By Nathan Vifflin and Toby Sterling
AMSTERDAM, April 15 (Reuters) – ASML, the world’s largest supplier of machining equipment, on Wednesday reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings and raised its 2026 revenue outlook as artificial intelligence boosts demand for its equipment.
The strong forecast underscores the rapid growth of the global AI market and the resulting data center boom that is pressuring supply chains and turbocharging chipmaker valuations.
“Demand for chips is outstripping supply,” CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a statement, citing an influx of new orders at ASML last quarter. “Our customers are accelerating their capacity expansion plans for 2026 and beyond.”
ASML INCREASE THE RATE OF INCOME
The Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company, Europe’s most important market capitalization, said its 2026 revenue will now be between 36 billion and 40 billion euros ($42 billion-$47 billion), up from a previous forecast of 34 billion to 39 billion euros.
Analysts had predicted this figure at 37.7 billion euros, LSEG data show. Shares rose 1.2% in early trading in Amsterdam, briefly touching a new record high above 1,300 euros ($1,532).
Investors say they view ASML as a “pick-and-shovel” play in AI, as it supplies key equipment to chipmakers such as TSMC, which makes processors for Nvidia and Apple.
Some of ASML’s top customers include memory chip makers Samsung and SK Hynix of South Korea, as well as Micron and Intel of the US.
Shares of ASML have risen 40% so far this year amid rapid construction of data centers and a shortage of memory chips, both of which are impacting demand for ASML’s products.
However, there are obvious limits to how quickly new chip plants can be built, and analysts see ASML’s valuation as already high.
EXPORT EXAMINATIONS
Key challenges facing the company include supply chain issues and new restrictions on its ability to export equipment to China proposed by the US Congress in the MATCH Act.
CFO Roger Dassen said the company currently still expects 20% of sales to go to Chinese customers this year, but if restrictions materialize, it could drag sales to the lower end of the company’s guidance.
However, “some of that demand can be met by other customers in the current market”, he told reporters in a post-funding call.
ASML AIM TO SHIP 25% MORE OF ITS BEST-SELLING TOOLS BY 2026
Addressing potential concerns about ASML’s ability to keep up with demand, Dassen said the company should be able to ship 60 of its best-selling NA EUV instruments by 2026 — 25% more than in 2025 — and will have the capacity to ship 80 by 2027.
He said the company has been working closely with key supplier Zeiss of Germany to increase production of both its EUV and DUV equipment.
ASML is the only maker of EUV, or extreme ultraviolet lithography tools, which can cost $300 million each and use lasers to create small circuit advanced chips. It competes with Japan’s Nikon and China’s SMEE in its slightly advanced DUV range of instruments.
Earnings for the first quarter were 2.76 billion euros on sales of 8.76 billion euros. That was up from 2.36 billion euros with sales of 7.74 billion euros in the first half of 2025.
($1 = 0.8483 euros)
(Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam, Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak, Adam Jourdan and Jan Harvey)
