ASML just delivered the kind of blowout quarter that sends shockwaves through the semiconductor industry. The Dutch chip equipment giant posted record bookings of €13.2 billion ($15.8 billion) in Q4 2025, more than doubling analyst expectations of €6.32 billion and marking its strongest order quarter ever. With 2026 revenue guidance coming in ahead of estimates and a massive €12 billion share buyback announced, ASML's results confirm what industry insiders have been whispering for months: the AI infrastructure buildout isn't slowing down, it's accelerating.
ASML just proved the AI chip gold rush has plenty of fuel left in the tank. The company posted €13.2 billion in fourth-quarter bookings on Wednesday, obliterating the €6.32 billion analysts were expecting and setting a company record. It's the kind of number that makes CFO Roger Dassen's job easy when he tells investors the outlook is getting brighter, not dimmer.
The headline figure tells only part of the story. ASML's 2026 revenue guidance landed between €34 billion and €39 billion, with the midpoint sitting comfortably above the €35.1 billion consensus estimate. More telling: the company previously said it didn't expect 2026 sales to fall below 2025 levels. This new forecast represents clear growth, marking a notable upgrade from that cautious stance just months ago.
Wall Street noticed. ASML shares have climbed nearly 30% in 2026 alone, riding a wave of optimism around AI infrastructure that shows no signs of cresting. The company sweetened the deal with a €12 billion share buyback program running through December 2028, signaling management's confidence in the business trajectory.
The orders aren't coming from nowhere. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), ASML's biggest customer and the world's leading chipmaker, posted another record profit jump in Q4, manufacturing chips for everyone from Nvidia to AMD. When TSMC prints money, ASML prints orders.
But the real story is playing out in memory chips. The semiconductor industry is facing an unprecedented shortage of memory components, with prices spiking and supply expected to stay tight through 2027. That's forcing the world's biggest memory makers, and SK Hynix, to open their wallets for capacity expansion. Barclays analysts expect SK Hynix alone to order 12 of ASML's extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines in 2026, the most advanced chipmaking tools on the planet.
