ASML raises outlook as AI chip demand strengthens

ASML raised its full-year outlook after stronger-than-expected quarterly results, citing demand for advanced Logic and Memory chips linked to AI investment. The Veldhoven-based semiconductor equipment maker now expects 2026 total net sales to be between €43 billion and €45 billion, with a gross margin between 54% and 56%, up from its prior forecast of between €36bn and €40bn and between 51% and 53%.

For the three months between April and June, ASML reported total net sales of €9.3bn, compared with €7.7bn in the same period last year, while second-quarter net profit rose to €2.9bn from €2.3bn. Investors welcomed the guidance upgrade, sending shares up more than 5%, as the results eased concerns after recent tech-sector sell-offs tied to fears over the AI trade.

President and Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said order intake remained extremely strong in the first half of the year and customers continue to accelerate capacity expansion. ASML, the only maker of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used for the most advanced chips, plans a roughly 30% increase in production capacity next year for both EUV and DUV systems and is considering a further 30% expansion in 2028.

Geopolitical limits remain a constraint. Chief financial officer Roger Dassen said China is expected to represent around 20% of sales in 2026, while Washington continues to curb high-tech exports over military-use concerns and Beijing has called the measures “technological terrorism.”