ASML Holding NV’s orders in the fourth quarter of last year far exceeded analysts’ expectations, as the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure boosted demand for its cutting-edge chipmaking machines.
Bookings in the quarter were a record 13.2 billion euros (US$15.8 billion), the Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company said in a statement yesterday.
That compares with an average analyst estimate of 6.85 billion euros, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Photo: Bloomberg
ASML is the only producer of cutting-edge lithography machines that are needed to make advanced semiconductors and counts all the leading chip manufacturers as customers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Intel Corp. Its machinery is integral to producing the Nvidia Corp AI accelerators that are the backbone for training and running AI models in data centers.
The AI boom has continued into this year, defying concerns about overinvestment and helping push ASML’s market value to more than US$500 billion this month. TSMC said this month it anticipates capital spending of more than US$52 billion this year, much of which would be toward advanced manufacturing techniques.
Despite the strong orders, ASML also announced plans to cut about 1,700 jobs, mostly in the Netherlands with some in the US, as it seeks to streamline the organization. That represents about 4 percent of its workforce.
“We are doing great, and we are very happy with that, but even a great company needs to improve,” ASML chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet said in an interview with Bloomberg TV, adding that the company wanted to be more “agile.”
More than half of last quarter’s bookings were for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, totaling 7.4 billion euros, ASML said.
“In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand,” Fouquet said. “This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake.”
Net profit last year came in at 9.6 billion euros, compared with 7.6 billion euros for 2024.
Total net sales were 32.7 billion euros last year. Revenue is seen at between 34 billion euros and 39 billion euros this year, higher than previous guidance. For the first quarter of this year, the firm predicted it would post between 8.2 billion euros and 8.9 billion euros in sales.
China remained ASML’s biggest market in the fourth quarter, accounting for 36 percent of net system sales.
The Chinese market is expected to fall to about 20 percent of revenue going forward, ASML chief financial officer Roger Dassen said.
ASML has never been able to sell its EUV lithography machines to China due to US-led restrictions aimed at curbing the Asian nation’s progress in the semiconductor sector. The machines it ships to China are eight generations behind most sophisticated model. Still, Chinese chipmakers have been buying up older equipment to make mature chips.
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