ASML raises full-year sales outlook to €44-45bn on AI chip demand
Chip-equipment maker ASML lifted the bottom of its full-year sales forecast after another quarter of growth, with customers expecting chip demand to outrun supply until at least 2028.
ASML increased its sales and profit again last quarter. The Veldhoven company now expects full-year sales of €44 billion to €45 billion. In the summer it had lifted its forecast to €43 billion to €45 billion, so the bottom of the range rises by €1 billion.
Net sales were €11.7 billion in the third quarter and net income €5.0 billion, more than double the €2.1 billion of a year earlier and the highest quarterly profit ASML has reported.
ASML's quarterly net profit hit a record €5.0bn, more than double a year earlier
Net income per quarter, € billion
ASML's quarterly net profit hit a record €5.0bn, more than double a year earlier (Net income per quarter, € billion). Highest: Q3 '26, 5; lowest: Q1 '22, 0.7; 20 items. Source: ASML.
View data
| Item | Net income per quarter, € billion |
|---|---|
| Q4 '21 | 1.8 |
| Q1 '22 | 0.7 |
| Q2 '22 | 1.4 |
| Q3 '22 | 1.7 |
| Q4 '22 | 1.8 |
| Q1 '23 | 2 |
| Q2 '23 | 1.9 |
| Q3 '23 | 1.9 |
| Q4 '23 | 2 |
| Q1 '24 | 1.2 |
| Q2 '24 | 1.6 |
| Q3 '24 | 2.1 |
| Q4 '24 | 2.7 |
| Q1 '25 | 2.4 |
| Q2 '25 | 2.3 |
| Q3 '25 | 2.1 |
| Q4 '25 | 2.8 |
| Q1 '26 | 2.8 |
| Q2 '26 | 2.9 |
| Q3 '26 | 5 |
Chief executive Christophe Fouquet said ASML's customers expect they will not be able to meet demand for chips themselves until at least 2028. "For us that means more demand in the short term," he said when presenting the quarterly results. ASML says it has already received many orders for 2028.
Fouquet said the company again benefited from growing investment by tech companies in artificial intelligence (AI). Profit in the quarter was about €5 billion, more than twice as much as a year earlier.
ASML is the world's only maker of very advanced lithography systems. Chip companies use these machines to make the chips AI needs.
Demand outstrips planned supply
Fouquet said customers keep raising their demand forecasts for equipment in the short and medium term, mainly because they expect AI investment to be huge and long-lasting. "Some customers are interested in placing orders with us for 2029 and even 2030," he said.
ASML now expects its planned supply for both 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet customer demand. "That is why we are examining how we can raise capacity for 2028, on top of the previously announced increase of 30 percent," Fouquet said.
ASML
ASML is a Dutch technology company based in Veldhoven, North Brabant, that makes machines used to print patterns onto silicon wafers during computer chip production. Its lithography systems are sold to chipmakers worldwide, so its order books and sales are closely watched as a signal for the global semiconductor industry. Because it is one of the largest employers and exporters in the Dutch high-tech sector, its results often affect the Dutch economy and stock market, where it is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.