Semiconductor equipment giant ASML’s order book expected to benefit from AI chip boom

ASML, the top equipment supplier to semiconductor manufacturers, is expected to report an influx of new orders when its new boss delivers second-quarter results on Wednesday, as customers expand capacity to meet booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

Another focus will be whether Chinese firms have continued heavy purchasing of equipment used to make older generations of chips such as those used in electric cars, a concern for Western policymakers who have curbed buying of more advanced technology.

Analysts said ASML may upgrade guidance, as major contract suppliers of cutting-edge chips – including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which makes chips for Nvidia and Apple – report earnings on Thursday and might forecast an increase in equipment purchases.

ASML dominates the global market for lithography systems, complex tools that use lasers to help create the tiny circuitry of semiconductors. It is the only maker of lithography systems using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths, needed by TSMC to make the most complex processors for smartphones and AI chips.

The results are the first under ASML’s new chief executive Christophe Fouquet, who took over the reins at Europe’s biggest tech firm as it navigates the ongoing US-China fight over chips.