Key Highlights
- The company elevated its 2026 revenue projection to €43–45 billion from €36–40 billion
- Second-quarter revenue reached €9.33 billion, surpassing the €8.8 billion consensus
- Shares climbed over 5% in Amsterdam trading, with US premarket gains of approximately 3.5%
- Plans include a 30% boost in EUV and DUV manufacturing capacity over the coming two years
- Bank of America maintained its Buy recommendation with a €2,022 target price
ASML delivered an impressive second-quarter performance on Wednesday, prompting the company to significantly upgrade its 2026 revenue expectations. The announcement triggered a share price surge of more than 5% in Amsterdam and roughly 3.5% during US premarket sessions.
The Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment manufacturer has revised its 2026 net sales forecast to a range of €43 billion to €45 billion. This represents a substantial increase from the company’s prior guidance of €36 billion to €40 billion — marking a 16% jump at the midpoint of the range.
Second-quarter revenue totaled €9.33 billion, comfortably exceeding Wall Street’s projection of €8.8 billion. Meanwhile, net income reached €2.92 billion, outperforming the anticipated €2.62 billion.
Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet highlighted the “extremely strong” order flow during the first six months of the year, attributing the momentum to persistent investment in AI infrastructure.
“Ongoing AI-related investments and continued progress in AI technologies are driving demand for advanced Logic and Memory chips,” Fouquet stated.
Looking ahead to Q3 2026, ASML issued revenue guidance of €11–12 billion, significantly above the analyst consensus of €10.37 billion. The company also projected a gross margin of 56%, versus market expectations of 52.1%.
Manufacturing Capacity Ramp-Up
ASML announced plans to boost production capacity for its EUV and DUV lithography systems by approximately 30% in each of the next two years. The company is also evaluating an additional 30% capacity increase for 2028.
EUV technology is essential for manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductors, and ASML maintains a global monopoly on these specialized machines. Major customers such as TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are all scaling up production capabilities to meet explosive AI chip demand.
Fouquet revealed that Intel will deploy ASML’s cutting-edge High-NA EUV system in the production of certain Panther Lake processors — marking the technology’s first commercial application.
Analyst Commentary
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that the most notable development was customers opting to upgrade equipment already installed in their facilities.
“AI demand is pulling investment forward across both advanced computing and memory chips, giving ASML clearer sight of customer demand well beyond this year,” he observed.
Ben Barringer at Quilter Cheviot commented that the results “reinforce just how strong demand remains across the semiconductor sector,” noting that memory chip growth is currently outpacing logic chips.
Bank of America reaffirmed its Buy rating and €2,022 price target in response to the earnings release. The financial institution’s analysis suggests ASML’s revised guidance points to Q4 revenue of €14.41 billion — substantially higher than the consensus estimate of €11.62 billion.
Regarding the Chinese market, CFO Roger Dassen indicated that ASML anticipates China will account for approximately 20% of 2026 sales, with demand from the region tracking closely with worldwide patterns.
ASML’s Amsterdam-listed shares have climbed roughly 66% year-to-date, while the US-listed stock has advanced more than 52% in 2026.
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