ASML forecast fourth-quarter net sales of €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion on 14 October, above the €14.19 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG, Reuters reported.
Key points
- ASML guided for a fourth-quarter gross margin of around 57 per cent, against an analyst consensus of 55.4 per cent.
- AI-driven demand for ASML’s chipmaking equipment remained strong.
- Reuters described ASML’s 2026 outlook as narrowed; Global Banking & Finance Review reported a higher full-year sales range.
ASML guides for a 57 per cent margin
The Dutch company guided for a fourth-quarter gross margin of around 57 per cent. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected 55.4 per cent. In dollars, the sales guidance was $15.9 billion to $17.0 billion, using the exchange rate cited in the report of $1 to 0.8924 euros.
AI-driven demand for ASML’s chipmaking equipment remained strong. The company’s sales forecast and margin guidance both stood above the analyst expectations cited in the report.
ASML’s work on newer lithography equipment extends beyond the current quarter. An earlier AI Affairs report on ASML and TSMC described their plans for larger High NA EUV masks for AI chips, with a pilot targeted for 2031.
Two accounts of ASML’s 2026 outlook
Reuters reported that ASML narrowed its 2026 outlook. Global Banking & Finance Review said the company raised its full-year sales outlook to €43–45 billion from €36–40 billion, with expected gross margins of 54–56 per cent.
ASML’s equipment and service businesses give the sales guidance a wider context. MarketScreener’s company profile assigns 74.9 per cent of net sales to lithography equipment. It describes the equipment as being used to print circuits on silicon chips.
The same profile lists China at 29.1 per cent of ASML’s net sales, Taiwan at 25.5 per cent and South Korea at 25 per cent. It lists the United States at 12.5 per cent and Japan at 4.3 per cent.
.jpg){kind=link}