ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ:ASML, ETR:ASME) has warned that mounting geopolitical and economic uncertainty has clouded its outlook for 2026, despite reporting a sharp rise in second-quarter profits and strong demand for its semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
The Dutch giant said it could no longer confirm growth for next year, citing what chief executive Christophe Fouquet described as “increasing uncertainty driven by macro-economic and geopolitical developments”.
He added that while demand from artificial intelligence customers remains strong, the company must take a cautious stance.
Net profit for the three months to June rose to €2.3 billion, up from €1.6 billion a year earlier, with sales reaching €7.7 billion, at the upper end of guidance.
New orders rose to €5.6 billion, up from €3.9 billion in the previous quarter.
ASML, whose tools are essential for making advanced semiconductors, expects third-quarter sales of between €7.4 billion and €7.9 billion.
Longer term, it forecasts revenues could climb to as much as €60 billion by 2030, driven by the expansion of AI.
Based in Eindhoven, the group is the world’s only producer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, highly complex systems used to etch the tiniest features onto advanced microchips.
Its equipment is critical to manufacturing the most powerful semiconductors, which are used in everything from smartphones and data centres to advanced military systems and artificial intelligence applications.