ASML lifts 2026 guidance as strong AI demand boosts orders
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The news: Dutch chip maker ASML raised its full-year sales forecast for 2026, citing a surge in customers’ demand for its products in the short and medium term.
The numbers: In first-quarter earnings published Wednesday, ASML said it now expects 2026 total net sales to be between EUR36 billion ($59.43 billion) and EUR40 billion, with a gross margin between 51% and 53%, compared to a previous range of EUR34 billion to EUR39 billion.
Reporting revenue of EUR8.8 billion and net income of EUR 2.8 billion during the first three months of the year, the chip maker expects Q2 revenue to come in between EUR8.4 billion and EUR9 billion.
The context: The company said it expects that the “bandwidth” in its 2026 guidance allows for the potential outcomes of ongoing discussion around export controls, referring to Dutch government rules restricting the sale of some of ASML’s advanced tools to China.
The outlook lift comes as ASML customers including TSMC, SK Hynix and Samsung scramble to boost chip production to meet demand from tech giants racing to build out their AI capacity.
“Our customers are accelerating their capacity expansion plans for 2026 and beyond, supported by long-term agreements with their customers. In the past months, our customers have increased their expected short- and medium-term demand for our products,” ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a statement on the results. “ASML’s order intake continues to be very strong as a result, and we are closely aligned with our customers to support their demand in a combination of delivery of new systems and performance upgrades of their installed base.”
In a video published alongside the results, Fouquet noted: “We expect in fact that the supply will not meet the demand for the foreseeable future…This is creating a strong constraint in the end markets from AI to mobile and PC.”
The company said it plans to invest EUR1.2 billion on research and development during 2026 and intends to declare a total dividend for 2025 of EUR7.50 per ordinary share, which is a 17% increase compared to the year prior.
The source: ASML
