ASML's US-listed shares extended losses into a second consecutive day as the Dutch chip equipment manufacturer reported that a slowdown in mobile and personal computer markets is hindering a faster recovery in its logic division. On Tuesday, the company released its fiscal third-quarter financial results, surpassing analyst expectations.
However, ASML revised its 2025 net sales forecast to between 30 billion euros ($32.59 billion) and 35 billion euros, which lowers the higher end of its previous projection of 40 billion euros. Analysts surveyed by Capital IQ were anticipating sales of around 34 billion euros. Chief Executive Christophe Fouquet highlighted during an earnings conference call, 'While we continue to view artificial intelligence as a key driver of the industry recovery with potential upside, we see other segments recovering more slowly than anticipated.' He noted that the recovery process is expected to extend 'well into' next year. On the Nasdaq Composite, ASML's shares were down 5.1% in Wednesday afternoon trading, following a significant 16% decline during the previous session, marking it as the poorest performer on the composite index that day.
Year to date, the company's stock has decreased by 9.5%. Fouquet elaborated on the situation in the logic segment, stating, 'The slow recovery of end markets, particularly mobile and PC, combined with specific competitive foundry dynamics, has resulted in a slower ramp of new nodes at certain customers, who are consequently postponing some of their fabs and altering their lithography demand timing.' He further acknowledged that similar sluggish trends are observed in the memory market, leading to constrained capacity additions. According to information available on ASML's website, logic chips allow electronic devices to execute tasks, while memory chips serve the purpose of data storage. The adjustment in the 2025 sales outlook is primarily influenced by 'a significant reduction' in ASML's projected shipments of its Low-NA technology, which are now expected to be less than 50 units, noted Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen during the conference call.
Additionally, ASML forecasts that sales in China will contribute approximately 20% to the company’s total revenue for 2025, returning to historical percentages for that market. In a separate statement released on Tuesday, ASML announced it had disclosed its third-quarter results ahead of schedule to maintain transparency after a report containing details of the quarter was mistakenly uploaded on its website.
For the ongoing quarter, the company anticipates net sales between 8.8 billion euros and 9.2 billion euros, while sales for 2024 are expected to be 'around' 28 billion euros. The market is projecting figures of 9.06 billion euros and 27.72 billion euros for the respective periods. Looking at longer-term prospects, Fouquet reassured investors that secular growth drivers in the semiconductor end markets are 'still very much intact.' He emphasized that ASML intends to expand its capacity to meet expected increases in AI demand projected 'throughout the remainder of this decade.' Price: 683.67, Change: -46.76, Percent Change: -6.40.