2025 with a record fourth quarter and its strongest year ever. In Q4 2025, the company's revenue totaled €9.7 billion ($11.5 billion USD), its gross margin reached 52.2%, and net income hit €2.8 billion ($3.3 billion USD). For the full year, the company generated €32.7 billion ($39 billion USD) in net sales, up from €28.3 billion ($33.8 billion USD) in 2024, with a 52.8% gross margin and €9.6 billion ($11.4 billion) in net income. ASML's net bookings reached €28.0 billion ($33.4 billion USD), whereas their year-end backlog grew to €38.8 billion ($46.3 billion USD), another record for the company. During the final quarter of 2025, the company supplied 94 new photolithography systems as well as eight used lithography machines. For the whole year, ASML sold 300 new lithography tools and 27 used lithography systems. For the first quarter of 2026, ASML expects revenue of €8.2 billion - €8.9 billion ($9.7 - $10.6 billion USD), which is up year-over-year but down sequentially. Full-year 2026 revenue is projected to be between €34 billion and €39 billion ($40 billion - 46 billion USD), this reflects growing demand for lithography tools and EUV scanners, primarily due to the wide AI infrastructure buildout. Gross margins at ASML are projected to be between 51% and 53%. "In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," said Christophe Fouquet, chief executive of ASML. "This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake. Therefore, we expect 2026 to be another growth year for ASML's business, largely driven by a significant increase in EUV sales and growth in our installed base business sales. We continue to invest in people and footprint to support that growth in 2026 and beyond." Being the only supplier of EUV and advanced DUV tools on the planet, ASML has every reason to expect sales of these scanners to increase in the coming years. The number of EUV layers increases with the upcoming process technologies, driving its revenue all the way to €44 billion - €60 billion ($52 billion - 71 billion USD) in 2030. Indeed, EUV tools accounted for 65% of ASML's backlog in late 2025, up from 62% a year before. If the demand for their tools continues apace, then ASML will be sitting as one of the most important companies in the ongoing AI boom, right alongside Nvidia.

ASML reports big orders beat as AI drives chipmaker demand, to lay off 1,700

Jan 28 (Reuters) - ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab reported stronger-than-expected bookings in the fourth quarter on Wednesday, with the world's largest supplier of computer chip equipment receiving more orders as companies boosted investment in AI chipmaking capacity. Europe's largest company by market cap also said separately it would lay off 1,700 jobs, or 3.8% of the total - mostly in the Netherlands and U.S. and largely at the leadership level. The cull is the largest the company has seen in absolute numbers, following prolonged expansion in the 2010s and 2020s, CFO Roger Dassen said on a conference call. Fourth-quarter bookings, the most watched metric in the industry, were 13.2 billion euros ($15.8 billion), compared with 5.4 billion euros in the previous quarter. That compared with analyst expectations of 6.32 billion euros, according to researcher Visible Alpha. "In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," ASML's Chief executive Christophe Fouquet said in a statement. ORDERS BEAT EXPECTATIONS ON SURGE IN AI CHIP DEMAND The orders beat comes as several of ASML's chipmaker customers raise investment plans amid demand for AI logic and memory chips needed by cloud computing giants such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab. "Overall there is good fourth-quarter orders and 2026 outlook, driven by AI demand for EUV in both logic and DRAM", Mizuho analyst Kevin Wang said in an email. The Dutch company also hiked its outlook for 2026. It now expects full-year sales of between 34 billion and 39 billion euros, compared with analysts' expectations of 35 billion euros, according to LSEG data. It has previously forecast flat-to-higher sales than in the previous year, which came in at 32.7 billion euros in 2025. "We expect 2026 to be another growth year for ASML's business", Fouquet said. Analysts had expected the Dutch giant to benefit from the stronger demand of top customers such as TSMC (2330.TW), opens new tab and Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab, as chipmakers increase capital spending to expand capacity for AI-related chips amid tight global supply of memory, and AI-accelerator chips. ASML kept the long-term guidance to 2030 untouched, Fouquet said in an internal interview published on its site, anticipating revenue to reach between 44 and 60 billion euros and a gross margin between 56% and 60% in 2030. ($1 = 0.8339 euros) Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk; editing by Matt Scuffham and Christian Schmollinger and Bernadette Baum Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Why Nvidia's AI boom couldn't happen without Dutch chip equipment maker ASML

