ASML orders beat expectations after AI spending fuels demand

[LONDON] ASML Holding’s orders in the second quarter beat estimates after the artificial intelligence (AI) boom drove demand for its sophisticated chip-making machines, even as chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet struck a cautious note for 2026.

The Dutch company reported order bookings of 5.5 billion euros (S$8.2 billion) in the period, it said in a statement on Wednesday (Jul 16). That compares with an average estimate of 4.8 billion euros by analysts in data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Looking at 2026, we see that our AI customers’ fundamentals remain strong,” Fouquet said in the statement. “At the same time, we continue to see increasing uncertainty driven by macroeconomic and geopolitical developments. Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage.”

ASML, which counts Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Intel among its customers, is poised to benefit from hundreds of billions of US dollars of investment pouring into AI data centres because it is the only company that makes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. That technology is needed to produce Nvidia’s most cutting-edge chips, which are the backbone of much of the planned AI infrastructure.

Signs of a thaw between the Trump administration and Beijing could bode well for ASML. On Tuesday, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices said they would restart sales of some chips to China that had previously been blocked, after gaining assurances from Washington that the shipments would be approved.

ASML faces a number of limits on its sales to China, which was the company’s second-biggest market in the first quarter. It has never been able to sell its most advanced EUV machines to China because of US-led restrictions.

Last year, the Dutch government also blocked immersion deep ultraviolet lithography systems to the country after pressure from the US.

ASML forecasts third-quarter net sales between 7.4 billion euros and 7.9 billion euros, and 15 per cent growth in net sales for the year.

Belt tightening further along the supply chain has hit ASML, too. Intel is slashing expenses in a restructuring that includes delays to planned factories in Germany and Poland.

Samsung reported its first fall in profit since 2023 last week as it lost market share in the AI market, although some analysts expect the company to hit bottom this summer.

ASML’s shares rose 2.7 per cent to 706.10 euros in Amsterdam on Tuesday. They have fallen 28 per cent in the last year. BLOOMBERG