TSMC and ASML shares fall after earnings

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and ASML both delivered strong first-quarter 2026 results in April, but the market reaction showed investors wanted more than a beat. (tsmc.com) (asml.com) TSMC said on April 16 that first-quarter revenue rose 35.1% from a year earlier to NT$1.134 trillion, while net income climbed 58.3% to NT$572.48 billion. Diluted earnings per share were NT$22.08, or US$3.49 per ADR. (tsmc.com) The company’s investor materials showed first-quarter gross margin of 66.2% and operating margin of 58.1%, both above its own guidance range. TSMC also guided second-quarter revenue to US$39.0 billion to US$40.2 billion. (tsmc.com) ASML said on April 15 that first-quarter net sales were €8.8 billion, gross margin was 53.0%, and net income was €2.8 billion. The Dutch chip-equipment maker said it expected second-quarter sales of €8.4 billion to €9.0 billion. (asml.com) ASML also raised its 2026 sales outlook to €36 billion to €40 billion from the €34 billion to €39 billion range it gave in January. Even so, its quarter included 67 new lithography systems sold, down from 94 in the fourth quarter of 2025. (asml.com 1) (asml.com 2) That split explains the selloff after “good” numbers. TSMC is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, and ASML sells the lithography tools that print the smallest chip features, so both sit near the center of the artificial-intelligence buildout. (tsmc.com) (asml.com) When those two companies report, investors are not just reading the last quarter. They are looking for signs that data-center spending, advanced packaging demand and equipment orders are accelerating fast enough to justify already-rich semiconductor valuations. (tsmc.com) (asml.com) The backdrop got more complicated in China this month. On April 7, Beijing published new regulations on industrial and supply-chain security that say authorities can investigate and take countermeasures against foreign actions that undermine China’s supply chains. (english.www.gov.cn) China’s commerce ministry has also said U.S. export controls on semiconductor equipment and chips threaten the stability of global industrial and supply chains. That matters for ASML directly and for TSMC indirectly because both depend on tightly coordinated cross-border tool, component and customer networks. (english.mofcom.gov.cn) (english.www.gov.cn) By April 24, both stocks had rebounded sharply in U.S. trading, with TSM closing at $402.46 and ASML at $1,457.70. The earnings-week dip still showed how little room chip leaders have when expectations are already set by the AI boom. (finance.yahoo.com 1) (finance.yahoo.com 2)