ASML reported €9.3 billion in net sales and €2.9 billion net income for Q2 2026, signaling solid momentum in chipmaking equipment demand.
The company raised its full-year sales outlook to between €43 billion and €45 billion, with gross margins forecasted at 54% to 56%, reflecting strong pricing power amid capacity constraints.
Crucially, ASML plans to boost low-NA EUV lithography capacity by about 30% in 2027 from a 65-system base, with a similar potential increase in 2028. Its DUV immersion systems will see comparable expansions from a 130-system baseline.
Q3 guidance points to €11 billion to €12 billion in net sales and 55% to 57% gross margins, reinforcing expectations that chip supply bottlenecks will persist well into the second half of 2026.
The sale of 86 lithography systems in just one quarter shows continued foundry investment. This is notable because ASML’s tools are essential for producing advanced GPUs and AI accelerators that rely on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography technology.
Despite upbeat headlines, the underlying message is that AI chip capacity remains a tight bottleneck. This constraint sustains elevated prices and long lead times rather than allowing a supply glut.
For the crypto sector, this has tangible effects. As public miners diversify into AI hosting to capture new revenue streams, the scarcity of AI accelerators keeps margins attractive but also raises capital expenditure risk and elongates deployment timelines.
This dynamic connects to broader trends where compute resource competition influences valuations and operational strategies in crypto and AI-related tokens.
ASML’s forecast and capacity plans suggest that the AI hardware squeeze will not ease soon. Investors and participants should anticipate continued pressure on supply chains for critical chipmaking equipment.
This information is not financial advice. It serves informational purposes only.
