Last month, ASML was heavily hit on the stock market for accidentally releasing quarterly figures too early. Now, the chip machine maker is back to making bold promises for the longer term.
In July, ASML’s stock briefly breached 1,000 euros per share but last week hit a 2024 low of 610 euros per share. This correction was started all the way back in mid-October by a premature release of its Q3 figures.
Tip: ASML takes it on the chin on stock market after quarterly earnings leak
Glory days ahead?
Like other players within the chip industry, ASML is cautious about its short-term future. Trade restrictions with China are a dark cloud over ASML’s order book, while Intel’s uncertain nature could also lead to less demand for chip machines. Overall, demand is not expected to bounce back in full by 2025. Chinese customers represented nearly half of all ASML’s orders in Q2, but trade restrictions will reduce that share as well. Still, the Dutch company remains bullish on its longer-term future.
“We confirm our capital allocation strategy and expect to continue to return significant amounts of cash to our shareholders through a combination of increasing dividends and share buybacks,” CFO Roger Dassen said in a statement. His company is sticking to its forecast of raking in between 44 and 60 billion euros in orders throughout 2030. With current sales figures based on the last quarter accounting for some 30 billion euros a year, that’s a hefty increase in six years.
The High-NA value-add
Should the ASML prediction come true, it will likely be boosted by High-NA EUV machines. Currently, test devices of this nature have been delivered to customers TSMC and Intel, although these clients will eventually use these machines for mass production as well. The testing process always takes years with each generation of lithography machines, and lucrative yields typically appear only after even more refinement when mass production has already started.
Nevertheless, the introduction of High-NA EUV is going well, as the first customer, Intel, stated earlier this year. High-NA EUV is ultimately a further development of EUV lithography and shares many components with the older tech.
Also read: Newest ASML machine at Intel is ready to go, with plenty of R&D ahead