The company saw its share price rise 36% in 2025 and has continued the surge into 2026. Nvidia has become the world's most valuable company thanks to its advanced chips that are powering the AI revolution. But it could not succeed without ASML. The Dutch semiconductor equipment company, one of Europe's most valuable, makes lithography machines needed to print extremely fine patterns on silicon wafers. It's the only company in the world that makes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used to produce the most advanced semiconductors. It has a 90% share of the wider lithography market. Bank of America analyst Didier Scemama predicted it would soon have a monopoly in next-generation EUV lithography. "ASML has industrialised next gen EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography technology, which we believe will underpin many of the disruptive trends of this decade," he wrote in a Wednesday note. His note came after ASML's earnings report revealed bookings were more than double analyst expectations in the fourth quarter of 2025. Javier Correonero, equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNBC that lithography was "the building block of any chip," adding that ASML machines have played a role in the production of 99% of semiconductors. But it's EUVs that are crucial for the AI buildout. ASML makes two types of EUVs: low numerical aperture, used to produce the current generation of AI chips, including the Nvidia Blackwell, and the more-advanced high numerical aperture, used in R&D by companies developing next-generation semiconductors. Both machines fire powerful lasers at molten tin droplets in a vacuum, which create plasma that emits EUV light. The light is then guided using ultra-precise mirrors and reflected off a mask containing the pattern for one layer of the chip, which is then shrunk and projected onto a silicon wafer. Those systems are bought by chip foundries like Taiwanese company TSMC, which are contracted by chip designers like Nvidia. Correonero said companies like Japan's Nikon and Canon, which ship some lithography machines for non-advanced process nodes, were "far-away competitors." "They are large conglomerates which have invested only a tiny fraction of what ASML has invested over three decades. At this point, catching up is virtually impossible," he added. EUVs make up the majority of ASML's booking value, contributing 7.4 billion euros ($8.8 billion) to a total 13.2 billion euros in net bookings in the fourth quarter of 2025. Across 2025, the company sold 48 EUV systems, generating 11.6 billion euros in revenue. While ASML doesn't publicly reveal what its machines cost, analysts told CNBC that the price tag for its most advanced high NA EUV is between 320 million and 400 million euros. Its low NA EUV sells for around 220 million euros, said Correonero. Companies like TSMC, Intel and Samsung are experimenting with the high NA EUV in a lab setting at the moment, he added. "Once customers are accustomed to the tool, it is gradually introduced into high volume manufacturing. High NA is expected to reach high volume manufacturing by 2027-2028, with Intel as the first adopter," Correonero said. ASML's share price rose 36% last year. It's surged another 32% since Jan. 1. Earlier this month, it became just the third European company to see its valuation hit the half-trillion dollar mark, gains which it has held. Analysts expect the stock to keep rising, as advanced chips remain critical to the continuing AI buildout. ASML predicts that 2026 will see net sales hit between 34 billion and 39 billion euros, ahead of the 32.7 billion euros it picked up in 2025.

