ASML On Wednesday, it was reported that while the third-quarter profits exceeded expectations, some customers expressed interest in placing orders for their key semiconductor equipment in 2029 and 2030.
This statement may reassure investors. Previously, investors have been assessing the long-term demand prospects for ASML lithography machines.
In a press release, CEO Christophe Fouquet stated: "Driven by customers' assessments of the scale and duration of investments related to AI, our customers continue to raise their short-term and medium-term demand forecasts for our equipment."
He stated, "Given their awareness of the demand, some customers are expressing their desire to place orders with us in 2029, or even in 2030."
ASML is the only company in the world that produces extreme ultraviolet lithography machines (EUV). Such equipment is a key tool for companies like TSMC to manufacture the world's most advanced semiconductors.
Investors are closely monitoring the financial reports of this Dutch company in search of signals related to chip demand for AI.
Fouquet indicates that the supply planned for 2027 and 2028 will not be able to fully meet customer demands. The company is 'researching various methods' to further increase production capacity for 2028 by an additional 30% on top of the previously predicted growth rate.
ASML has updated its performance guidance three times this year, with the second upward revision of the full-year forecast in July. On Wednesday, the company raised the lower limit of its sales forecast for 2026 once again.
The company currently expects its net sales to be between 44 billion euros and 45 billion euros (approximately 49.3 billion US dollars to 50.4 billion US dollars). The previous forecast range had a lower limit of 43 billion euros.
ASML also indicates that net sales for the fourth quarter are expected to be between 14.2 billion euros and 15.2 billion euros. The upper limit of this range is higher than the 14.2 billion euros that LSEG consistently expects.
ASML The stock price rose by about 2% in European morning trading. Since the beginning of this year, the company's stock price has risen by a cumulative 56%.
Within this quarter, the two global chip manufacturers, Samsung Electronics and TSMC, have committed to using High NA Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines from ASML. High NA EUV represents the next generation of these devices, and analysts believe that this will be key to the future growth of this Dutch company.
In the third quarter, the performance of ASML compared to the expected performance of LSEG is as follows:
- Net sales: 1.166 billion euros, with an expectation of 1.172 billion euros.
- Net profit: 4.96 billion euros, expected to be 4.1 billion euros.
ASML Maintains Expectations for China's Business
This semiconductor equipment manufacturer stated that it expects sales in China to account for 20% of its total business, maintaining the previous forecast unchanged.
Although ASML holds a de facto monopoly on EUV devices, a report by The Information in July this year cited sources familiar with the matter as stating that an unnamed Chinese company has begun manufacturing immersion deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines.
ASML also holds a dominant position in the field of DUV equipment manufacturing, however, the level of advancement of DUV is lower than that of EUV. China has been accelerating the construction of its own domestic semiconductor supply chain, and some investors are concerned that this may challenge the dominance of Europe and the United States. Nevertheless, analysts have raised doubts about whether China will be able to enhance its own DUV technological capabilities.
In the meantime, ASML has faced challenges in the Chinese market over the past few years. The company has been restricted from selling EUV and some DUV devices to China.
