Chips rally, ASML raises guidance

ASML raised its 2026 sales forecast on April 15 after first-quarter results showed chipmakers are still spending heavily on artificial intelligence equipment. (asml.com) The Dutch company now expects 2026 net sales of €36 billion to €40 billion, up from the €34 billion to €39 billion range it gave in January. First-quarter net sales came in at €8.8 billion, with net income of €2.8 billion and gross margin of 53.0%. (asml.com) ASML said customers are expanding factory capacity for 2026 and beyond because chip demand is running ahead of supply. Chief executive Christophe Fouquet said the company built its guidance range to account for possible outcomes from ongoing export-control talks. (asml.com) ASML sits near the center of the chip supply chain because it sells lithography machines, the tools that print circuitry onto silicon wafers. Reuters reported that investors treat the company as a “picks-and-shovels” supplier for customers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which makes processors for Nvidia and Apple. (usnews.com) The company is also the only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems, the most advanced machines used to make leading-edge chips. Reuters reported those systems can cost about $300 million each, and ASML’s finance chief said the company should be able to ship 60 low-numerical-aperture extreme ultraviolet tools in 2026 and have capacity for 80 in 2027. (usnews.com) The market reaction was more measured than the guidance change itself. CNBC reported ASML shares were flat in early European trading, while analyst Ben Barringer of Quilter Cheviot said investors had already been expecting that level of 2026 growth. (cnbc.com) ASML also changed how it reports demand data this quarter. CNBC reported that this was the first quarter the company did not disclose order numbers, a metric investors usually watch closely, though Fouquet said order intake “continues to be very strong.” (cnbc.com) The backdrop is getting tougher on policy even as spending stays strong. A January 14, 2026 U.S. proclamation said imports of semiconductors, chipmaking equipment and related products threaten national security and set tariff action under a Section 232 investigation. (federalregister.gov) That leaves ASML balancing two forces at once: stronger artificial intelligence orders from global chipmakers and tighter government scrutiny over where advanced tools can be sold. On April 15, the company said the first force is still strong enough to lift its outlook. (asml.com)