ASML executives bet on chip demand strength past 2025

ASML Holding's management says demand tied to artificial intelligence is proving more durable than previously expected, with customers accelerating capacity planning that is likely to support orders for the Dutch company's most advanced lithography systems into and beyond 2026. In a video interview accompanying ASML's fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, CEO Christophe Fouquet said customers have grown more confident in the sustainability of AI-related demand in recent months, prompting them to step up medium-term investment plans. That shift, he said, is translating into stronger demand for ASML's advanced tools across both logic and memory manufacturing. "We see a strong belief that the AI demand is real," Fouquet said in the interview, adding that customers are preparing for "a major addition of capacity" that will begin in 2026 and extend beyond that. EUV demand rises across logic and memory Fouquet said the improved outlook is visible across multiple segments of the semiconductor industry. In logic, customers are becoming more comfortable with long-term AI demand and are accelerating capacity plans as they move from 4nm to 3nm production and prepare for future 2nm ramps for mobile and high-performance computing applications. In memory, he said demand is strong not only for high-bandwidth memory but also for DDR products, creating tight supply conditions that are expected to persist into 2026 and beyond. That environment is driving customers to ramp more advanced DRAM nodes, which require a higher number of extreme ultraviolet lithography layers. CFO Roger Dassen said ASML expects EUV revenue to increase significantly compared with 2025 as a result of those trends. While the company expects its non-EUV systems business to be broadly flat year over year, he said demand within that segment remains solid for advanced logic and memory, as well as for metrology and inspection tools tied to tighter process control. Dassen also said ASML expects continued growth in its installed base business, supported by the expanding fleet of EUV systems and customer interest in upgrades as a faster way to add output capacity. Shares hit record high on investor optimism Investors have responded positively to ASML's outlook. The Financial Times reported that ASML shares rose 7% to a record high in Amsterdam following the company's forecast for strong sales growth, lifting year-to-date gains to more than 20% and pushing its market value to nearly EUR500 billion (US$599.02 billion). The rally spilled over into the broader semiconductor sector, with shares of STMicroelectronics and Infineon rising more than 6%, while futures on the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.8%. Fouquet said that customers have "a strong belief that the AI demand is real" and are beginning to prepare for that with significant capacity additions. He said demand for ASML's latest technology is being driven by equipment used to produce advanced logic chips, such as Nvidia's graphics processors manufactured by TSMC, as well as memory chips made by companies including Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung. Inside the EUV machines powering AI chips ASML's central role in advanced chip manufacturing rests on its dominance in extreme ultraviolet lithography. The machines, which cost about US$250 million each, are essential for producing the most advanced semiconductors and are used by manufacturers supplying AI chips. Reuters reported that the EUV systems, roughly the size of a school bus and weighing about 150 tons, use a complex combination of lasers, mirrors, and magnetic levitation to etch microscopic circuitry onto silicon wafers with extreme precision. The technology operates at a wavelength of 13nm, far smaller than the width of a human hair, enabling the dense chip designs required for modern AI workloads. To generate EUV light, droplets of tin are struck tens of thousands of times per second by powerful lasers, with mirrors manufactured by Zeiss directing the light through the system. The machines are assembled in the Netherlands and shipped in dozens of containers to chipmaking facilities operated by companies including TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, Intel, Micron, and Japan's Rapidus. Outlook extends into 2026 and beyond Looking ahead, Fouquet said the trends ASML highlighted at its November 2024 capital markets day are being reinforced by current customer behavior. AI applications, he said, are driving demand for more advanced logic and DRAM technology, increasing lithography intensity and supporting broader adoption of EUV. Those dynamics underpin ASML's longer-term expectations. Fouquet reiterated that the company continues to target revenue of between EUR44 billion and EUR60 billion by 2030, with gross margins of 56% to 60%, as AI-related demand drives adoption of its most advanced products across the semiconductor industry. Credit: ASML Article edited by Jerry Chen

