ASML says AI chip demand already outruns its 2027 and 2028 tool supply

ASML Holding NV on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, reported record third-quarter sales of €11.7 billion and said planned tool supply for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet customer demand driven by AI-related investments. CEO Christophe Fouquet said some customers are already expressing interest in orders for 2029 and even 2030.

There is only one company that sells the extreme ultraviolet machines the leading AI chipmakers need, and today it said even its planned 2027–2028 buildout is not enough. That is not a soft guidance tweak. It is the bottleneck admitting the queue already stretches past the next two years, with buyers peeking at 2029 and 2030. Every AI data-center spreadsheet that assumes tools will show up on schedule just got a quieter, more expensive footnote.

ASML published third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 14, 2026, from Veldhoven in the Netherlands. Total net sales were €11.662 billion, which the company rounds to €11.7 billion, a record. Gross margin was 57.5%. Net income was €4.960 billion, rounded to €5.0 billion. Basic earnings per share were €12.95. Installed Base Management sales — the servicing of machines already in the field — were €3.289 billion. It sold 113 new lithography systems and 8 used ones. Lithography machines print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Those figures are ASML's.

The same release's second-quarter 2026 comparison: sales €9.326 billion, gross margin 54.0%, net income €2.918 billion. Those figures are ASML's.

Outlook, as ASML prints it: fourth-quarter 2026 total net sales €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion, with gross margin around 57%. Full-year 2026 total net sales €44 billion to €45 billion, with the prior lower end at €43 billion, and gross margin around 56%. Fourth-quarter research and development about €1.2 billion and selling, general and administrative costs about €0.4 billion. Those lines are ASML's.

Fouquet said customers continue to raise short- and medium-term equipment demand forecasts, "driven primarily by their views on the size and duration of AI-related investments." Some customers are "expressing an interest in placing orders with us for 2029 and even 2030." Those quotations are his, on ASML's release.

Fouquet also said: "we now expect that our supply as currently planned for both 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet the demand of our customers." ASML is "investigating ways to increase capacity for 2028 beyond the 30% increase we previously communicated." EUV, extreme ultraviolet lithography, is the machine that prints the finest chip patterns. ASML is the only company that sells those machines to the leading AI chipmakers. Those quotations are Fouquet's, on ASML's release.

CNBC reports that Samsung and TSMC, during the quarter, committed to using ASML's High NA EUV machines. High NA, high numerical aperture, is the next generation of those tools. China sales are still expected to be about 20% of the total. The stock was about 2% higher in early European trade, and shares are up about 56% year to date. Those lines are CNBC's.

ASML set an interim dividend of €1.88 per share, payable Nov. 4, 2026. Its 6-K exhibit summary for the quarter puts share purchases at about €4.1 billion under the 2026–2028 buyback. Those figures are ASML's.

The picture is ASML's official portrait of CEO Christophe Fouquet, in a navy suit and maroon tie in front of ASML Network control-room screens. It is the company's Board of Management photograph. The frame does not print a calendar date.

In plain terms, ASML said on Wednesday that third-quarter sales were a record €11.7 billion, and that even the tool supply it has planned for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet demand from AI chipmakers. Some customers are already talking about 2029 and 2030 orders. The company is looking at adding more 2028 capacity on top of a 30% increase it had already flagged.