---
title: "ASML raises its forecast again as AI chip demand surges"
description: "ASML, the Dutch company whose machines are essential to making the world's most advanced computer chips, raised its 2026 sales forecast for the second time this year, citing 'extremely strong' orders driven by artificial intelligence. It now expects full-year revenue of 43 billion to 45 billion euros."
category: "Business"
category_url: https://herald.la/category/business
author: "Elias Rosen"
published: 2026-07-15T06:52:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-15T06:52:00.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/asml-raises-its-forecast-again-as-ai-chip-demand-surges
tags: ["asml", "semiconductors", "artificial intelligence", "chips", "markets"]
---
# ASML raises its forecast again as AI chip demand surges

ASML, the Dutch company whose machines are essential to making the world's most advanced computer chips, raised its 2026 sales forecast for the second time this year, citing 'extremely strong' orders driven by artificial intelligence. It now expects full-year revenue of 43 billion to 45 billion euros.

One of the most important companies in the technology world is signaling that the artificial-intelligence boom still has room to run. ASML, based in the Netherlands, [raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to between 43 billion and 45 billion euros](https://www.zawya.com/en/business/technology-and-telecom/asml-raises-2026-forecast-expands-capacity-on-ai-chip-demand-ry3hcnp1), a roughly 16% increase at the midpoint over its earlier forecast of 36 billion to 40 billion euros. It was the company's second forecast raise of the year.

## A strong quarter

For the three months ended June 30, ASML reported [revenue of about 9.33 billion euros and net income of about 2.92 billion euros](https://www.zawya.com/en/business/technology-and-telecom/asml-raises-2026-forecast-expands-capacity-on-ai-chip-demand-ry3hcnp1), both ahead of analysts' expectations. Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet pointed to "extremely strong" order intake tied to demand for AI chips as the driver of the results.

## Why ASML matters so much

ASML is not a household name, but it occupies a chokepoint in the global economy. It is [the only company that makes the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines](https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/asml-tops-q2-estimates-ai-chip-demand/) needed to etch the finest circuitry onto the most advanced chips. Without ASML's equipment, the world's leading chipmakers, including TSMC, Samsung and Intel, cannot manufacture the cutting-edge processors that power AI systems. That makes ASML's order book one of the closest things the industry has to a forward gauge of the AI build-out.

Right now, that gauge is pointing sharply upward. Chipmakers are racing to expand capacity to feed demand for the processors and memory that train and run AI models, and ASML says it cannot ship its machines fast enough to satisfy them.

## The China caveat

The picture is not without risk. China, once one of ASML's largest markets, now accounts for [around 20% of its sales](https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/asml-tops-q2-estimates-ai-chip-demand/), a share squeezed by U.S. and allied export controls that bar the sale of the most advanced tools to Chinese customers. Further restrictions, including on ASML's older deep-ultraviolet machines, remain a live possibility, and any tightening could dent a meaningful slice of revenue.

## The bigger signal

For investors and the broader economy, ASML's confidence carries weight beyond a single earnings report. When the company that supplies the industry's essential machines raises its outlook twice in a year, it suggests the chipmakers buying those machines expect AI demand to stay elevated well into the future. It also implies that the shortages of advanced processors that have shaped the AI era are not about to ease: the bottleneck now runs all the way back to a factory floor in the Netherlands.

## Sources

- [ASML raises 2026 forecast, expands capacity on AI chip demand](https://www.zawya.com/en/business/technology-and-telecom/asml-raises-2026-forecast-expands-capacity-on-ai-chip-demand-ry3hcnp1)
- [ASML tops Q2 earnings estimates on strong AI chip demand](https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/asml-tops-q2-estimates-ai-chip-demand/)