[News] ASML Raises 2026 Guidance for Second Time This Year; Taiwan Sales Share Climbs to 30%
Ahead of TSMC’s earnings call tomorrow, Dutch lithography giant ASML has reinforced optimism over the AI-driven semiconductor upcycle by raising its 2026 outlook for the second time this year, as highlighted by CNBC.
The company now expects annual sales of €43 billion ($49 billion) to €45 billion, with gross margins of 54% to 56%, according to its press release. Reuters adds that this would represent a 16% increase at the midpoint compared with ASML’s previous guidance of €36 billion to €40 billion.
For the quarter ended June 30, ASML reported revenue of €9.33 billion ($10.90 billion), exceeding analysts’ consensus estimate of €8.80 billion, Reuters notes, adding that its net income also came in ahead of expectations at €2.92 billion, versus the €2.62 billion forecast compiled by LSEG.
Taiwan’s Growing Role in ASML’s Sales Mix
The strong results were underpinned by robust AI-related demand and accelerating investments in advanced-node capacity. During the earnings call, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said customers are rapidly expanding capacity for 5nm, 4nm and 3nm technologies while pushing the 2nm ramp as aggressively as possible, according to an earnings call transcript from Yahoo! Finance.
As customers speed up capacity expansion and begin planning for the 1.4nm era as well, ASML expects its advanced logic foundry business to deliver around 25% revenue growth this year, Fouquet noted.
The trend was also reflected in ASML’s second-quarter regional sales mix. Taiwan accounted for 30% of revenue during the quarter, up from 23% in 1Q26, according to the company’s earnings presentation, suggesting continued investment by TSMC as it expands capacity.
South Korea nevertheless remained ASML’s largest market, contributing 43% of second-quarter sales, although its share edged down from 45% in the previous quarter.
China’s contribution also fell five percentage points to 14%. Despite the decline, management reiterated that China is still expected to account for around 20% of total net sales, according to the Yahoo Finance earnings call transcript.
EUV, DUV Expansion Accelerates
Meanwhile, ASML, per Reuters, also gave a more detailed outlook on its own expansion plan, noting that it is set to increase capacity for both its leading-edge EUV lithography systems and DUV tools by 30% in each of the next two years, as demand remains strong across advanced chips, mature nodes and the China market.
In 2026, ASML expects to ship around 65 Low-NA EUV systems, putting its EUV business on track for roughly 45% growth, according to the Yahoo! Finance earnings call transcript. The company has also regained momentum in DUV immersion production, with shipments expected to reach around 130 systems this year, roughly matching last year’s level.
Notably, ASML reached a significant milestone in High-NA EUV adoption, with Intel deploying the next-generation lithography system to produce part of its flagship Panther Lake laptop processors using the 18A process, according to its press release.
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(Photo credit: ASML)
