ASML posts record Q3 sales of €11.7 billion as 2027–28 supply trails demand

ASML, the Dutch maker of chip-making equipment, reported third-quarter 2026 net sales of €11.7 billion and net income of €5.0 billion in a release dated 14 October 2026. It guided fourth-quarter net sales to €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion and said its planned supply for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet customer demand.

For founders and small businesses, the release is an upstream signal. ASML sells lithography systems, and July coverage by ioplus said customers are accelerating their capacity expansion plans. The release gives no prices for AI tools, so the link to what buyers pay is indirect.

Q3 sales landed within July’s range and profit rose sharply

Third-quarter net sales of €11.7 billion fell within the €11.0 billion to €12.0 billion range ASML gave on 15 July 2026. Chief executive Christophe Fouquet said the result was toward the high end of guidance and described it in the release as “record total net sales.”

Net income of €5.0 billion compares with €2.9 billion in the second quarter, when net sales were €9.3 billion. Gross margin reached 57.5%, above the 55% to 57% range guided for the quarter. The second-quarter gross margin was 54.0%.

Installed Base Management sales, which the release ties to demand for productivity upgrades, reached €3.3 billion and came in above guidance. ASML sold 113 new and 8 used lithography systems in the quarter and had more than 45,500 full-time equivalent employees.

Fourth-quarter guidance of €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion sits €2.5 billion to €3.5 billion above the third-quarter total. The company expects a gross margin around 57% in the fourth quarter, with R&D costs of around €1.2 billion and SG&A costs of around €0.4 billion.

Q3 2026 at a glance
ASML’s release dated 14 October 2026 reports third-quarter net sales of €11.7 billion (€11,662 million) and net income of €5.0 billion (€4,960 million).

Planned supply for 2027 and 2028 now seen falling short

Fouquet said the company now expects planned supply for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet customer demand. He linked the firmer demand to customers’ views on the size and duration of AI-related investments, and said order momentum continues to rise quarter on quarter this year.

ASML plans to raise its 2026 low-NA EUV and DUV immersion capacity by 30% in 2027. The release says the company is investigating a further 30% increase in 2028 capacity, and that increase has not been announced. The July commentary, as reported by ioplus, put 2026 low-NA EUV capacity at around 65 systems and DUV immersion capacity at around 130 systems for 2027.

A 6 October preview by Earnings Whispers, published before the report, cited management comments for about 65 low-NA EUV shipments in 2026, up from 44 in 2025, and about 85 units of low-NA capacity in 2027, close to fully covered by orders.

The release also says some customers are expressing interest in placing orders for 2029 and even 2030.

How the chip-supply signal relates to AI tool costs

In July, Fouquet linked the company’s results to momentum from AI investment, which ioplus reports as driving demand for advanced logic and memory chips. Customers were moving to accelerate their capacity expansion plans, according to that report.

The Q3 release repeats the link through its order outlook. It gives no prices for AI tools, so the connection to what small firms pay is indirect and not quantified there.

ioplus also reports that ASML continues to expand its upgrade portfolio alongside new-system capacity. The release says the company continues to provide significant wafer capacity to customers through its productivity upgrade portfolio.

Planned supply for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet customer demand.

Full-year outlook, dividend and what comes next

ASML now expects full-year 2026 net sales of €44 billion to €45 billion, narrowing the €43 billion to €45 billion range it gave in July. It expects gross margin of around 56% for the year, compared with 54% to 56% in July.

ASML’s 2026 interim dividend of €1.88 per share is payable on 4 November 2026. In the third quarter, the company bought back about €4.1 billion of shares under its 2026 to 2028 buyback programme.

The fourth-quarter guidance is the next near-term reference point. ioplus reports that ASML’s next Capital Markets Day is on 10 June 2027, when it will update its longer-term outlook. The 2028 capacity expansion remains under investigation.