Chip equipment maker ASML cuts nearly 4% of staff while trimming 1,700 jobs

Top computer chip equipment maker ASML logged ⁠record orders in the fourth quarter on Wednesday and boosted its 2026 outlook as demand surged from its AI-focused customers even as it trimmed 1,700 jobs. The job cuts, a rare move and representing 3.8% of staff, would mostly impact leadership in R&D departments in the Netherlands and US, said Europe's largest company by market capitalisation, with the move needed for technical agility. Fourth-quarter bookings, the most watched metric in the industry, leapt to a record 13.2 billion euros ($15.8 billion), from 7.1 billion euros a year ago. The orders well exceeded analyst expectations of 6.32 billion euros, according to researcher Visible Alpha. Shares were up 4.2% in morning trading, after early jumping as much as 7.5% to a record high. The stock is up 38% this year so far. "It will be the last time that ASML reports quarterly order intake and the company is going out with a bang," ING analyst Marc Hesselink said, referring to ASML's plans to discontinue revealing the bookings figure, arguing it causes unnecessary volatility in shares. The company raised its 2026 sales guidance to 34 billion to 39 billion euros, beating analyst expectations of 35 billion euros, according to LSEG data. It previously forecast flat-to-higher sales than 32.7 billion euros in 2025. Customers have in recent months been more optimistic "of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," ASML's Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet said in a statement. Net profit in 2025 at the sole maker of the EUV lithography machines - used to print the world's most advanced chips - jumped 26.3% to 9.6 billion euros, from 7.6 billion euros a year earlier, on sales of 32.7 billion, up 15.5% from a year earlier. Orders beat Expectations The orders beat comes as ASML customers TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron boost investment plans amid demand for AI logic and memory chips needed by cloud computing giants such as Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet's Google. South Korea's SK Hynix also reported record quarterly earnings Wednesday amid the AI boom. "Overall there is good fourth-quarter orders and 2026 outlook, driven by AI demand for EUV in both logic and DRAM," or memory chips, Mizuho analyst Kevin Wang said in an email. ASML also said it would buy back 12 billion euros worth of shares through 2028. Job cuts The cull in jobs was the largest ⁠at ASML in absolute numbers, following prolonged expansion ⁠in the 2010s and 2020s, CFO Roger Dassen said on a call with journalists. "Job cuts amidst record bookings should make for fascinating talks with the labour unions," said analyst Michael Roeg of Degroof Petercam. Analysts had expected the Dutch giant to benefit from stronger demand of top customer TSMC, which manufactures chips for Nvidia, amid tight global supply of memory and AI-accelerator chips. China is the world's largest buyer of chipmaking equipment, and was ASML's single-largest market in 2025, representing 33% of sales, a figure that has dropped from 41% in 2024. Dassen forecast that would fall further to 20% in 2026. US-led export restrictions prevent Chinese chipmakers from buying ASML's most advanced EUV tools and Nvidia's best chips. ASML kept longer-term guidance to 2030 untouched, CEO Fouquet said, anticipating revenue of between 44 and 60 billion euros and a gross margin of 56% to 60% in 2030.

ASML Q4 Results Reveal 'Insane' $46B Backlog - ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) solidified its position as the backbone of the semiconductor industry, closing out 2025 with financial results that Jim Cramer described as "insane." The company reported a massive year-end backlog of $46.4 billion, fueled by a surge in AI-driven demand that is proving more sustainable than many analysts originally anticipated. * ASML stock is climbing. See the chart and price action here. ASML 2025 By The Numbers ASML's full-year results reflect its dominant market position, with total net sales of $39.16 billion and net income of $11.5 billion. The fourth quarter was a particular standout, generating $11.62 billion in sales. Revenue was bolstered by the recognition of two High NA (numerical aperture) EUV systems, the cutting-edge tools required to manufacture the next generation of AI chips. 'Insane' Backlog CNBC host Jim Cramer's bullish stance stems from the sheer scale of the order intake. In Q4 alone, net bookings reached $16.77 billion, with more than half of that coming from EUV technology. ASML's backlog at the end of 2025 stood at a remarkable $46.47 billion. Cramer took to social media, marveling at the size of ASML's accumulated orders. "This ASML order backlog is insane; very hard to get your head around what is happening and I am a huge bull on ai/data center/hyperscalers," Cramer said. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet addressed the massive backlog in prepared remarks released with the earnings report. "In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," Fouquet said. Looking Ahead to 2026 ASML forecasted continued expansion, projecting 2026 total net sales between $40.72 billion and $46.7 billion. The company also announced a new share buyback program of up to $14.37 billion through 2028, signaling enormous confidence that the AI revolution is only just beginning. ASML Price Action: ASML shares were up % at $ at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

