VELDHOVEN, Netherlands — Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML Holding NV raised its annual revenue forecast on Wednesday, reporting strong third-quarter earnings fueled by relentless appetite for artificial intelligence infrastructure that has customers seeking machinery deliveries as far out as 2030.
The Dutch technology company, which holds an effective monopoly on the advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography machines needed to produce the world’s most sophisticated microchips, announced that its customers are already planning equipment purchases years into the future.
Surging Orders for Artificial Intelligence
ASML Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said in a statement that clients are consistently expanding their equipment projections over both the short and medium terms, CNBC reported. Fouquet attributed the rising demand to customers’ assessments regarding the scale and endurance of global investments in artificial intelligence.
According to Fouquet, visibility into future chip manufacturing needs has expanded so significantly that some chipmakers are already seeking to secure delivery slots for 2029 and 2030. ASML also warned that its currently planned production capacity for 2027 and 2028 will not be enough to satisfy customer orders. As a result, the company is evaluating options to expand its manufacturing output in 2028 beyond an earlier target of a 30 percent increase.
During the third quarter, key chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung committed to adopting ASML’s next-generation High NA extreme ultraviolet systems, CNBC reported. Industry analysts view the next-generation platform as essential to the company’s long-term expansion.
Raised Outlook and Financial Results
Reflecting the sustained demand, ASML lifted the lower bound of its full-year sales guidance for 2026, marking the third time the company has revised its revenue forecasts upward this year. Management now projects full-year net sales between 44 billion euros and 45 billion euros, or roughly $49.3 billion to $50.4 billion, up from a previous floor of 43 billion euros.
For the fourth quarter, ASML projected net sales between 14.2 billion euros and 15.2 billion euros, surpassing the consensus analyst estimate of 14.2 billion euros compiled by LSEG, according to CNBC.
Third-quarter profit comfortably exceeded Wall Street forecasts, though financial reporting services showed differing totals. According to Yahoo Finance, net profit jumped to 4.96 billion euros from roughly 2.13 billion euros a year earlier, delivering earnings of 12.93 euros, or $14.51 per share, beating an expected $12.05 per share on revenue of 11.66 billion euros. Separately, an earnings snapshot from The Associated Press citing Zacks Investment Research reported third-quarter profit of $5.71 billion, or $14.89 per share, exceeding an average analyst expectation of $12.47 per share on revenue of $13.42 billion.
Market Reactions and Trade Pressures
Market reactions to the report were mixed across regions. Shares of ASML climbed approximately 2 percent during morning trading in Europe, CNBC reported. However, U.S.-listed shares declined about 3 percent in overnight trading as third-quarter revenue slightly trailed some Wall Street expectations, according to Yahoo Finance. The downward movement in early U.S. trading also weighed on other chip-sector stocks, including Intel, Micron and SanDisk.
ASML confirmed that it expects shipments to China to represent about 20 percent of its overall business, reiterating an earlier projection. The company remains barred by export controls from delivering extreme ultraviolet systems and select deep ultraviolet machinery to Chinese customers, CNBC reported.
Investors continue to monitor whether domestic competitors in China can challenge European and American leadership in lithography. While an unnamed Chinese company has begun producing immersion deep ultraviolet equipment, analysts cited by CNBC continue to question China’s capacity to scale that technology and match ASML’s manufacturing capabilities.
