ASML raises 2026 revenue forecast to €43-45bn after Q2 beat driven by AI chip demand

Summary

ASML, the Netherlands-based maker of the extreme-ultraviolet lithography machines that produce the world's most advanced chips, reported Q2 2026 net sales of €9.33 billion and net income of €2.92 billion, beating its own guidance, according to Global Banking and Finance Review. The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to €43-45 billion, up from the previous band of €36-40 billion, marking the second upward revision this year. Pluang reported ASML is expanding production capacity for 2027 and 2028 to fill growing customer orders, and announced an interim dividend of €1.88 per share. AI infrastructure investment is the stated driver: hyperscaler and data-centre orders for advanced chips are sustaining ASML's EUV machine pipeline despite residual uncertainty about China sales under US export restrictions.

The split

UK and US financial media focus on the earnings beat and AI chip demand as the headline frame. Indonesia's Pluang, serving retail investors in Southeast Asia, gives the most complete account of the guidance figures and dividend. MLQ.ai, an AI-sector publication, frames the second consecutive guidance upgrade as a structural signal rather than a one-quarter surprise, pointing to accelerating AI infrastructure capex. No coverage from East Asian chip-importing countries such as South Korea or Taiwan is in the current feed.

By the numbers

• €9.33 billion, ASML Q2 2026 net sales
• €2.92 billion, ASML Q2 2026 net income
• €43-45 billion, revised full-year 2026 net sales forecast (up from €36-40B)
• 2nd, consecutive upward guidance revision in 2026
• €1.88, interim dividend per share

Why it matters

ASML is the sole maker of the EUV machines that allow chipmakers to produce the most advanced semiconductors. Its order book and guidance are the best forward indicator of where global semiconductor capacity, especially AI-chip output, is heading. A second guidance raise in the same year signals that AI infrastructure spending is not slowing despite higher interest rates and trade-policy uncertainty around China.

What to watch

• Whether rival chipmakers (TSMC, Samsung, Intel) confirm similar AI-demand tailwinds in their own Q2 results
• ASML's exposure to further US export restrictions on EUV sales to China, which remains a ceiling on upside
• Capacity expansion timelines for 2027-2028 and whether ASML can hire and build fast enough to meet orders