ASML just crushed its financial targets for the second quarter of 2026. The semiconductor equipment giant capitalized on the massive wave of AI spending to bring in more revenue than anyone anticipated. Chipmakers are buying lithography tools as fast as factories can build them. This appetite for silicon is paying off. According to the official earnings report posted on the ASML corporate site, second quarter sales reached €9.3 billion.
The numbers paint a highly profitable picture for the company. Out of that €9.3 billion in net sales, the company walked away with €2.9 billion in net income. The gross margin held steady at 54%. Corporate buyers are expanding their factories to build advanced logic and storage chips, which keeps ASML order books full.
Looking ahead, the third quarter looks even bigger. Management expects third quarter net sales to land somewhere between €11 billion and €12 billion. Gross margin for the next 3 months should climb to between 55% and 57%. To support this growth, the company plans to spend €1.2 billion on research and development, alongside €400 million in administrative costs. For the full year 2026, the company expects total net sales to settle between €43 billion and €45 billion with a gross margin of 54% to 56%.
CEO Christophe Fouquet mentioned that the strong performance came from higher equipment shipments. Customers also spent more on installed base management. He pointed out that AI development shows no signs of slowing down. As a result, global demand for chips is rising, giving the company much better visibility into future quarters.
To keep up with this rush, ASML is expanding its production lines. The company intends to increase its annual capacity for Low NA EUV machines by 30% in 2027 compared to the 65 units planned for 2026. Executives are also studying a plan to add another 30% capacity in 2028. This growth strategy shows that the hardware bottleneck is real, and the industry is racing to build more supply.