ASML forecasts up to 19% sales growth in 2026 on AI chip boom By Investing.com

Investing.com -- ASML Holding NV forecast 2026 sales of between €34 billion and €39 billion on Wednesday, signaling growth of up to 19% as chipmakers ramp up production capacity to meet surging artificial intelligence demand. ASML reported record fourth-quarter net bookings of €13.2 billion, more than double the prior quarter, with €7.4 billion coming from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems - the company's most advanced and profitable technology. "In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," chief executive Christophe Fouquet said in a statement. The Veldhoven-based company, which holds a monopoly on EUV machines critical for making cutting-edge chips, said its backlog reached €38.8 billion at year-end, providing strong revenue visibility into 2026 and beyond. For the full year 2025, ASML posted net sales of €32.7 billion and net income of €9.6 billion, both records. The company expects gross margins between 51% and 53% in 2026, roughly in line with 2025's 52.8%. ASML also announced a new share buyback program of up to €12 billion to be executed by December 2028, and proposed raising its 2025 dividend by 17% to €7.50 per share. The company expects first-quarter 2026 sales of between €8.2 billion and €8.9 billion.

ASML Shares Rise on Record Orders as AI Spending Remains Strong

Shares of ASML Holding rose after the chip-making equipment supplier logged record quarterly orders and said it expects healthy sales growth this year, a sign that client spending to produce advanced chips behind the artificial-intelligence boom remains strong despite fears of a market bubble. The Dutch company booked orders of 13.16 billion euros ($15.85 billion) in the fourth quarter, up from 7.09 billion euros a year earlier and well above analysts' forecast of 6.95 billion euros, according to Visible Alpha. Orders of ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, high-end machines that allow chip makers to print the most intricate layers on semiconductors, came in at 7.4 billion euros, surging past a Visible Alpha forecast of 4.41 billion euros. This marks the last time that ASML is disclosing quarterly orders. The metric has long been investors' go-to figure to gauge the company's performance, but ASML executives have argued that bookings aren't an accurate reflection of business momentum as they can be lumpy between quarters. From now on, ASML will report its total backlog on an annual basis. ASML shares in Amsterdam climbed more than 6% in early Wednesday trading, lifting other semiconductor stocks and Nasdaq futures. ASML shares have doubled in value over the past 12 months. High fourth-quarter orders show that ASML's clients like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. feel the need to invest in chip-making tools to churn out increasingly sophisticated semiconductors, including those powering AI. Earlier this month, TSMC said it planned $52 billion to $56 billion in capital expenditure this year, 27% to 37% higher than a year earlier. The record spending plans boosted ASML's stock, lifting the group's market value to more than $500 billion for the first time and further cementing its position as Europe's largest listed company. Investors have started to question whether high AI spending from some of the largest technology companies in the world is justified, fearing there is an AI bubble waiting to burst. Still, higher spending from a client of TSMC's stature shows that demand remains healthy and that it will need to purchase more of ASML's semiconductor-making machines to satisfy demand from its own customers, including Nvidia and Apple. "In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet said. "This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake." For 2026, ASML is projecting sales between 34 billion and 39 billion euros, up from 32.67 billion euros in 2025. It also expects a gross margin between 51% and 53%. The forecasts show that ASML is now much more sanguine about its prospects than it was a few months ago. The group spooked markets when it said in July ahead of a trade deal between the European Union and the U.S. that it couldn't guarantee growth in 2026 because of tariff-related uncertainty. Executives then backtracked in October, when they said that 2026 sales shouldn't be below the 2025 figure. Last year was challenging for a semiconductor industry that had to navigate months of uncertainty around tariffs. Although the EU clinched a deal with the U.S., the specter of tariffs has never fully disappeared. Despite record orders and growing sales, ASML said Wednesday that it was planning to slash about 1,700 jobs in its tech and IT operations, mostly in the Netherlands and some in the U.S. The group, which counted more than 43,000 employees at the end of 2025, said the cuts were aimed at speeding up decision-making. "The feedback from our colleagues, our suppliers and our customers shows that our ways of working have, in some cases, become less agile," Fouquet said in a memo to employees. "Engineers in particular have expressed their desire to focus their time on engineering, without being hampered by slow process flows." ASML's sales rose to 9.72 billion euros from 9.26 billion euros a year earlier, beating analysts' forecasts and coming in at the higher end of company guidance. Net profit grew to 2.84 billion euros from 2.69 billion euros, slightly below market expectations. ASML said it would declare a total dividend of 7.50 euros per ordinary share for 2025, up 17% on year. ASML also said it was launching a share buyback program of up to 12 billion euros to be executed by Dec. 31, 2028. Gross profit--a closely watched metric for companies operating in the semiconductor industry--came in at 5.07 billion euros, generating a 52.2% margin that beat consensus and came within company guidance. For the current quarter, the company expects sales between 8.2 billion and 8.9 billion euros, with a gross margin between 51% and 53%.

