ASML has warned that recovery in the semiconductor market for products beyond AI is likely to be “more gradual than previously expected,” after the company posted a disappointing set of Q3 2024 financial results.
Although the Dutch chip equipment maker posted net sales of €7.5 billion ($8.2bn) for the quarter, net bookings during the period only amounted to €2.6bn ($2.83bn), around half of the €5bn ($5.4bn) figure analysts had been expecting. Of that €2.6bn, €1.4bn ($1.5bn) was related to Extreme Ultraviolet lithography (EUV) bookings.
Netherlands-based ASML is the sole global supplier of EUV photolithography machines that are needed to make the most advanced 3nm and 5nm chips. During Q3 2024, the company sold 106 new lithography systems and 10 used lithography systems during the quarter, an increase of 17 new systems but a decrease of one used system when compared to the previous quarter.
As a result of the downturn and the company posting the results on its website a day earlier than scheduled – ASML blamed the early release on a “technical error” – its stock was down by 16.3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares in Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and Arm all saw single-digit decline in the wake of ASML’s announcement.
In a statement, CEO Christophe Fouquet said: “While there continue to be strong developments and upside potential in AI, other market segments are taking longer to recover,” adding that this gradual recovery was expected to continue into 2025 and is likely leading to customer caution.
He also noted that “competitive foundry dynamics have resulted in a slower ramp of new nodes at certain customers” leading to changes in lithography demand timing, particularly in relation to EUV.
Intel, which secured all of ASML’s stock of High-NA EUV machines due to be manufactured in 2024, has seen its foundry business suffer major successive quarterly losses this year, while Samsung, another ASML customer, also reported worse than expected results in its most recent financial quarter.
Despite the downturn, Fouquet said the company expects full-year 2024 total net sales of around €28bn ($31bn), which is expected to reach a range of between €30bn ($33bn) and €35bn ($38bn) in 2025.
