ASML, TSMC shares dip post‑earnings
- ASML and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. both reported strong first-quarter 2026 results in mid-April, but their shares fell as investors focused on China exposure, pricing and the timing of next-generation tools. - ASML posted €8.8 billion in sales and raised 2026 guidance to €36 billion-€40 billion, yet the stock dropped as much as 6%; TSMC said high-NA chipmaking tools likely wait until 2029. - The selloff followed months of AI-driven gains and showed how fast-rising chip stocks are being judged against even tougher expectations. (cnbc.com)
ASML and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported strong quarterly results in April, and both stocks still fell. (cnbc.com) ASML said on April 15 that first-quarter net sales were €8.8 billion and net income was €2.8 billion, then raised its 2026 sales outlook to €36 billion-€40 billion. (asml.com) Its shares still dropped about 6% that day, with investors focused on tighter China export restrictions and a sharp decline in China system sales as a share of revenue, from 36% in the December quarter to 19% in the March quarter. (cnbc.com) TSMC followed on April 16 with first-quarter revenue of $35.9 billion, gross margin of 66.2% and another record profit quarter. Its high-performance computing segment, which includes artificial intelligence chips, made up 61% of revenue, up from 55% in the prior quarter. (investor.tsmc.com) (cnbc.com) TSMC shares still fell about 3% on the day. CNBC cited investors and analysts saying the numbers were strong but already baked into semiconductor valuations after a long AI rally. (cnbc.com) The other pressure point is a machine that costs more than €350 million, or about $410 million. ASML’s high-numerical-aperture extreme ultraviolet system is the next version of the lithography tool used to print the smallest chip features. (finance.yahoo.com) (cnbc.com) On April 23, Yahoo Finance reported that TSMC does not plan to put those high-NA systems into production before 2029. TSMC Deputy Co-Chief Operating Officer Kevin Zhang said the machines are "very, very expensive" and the company will keep using existing EUV tools for now. (finance.yahoo.com) That pushed ASML shares down another 3.3% on April 23. Bernstein told Yahoo Finance the slower rollout was not a surprise and said the baseline view had already been for adoption around the A10 process generation near 2030. (finance.yahoo.com) ASML is also reshaping itself while demand stays high. Bloomberg reported in January that the company planned about 1,700 job cuts, largely managerial, as Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet moved to remove layers of management and reduce bureaucracy. (bloomberg.com) The result is a chip story with rising sales, rising guidance and falling patience. For ASML and TSMC, April showed that beating estimates is no longer enough on its own. (asml.com) (investor.tsmc.com) (cnbc.com)
