ASML Raises 2026 Sales Floor to €44 Billion as AI Demand Grows
Key Facts
On October 14, ASML raised the lower end of its 2026 sales outlook to €44 billion and kept the upper end at €45 billion, compared with a previous range of €43 billion to €45 billion. The company said third-quarter sales were a record and close to the upper end of its guidance, while net income was €4.960 billion. Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet linked customers’ growing expectations for equipment demand to their estimates of the scale and duration of investment related to artificial intelligence. He said demand was rising in the short and medium term, supporting the company’s updated annual outlook. The announcement reflects ASML’s expectations for demand and supply in 2026, rather than a new announcement on November 9.
Net sales were €11.662 billion in the third quarter, up from €9.326 billion in the second quarter. ASML described quarterly sales as a record and close to the upper end of the range it had set for the period. Net income also rose, from €2.918 billion in the second quarter to €4.960 billion in the third. The quarterly comparison shows an improvement in sales and income alongside the company’s decision to raise the lower end of its annual outlook. The company did not say in its announcement that the results exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Gross margin rose to 57.5% in the third quarter, from 54.0% in the second quarter. The company said sales from installed base management, which includes its services and field options, were €3.289 billion, compared with €2.762 billion in the previous quarter. It added that demand for productivity upgrades lifted installed base management sales above its guidance and helped gross margin exceed that guidance. These details put the margin improvement in the context of services and upgrades sales, while management linked customers’ higher expectations for production equipment mainly to their views on investment related to artificial intelligence. The company thus distinguishes between the drivers of equipment expectations and the effect of installed base management sales on quarterly results.
ASML said some customers had expressed interest in placing orders for equipment to be delivered in 2029 and as far as 2030. This interest indicates that demand discussions extend beyond the annual sales outlook announced for 2026. The company describes itself as a supplier to the semiconductor industry, providing chipmakers with the hardware, software and services needed to produce patterns for integrated circuits. In July, it said investment related to artificial intelligence and advances in AI technology were driving demand for advanced logic and memory chips, and that customers were accelerating capacity expansion plans. It was also planning to increase production capacity for low numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet systems by 30% in 2027, and was considering a further increase of the same percentage in 2028.
In October, the company issued its fourth-quarter outlook, saying it expected net sales of €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion and a gross margin of about 57%. Gross margin was 57.5% in the third quarter, after 54.0% in the second quarter, allowing a comparison of next quarter’s guidance with the completed quarter’s result. In the market, ASML shares rose 2.4% on October 14 after the announcement, while European technology stocks gained 1.2% in morning trading, according to Reuters. European economic strategist Gordon Kerr said the results supported the view that demand for chips remained strong and that infrastructure spending could continue through 2027. ASML is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results on January 27, 2027.