ASML Ends 2025 With Record Orders as AI Spending Remains Healthy -- 2nd Update

ASML Holding logged record quarterly orders of its semiconductor-making equipment and said it expects healthy sales growth this year, a sign that client spending to produce advanced chips behind the artificial intelligence boom remains strong despite fears of a market bubble. The Dutch company booked orders of 13.16 billion euros ($15.85 billion) in the fourth quarter, up from 7.09 billion euros a year earlier and way above analysts' forecast of 6.95 billion euros, according to Visible Alpha. Orders of ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, high-end machines that allow chip makers to print the most intricate layers on semiconductors, came in at 7.4 billion euros, surging past a Visible Alpha forecast of 4.41 billion euros. This marks the last time that ASML is disclosing quarterly orders. The metric has long been investors' go-to figure to gauge the company's performance, but ASML executives have argued that bookings aren't an accurate reflection of business momentum as they can be lumpy between quarters. From now on, ASML will report its total backlog on an annual basis. Still, high fourth-quarter orders show that ASML's clients like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. feel the need to invest in chip-making tools to churn out increasingly sophisticated semiconductors, including those powering AI. Earlier this month, TSMC said it planned $52 billion to $56 billion in capital expenditure this year, 27% to 37% higher than a year earlier. The record spending plans boosted ASML's stock, lifting the group's market value to more than $500 billion for the first time and further cementing its position as Europe's largest listed company. Investors have started to question whether high AI spending from some of the largest technology companies in the world is justified, fearing there is an AI bubble waiting to burst. Still, higher spending from a client of TSMC's stature shows that demand remains healthy and that it will need to purchase more of ASML's semiconductor-making machines to satisfy demand from its own customers, including Nvidia and Apple. "In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand," Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet said. "This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake." For 2026, ASML is projecting sales between 34 billion and 39 billion euros, up from 32.67 billion euros in 2025. It also expects a gross margin between 51% and 53%. The forecasts show that ASML is now much more sanguine about its prospects than it was a few months ago. The group spooked markets when it said in July ahead of a trade deal between the European Union and the U.S. that it couldn't guarantee growth in 2026 because of tariff-related uncertainty. Executives then backtracked in October, when they said that 2026 sales shouldn't be below the 2025 figure. Last year was particularly challenging for a semiconductor industry that had to navigate months of uncertainty after President Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs sent governments around the world scrambling to secure trade agreements. Even though the EU clinched a deal with the U.S., the specter of tariffs has never fully disappeared. Last week, ASML and other semiconductor stocks plunged after Trump threatened 10% levies on various European countries he said were opposed to a U.S. takeover of Greenland. He subsequently called off those tariffs. ASML reported sales of 9.72 billion euros for the fourth quarter, up from 9.26 billion euros a year earlier. The figure is above analysts' forecast and at the higher end of company guidance. Net profit grew to 2.84 billion euros from 2.69 billion euros a year earlier, slightly below market expectations. ASML said it would declare a total dividend of 7.50 euros per ordinary share for 2025, up 17% on year. ASML also said it was launching a share buyback program of up to 12 billion euros to be executed by Dec. 31, 2028. Gross profit--a closely watched metric for companies operating in the semiconductor industry--came in at 5.07 billion euros, generating a 52.2% margin that beat consensus and came within company guidance. For the current quarter, the company expects sales between 8.2 billion and 8.9 billion euros, with a gross margin between 51% and 53%.