Numbers Beat Expectations Across the Board
ASML's Q2 total net sales were €9.3 billion and net profit €2.92 billion, above the market consensus of €2.62 billion; gross margin was 54.0%, with EUV lithography alone contributing €3.8 billion in system sales. The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to €43–45 billion—the expectation at the start of the year was still €36–40 billion, and this is already the second raise this year. Q3 guidance of €11–12 billion is likewise above expectations.
AI Is the Openly Stated Driver
CEO Christophe Fouquet named it directly in the report: "Continued AI-related investment and advances in AI technology are driving demand for advanced logic and memory chips." Orders in the first half were "exceptionally strong," and the company plans to further expand its 2027 low-NA EUV capacity (about 65 units) and DUV immersion capacity (about 130 units) by 30% each, and is evaluating the possibility of continuing to expand in 2028. Some analysts had already expected before the report that ASML's 2027 order book was in effect fully booked.
A Weathervane at the Very Top of the Chain
ASML sits at the very top of the AI compute chain—TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix all have to buy its machines first to expand advanced capacity—so its orders and expansion plans are often treated as a leading indicator of "whether AI capex is sustainable." The signal this report gives: at least through 2027, upstream sees no sign of demand cooling. The risk to watch is geopolitics: the U.S. Congress recently had a bill proposing to further restrict sales to China, and ASML's stock had fluctuated over this before the report.
via: ASML official earnings report (Form 6-K); reports by Reuters / Investing.com, 2026-07-15