ASML reports €2.8 bil. profit in Q1; Ups revenue forecast as chips demand outpace supply

ASML had a solid first quarter, booking €8.8 billion in revenues and a net profit of just under €2.8 billion, the chip machine maker reported on Wednesday. ASML also upped its revenue forecast for 2026, reporting a high demand for its machines as the AI-driven demand for chips outpaces the available supply.

“The semiconductor industry's growth outlook continues to solidify, driven by ongoing AI-related infrastructure investments. Demand for chips is outpacing supply,” said ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet.

ASML is benefiting from the growing demand for advanced chips for AI data centers. Tech companies that are customers of ASML are accelerating their capacity expansion plans, and the Veldhoven-based company is seeing a “very strong” increase in orders for new machines and upgrades to existing machines.

“These business dynamics underpin our expectation that 2026 will be another growth year for all our businesses,” Fouquet said. ASML now expects revenues of between €36 billion and €40 billion for 2026, up from the previous forecast of between €34 billion and €39 billion.

“We expect that the bandwidth in our 2026 guidance accommodates potential outcomes of ongoing discussions around export controls,” Foquet said, referring to even more export restrictions looming from the United States.

Members of the U.S. Congress recently introduced a bill to further restrict the export of chip-making equipment to China, including by allies like the Netherlands. They want the U.S. government to insist that ASML be completely banned from selling machines of its second most advanced generation, known as DUV machines, to China.

In 2023, the Netherlands already introduced export controls for newer DUV machines to China. Prime Minister Rob Jetten recently said that he is against further restrictions. ASML is already banned from selling its most advanced machines, EUV machines, to the Asian country.

To meet the growing demand, ASML plans to expand significantly in the Eindhoven region. It plans to build a new campus in the Brainport area, near Eindhoven Airport, that will eventually employ 20,000 new workers.

At the same time, the company is implementing a reorganization, cutting some 1,700 management positions.