Chipmaking equipment supplier ASML said the impact of US tariffs was “a bit less negative than we anticipated”, as artificial intelligence drove strong orders for its lithography machines.
Sales in the Netherlands-based company’s second quarter rose 23 per cent to €7.7bn, just ahead of analysts’ forecasts. Net bookings, a closely watched metric that includes orders for chipmaking gear placed by customers but not yet delivered, were €5.5bn, better than the €4.4bn analysts had expected, according to Visible Alpha, a research company.
Surging orders for AI chips from Nvidia have driven strong growth at ASML’s biggest customer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, over the past two years.