ASML Holding N.V. ASML used its second-quarter 2026 earnings call to deliver a more important message than the beat itself. Customer demand is strengthening across advanced logic and memory, giving management enough confidence to raise its 2026 outlook.
The company’s commentary pointed to a business environment shaped by AI-related capacity expansion, stronger order momentum and better visibility into demand that now stretches several years out.
ASML Raises 2026 Targets
President and CEO Christophe Fouquet said second-quarter sales and gross margin both came in above guidance, helped mainly by stronger Installed Base Management sales. CFO Roger Dassen added that total net sales reached €9.3 billion, gross margin was 54.0%, and net income was €2.9 billion.
Management now expects 2026 total net sales of €43 billion to €45 billion, up from its prior outlook, with gross margin of 54% to 56%. For the third quarter, ASML guided for sales of €11 billion to €12 billion and gross margin of 55% to 57%.
ASML posted earnings of $8.81 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.98. The company reported revenues of $10.84 billion, which also beat the consensus mark of $10.28 billion by 5.40%.
ASML Holding N.V. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
ASML Holding N.V. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ASML Holding N.V. Quote
ASML Sees Broad-Based Chip Demand
Fouquet said AI demand is not limited to one narrow pocket of semiconductors. He pointed to continued investment in 3-nanometer, 5-nanometer and 4-nanometer logic nodes, while 2-nanometer ramps continue and customers are already planning for 1.4-nanometer development.
Memory was just as important in management’s telling. Fouquet said DRAM customers are expanding capacity aggressively as DDR and HBM supply conditions support pricing, while more advanced nodes are also increasing lithography intensity. He said memory-related net system sales are expected to grow by more than 75% this year.
Dassen added that ASML now expects to ship about 65 Low-NA EUV systems in 2026 and around 130 immersion DUV systems, while Installed Base Management sales are expected to grow more than 30% for the year. China is still expected to account for around 20% of full-year sales.
ASML Prepares a Bigger Capacity Step-Up
One of the clearest takeaways from the call was that management is no longer talking only about near-term output. Dassen said ASML is close to being fully covered with Low-NA EUV orders for 2027 and plans to increase Low-NA EUV capacity by around 30% next year.
For 2028, management is already investigating another 30% increase for Low-NA EUV and a similar increase for immersion systems. Fouquet said those increases can be pursued within ASML’s existing footprint by optimizing cleanroom usage and
cycle times rather than relying on a new facility.
That mattered in the Q&A because analysts pressed management on whether the planned increases represented a ceiling. Dassen’s answer was that the current plan reflects the balance between demand and supply today, but ASML would revisit that if customers ask for more.
ASML Signals Pricing Power is Improving
Pricing was another notable theme. When UBS asked whether stronger customer economics could support higher Low-NA pricing, Dassen said the current environment gives ASML more pricing flexibility because the value of its tools to customers has increased.
He also said that the benefit will not show up immediately because of long order lead times, but the direction of travel was clear. In other words, management did not frame pricing as a one-off mix benefit tied only to product transitions.
That message was reinforced later in the call when Dassen said higher like-for-like pricing is part of the discussion with customers as ASML captures its share of the greater value its systems provide.
ASML Pushes High-NA and Upgrades in Parallel
Fouquet said High-NA EUV continues to make progress toward high-volume manufacturing, and management highlighted Intel Foundry’s use of High-NA on Intel 18A as an important production milestone. Dassen said ASML still expects to recognize four to five High-NA systems this year.
At the same time, management made clear that customers want both new tools and upgrades to existing systems. Fouquet said demand for productivity upgrades is strong because customers need more output from existing fabs, and ASML is developing upgrade packages across EUV Low-NA and immersion fleets.
That helps explain why Installed Base Management was such a meaningful contributor in the quarter. Dassen said the business beat guidance by nearly 300 million euros, driven primarily by additional upgrade activity and very high-margin components.
ASML Leaves With a More Assertive Tone
The tone of the call was more assertive than a standard guidance raise. Fouquet repeatedly tied the stronger outlook to customer commitments, long-term agreements and improved visibility into multiyear demand.
Dassen matched that tone with unusually explicit comments on capacity planning, mix improvement and pricing leverage. Together, those remarks left ASML sounding focused on execution, output and monetization rather than simply riding a cyclical recovery.
Zacks Signals Remain Cautious
ASML currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Under the Zacks framework, the Rank is the primary signal, and the Style Score guidance is clear that stocks rated a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Strong Sell) are not favored, even when some individual style grades look better. ASML’s Value Score of F, Growth Score of B, Momentum Score of C and VGM Score of D present a mixed profile, with growth standing out more than value or broad style balance.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
That combination suggests the stock’s style characteristics are not strong enough to offset the weaker Zacks Rank at this point. Still, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions and can change after a fresh earnings report, so those signals may shift as analysts update their models following ASML’s stronger quarter and raised outlook.
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