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ASML shares rose on Wednesday after a Jefferies analyst report cited comments from CFO Roger Dassen, which suggested he was positive about the possibility of orders coming through from top customer TSMC in the coming quarters.
An ASML spokesperson confirmed the CFO had spoken at a Jefferies-hosted call with investors. Following the comments, ASML’s shares rose 6.3% to 927.10 euros ($1,008.78) by 1314 GMT.
ASML and TSMC: Industry Leaders:
ASML, the world’s biggest semiconductor equipment maker, specializes in lithography tools, which use beams of light to create the minute circuitry of computer chips. TSMC is the world’s biggest maker of advanced chips.
Positive Outlook on TSMC Orders:
The Jefferies report indicated that Dassen “sounded optimistic” about the conclusion of commercial talks with TSMC, expecting “significant” 2 nm-related orders starting in Q2 or Q3.
ASML has set a target of 30-40 billion euros in sales by 2025, driven by booming demand for cutting-edge logic chips used in smartphones and AI. The report suggests strong demand continuing into 2026, supported by government-subsidized factories globally.
High NA EUV Machine Orders:
The report also noted that TSMC expects to receive one of ASML’s new High NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines, which cost over 350 million euros each, sometime this year. Intel was the first to purchase one of these machines, with another installed in an ASML-Imec laboratory that opened this week.
ASML has orders for more than a dozen High NA tools from customers, including Intel, TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.
Market Position and Competition:
The Jefferies report stated that ASML does not foresee competition in EUV technology from Chinese lithography company SMEE or Huawei “in the foreseeable future” due to the technology’s complexity and the supporting ecosystem.
