Reuters reports that ASML says booming AI demand is driving orders for its chipmaking tools into 2030.
Reuters reports that ASML says customers are seeking more chipmaking-tool capacity than it can supply in 2027 and through 2028. The company says booming AI demand is driving orders into 2030, adding to concerns about shortages.
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ASML says the chip industry's appetite for artificial-intelligence hardware is running ahead of the manufacturing capacity it currently plans to have available in 2027 and 2028.
The Dutch company, whose machines are essential to making the most advanced semiconductors, said customers have raised their near- and medium-term equipment forecasts. Management attributed the increase primarily to the expected size and duration of AI investment. Some customers are already asking about orders for 2029 and 2030, Reuters reported.
ASML had planned to expand capacity by about 30% in 2027 and then by another 30% in 2028. CEO Christophe Fouquet said that will not be enough to satisfy the demand customers now project for those years.
The company is investigating ways to add more capacity in 2028. It is also upgrading machines already in chip factories so they can process more wafers and preparing systems with higher throughput. Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen said price increases will begin in 2027 and have their full effect in 2028, according to Reuters.
A new expansion in Eindhoven is part of ASML's longer-term answer, but Reuters said its first phase is not expected to be completed until 2029. That leaves the company looking for interim measures while customers including TSMC, Samsung, Intel, SK Hynix and Micron build out production for AI chips.
The capacity warning came alongside a strong quarter. ASML reported €11.7 billion in third-quarter net sales, €5.0 billion in net income and a 57.5% gross margin.
The company expects fourth-quarter net sales of €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion. It also raised its 2026 forecast to €44 billion to €45 billion in net sales, with a gross margin of about 56%.
ASML's machines sit at a critical point in the semiconductor supply chain. TSMC uses them to manufacture chips designed by Nvidia, while other major memory and logic-chip makers rely on the company's equipment for their own advanced production. That makes ASML's order discussions an important signal of how long its customers expect the AI buildout to last.
Interest in machines for 2029 or 2030 is not the same as booked revenue, and customer forecasts can change before equipment is delivered. The latest update nevertheless suggests that leading chipmakers are planning around several more years of heavy AI spending.
It also creates a practical constraint: ASML must decide how aggressively to expand for demand that stretches beyond its normal near-term horizon. Adding too little capacity could leave customers waiting for scarce tools. Adding too much would expose the company if the investment cycle cools after 2029.
For now, management says the immediate problem is finding more output. Its current 2027 and 2028 plans, even after the previously announced increases, do not fully cover what customers say they will need.
@ReutersASML says AI demand will exceed chip-tool capacity through 2028 https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB@ReutersASML says AI demand will exceed chip-tool capacity through 2028 https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB@ReutersASML says AI demand will exceed chip-tool capacity through 2028 https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB@ReutersASML says AI demand will exceed chip-tool capacity through 2028 https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB https://reut.rs/3TDvdOB—
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