Tech giant ASML announces record orders in boost for AI boom

Dutch firm says it expects strong growth in 2026, countering fears of an investment bubble.Published On 28 Jan 2026Tech giant ASML has reported a quarterly record in orders of its chip-making equipment, boosting hopes for the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom and countering fears of an investment bubble.The Dutch firm said on Wednesday that it booked orders worth 13.2 billion euros ($15.8bn) in the final quarter of 2025, more than half of which were for its most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Fears of conflict as South Sudan starts offensive against opposition forceslist 2 of 4Video: Israeli settlers carry out arson attacks in occupied West Banklist 3 of 4Region on watch as India declares Nipah virus outbreak containedlist 4 of 4Drought in the east, floods in the south: Africa battered by climate changeend of listASML logged orders worth 7 million euros during the same period the previous year.Net sales came to 9.7 billion euros in the October-December period, ASML said, taking sales for all of 2025 to 32.7 billion euros.Net profit for the year was 9.6 billion euros, up from 7.6 billion euros in 2024.The Veldhoven-based company forecast net sales of between 34 billion euros and 39 billion euros in 2026.ASML Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said the company’s chip-making customers had conveyed a “notably more positive assessment” of the market situation in the medium term based on expectations of strong AI-related demand.“This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake,” Fouquet said in a statement.“Therefore, we expect 2026 to be another growth year for ASML’s business, largely driven by a significant increase in EUV sales and growth in our installed base business sales.”Fouquet also said the company would cut about 1,700 jobs, most of them at the leadership level, amid concerns work processes had become “less agile”.