ASML Holding will ship its latest chipmaking machine to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) this year.
Two of ASML’s biggest customers, TSMC and Intel, will get the so-called high-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machine by the end of this year, chief financial officer Roger Dassen told analysts in a recent call, according to company spokesperson Monique Mols.
Intel has already placed orders for the latest high-NA EUV machine and got the first one shipped to a factory in Oregon in late December. It was not clear when TSMC, the biggest EUV customer of ASML, would receive the equipment. A representative for the Taiwanese chipmaker said it works closely with its suppliers and declined to comment further.
ASML shares rose 5.2 per cent on Wednesday (Jun 5) after the report to 918.10 euros at 2.15 pm in Amsterdam. The shares have gained about 35 per cent this year.
ASML’s new machine can imprint semiconductors with lines that are just eight nanometres thick – 1.7 times smaller than the previous generation – and will be used for producing chips that will power artificial intelligence applications and advanced consumer electronics.
The machines cost 350 million euros (S$513 million) apiece and weigh as much as two Airbus A320s. ASML is the world’s only manufacturer of the extreme ultraviolet lithography technology and demand for its product is a litmus test for the sector’s trajectory.
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TSMC has raised concerns about the machine’s price tag. “I like the high-NA EUV’s capability, but I do not like the sticker price,” TSMC senior vice-president Kevin Zhang said. TSMC’s so-called A16 node technology, which is due in late 2026, won’t need to use ASML’s high-NA EUV machines and can continue to rely on TSMC’s older extreme ultraviolet equipment, he said.
Still, TSMC has been an active participant in ASML’s high-NA EUV project. Jefferies analysts including Janardan Menon said they expect TSMC to use high-NA at the A14 node in 2028. ASML remains of the view that 2025 revenue is likely to be in the upper half of the guidance range, the analysts said after the call with Dassen.
Jefferies analysts said it is likely that ASML’s average orders will be around 5.7 billion euros in the remaining three quarters of this year, pushing 2025 sales to 40 billion euros. BLOOMBERG
