ASML Holding, the world's sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, delivered a powerful vote of confidence in the AI-driven semiconductor cycle on Wednesday, reporting first-quarter revenue and profit that beat analyst expectations while raising its full-year 2026 sales guidance.
The Dutch company posted Q1 net sales of €7.74 billion, surpassing the €7.1 billion consensus estimate, as demand from leading chipmakers including TSMC, Samsung, and Intel accelerated ahead of what management described as a multi-year upgrade cycle for AI-optimized fabrication capacity. Net income came in at €2.36 billion, up 17% year-over-year.
Guidance Raised Despite Iran Headwinds
ASML raised its full-year 2026 net sales guidance to a range of €32 billion to €35 billion from a previous forecast of €30 billion to €35 billion, and tightened its gross margin outlook to 52%-53%. Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet attributed the upgrade to a structural upswing in AI-related chip demand that has proven resilient even as the Iran-driven oil shock weighs on other sectors of the global economy.
"The AI infrastructure build-out has fundamentally decoupled from the economic cycle in ways we haven't seen before," Fouquet told analysts on the earnings call. "Hyperscalers and leading-edge foundries are committed to capacity expansion regardless of near-term macro volatility, and that creates exceptional visibility for our order book."
Order Backlog Hits Record €46 Billion
ASML's order backlog reached a record €46 billion, including €9.7 billion in new bookings during the quarter—more than double the year-ago level. EUV orders were particularly strong, with TSMC and Samsung each placing multi-year commitments for next-generation High-NA EUV systems that will enable the production of chips at process nodes below two nanometers.