ASML surprised the market with record order volume. Shares hit a new high

Netherlands-based ASML, Europe's most valuable public company, reported record quarterly orders that were twice as high as market expectations. The world's only supplier of equipment for printing chips in deep ultraviolet (EUV) sent a clear signal to investors that the boom in artificial intelligence investment is continuing.

ASML's order intake - the most significant metric in the industry - nearly doubled year-on-year to €13.2 billion last quarter, with analysts on average forecasting a figure of €6.3 billion, Reuters reports, citing Visible Alpha data. In addition, the company announced the largest optimization of management personnel in its history and improved its sales forecast for 2026 from "€32.5 billion or higher" to €34-39 billion. ASML left its long-term forecast for 2030 unchanged.

"In recent months, many of our customers have shared a markedly more positive assessment of the medium-term market environment, based primarily on more confident expectations regarding the sustainability of AI-related demand. This is reflected in a marked increase in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake," ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet was quoted as saying in an ASML press release.

ASML shares soared 7.6% to a record €1309 apiece at the opening of trading in Amsterdam. On the Nasdaq pre-market, the company's securities are traded in the plus by more than 6%. Quotes of Japanese suppliers of ASML - Lasertec, Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings - jumped in Tokyo by 6.3%, 4% and 6.4% respectively.

ASML's chip maker customers are increasing investment plans amid demand for processors and memory chips for AI. "There are generally good orders for the fourth quarter and forecast for 2026, driven by demand for EUV chip and DRAM equipment from the AI sector," Mizuho analyst Kevin Wang stated in an email to Reuters.

JPMorgan Chase analyst Sandeep Deshpande said that "ASML estimates for 2027 are too low and have significant upward revision potential." "In addition, there is a high probability that costs will remain high or even rise in 2028," Barron's quoted him as saying.

According to FactSet, the majority of analysts monitoring ASML - 32 out of 42 - recommend its shares to buy (Buy or Overweight ratings). Eight experts advise to "hold" (Hold) the company's securities and only two consider them overvalued (Underweight rating).

ASML's order volume serves as one indicator of chipmakers' confidence in future demand for AI technology. The AI boom has continued into 2026, despite concerns about overinvestment; in January, it helped Netherlands-based ASML raise its capitalization above $500 billion for the first time, Bloomberg notes.

Meta Platforms, Microsoft and other companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build data centers, forcing chip makers to ramp up capacity and, in turn, fueling demand for ASML products. The world's largest custom chip maker, TSMC, said this month that it plans more than $52 billion in capex in 2026 - mostly on advanced manufacturing technologies.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor