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Shares in ASML led a tech rout on Nasdaq on Tuesday after the chip equipment maker warned of a slower recovery in the semiconductor market, in results accidentally published a day early.
The Dutch chipmaker cut its outlook for next year after reporting orders that were only half as much as investors had expected for the third quarter.
Chief executive Christophe Fouquet warned of “customer cautiousness” and a “more gradual” recovery in all areas beyond artificial intelligence.
The disappointing results, which had been scheduled for release on Wednesday, were briefly published on its website on Tuesday before being deleted and then republished 30 minutes later, with ASML blaming a “technical error”.
ASML’s stock was down almost 17 per cent in early afternoon trading in New York as its gloomy outlook reverberated throughout the tech sector.
Shares in US chipmakers Nvidia — which on Monday hit a new all-time high — and AMD were down about 5 per cent, Broadcom was down 3.5 per cent and chip designer Arm was 6.5 per cent lower following the news.
ASML said that its total net sales for 2025 would be €30bn-€35bn, with a gross margin of between 51 per cent and 53 per cent. It had previously said that revenues could be as high as €40bn for the year, with 54 per cent to 56 per cent gross margins.
Europe’s most valuable tech company is the dominant provider of the precision chipmaking machines that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Intel and Samsung Electronics use to produce their most advanced semiconductors.
Net bookings — a measure of orders placed by ASML’s customers — were €2.6bn for the third quarter, far lower than the more than €5bn that analysts had expected. Analysts at Stifel said in a note to clients that the order intake was “very weak”.
Challenges at Intel and Samsung appear to have contributed to ASML’s underwhelming results.
Intel is racing to cut costs by reducing headcount and delaying investments in new production facilities after it reported disappointing results in August. This month, Samsung acknowledged it was facing a “crisis” after falling behind in AI chipmaking, as a downturn in the memory market looms.
In a pre-recorded interview published on Tuesday, ASML’s finance chief Roger Dassen said “very specific competitive issues in the foundry business” had contributed to a slower recovery in those chip markets that were not benefiting from booming demand for AI computing infrastructure.
“The strong performance of AI clearly continues,” he added.
Dassen also said ASML expected its sales to China to fall next year, from almost half of revenues in the third quarter to “around 20 per cent”.
Shipments to China of ASML’s most advanced lithography machines have been restricted by the Dutch and US governments over the past year, in an effort to constrain Beijing’s ability to develop AI systems. Nonetheless, Chinese chipmakers have still been importing its older equipment as they expand production of the less sophisticated processors used in household appliances and industrial equipment.