KEY TAKEAWAYS
- ASML shares are dropping Wednesday after the Dutch semiconductor-gear manufacturer said it couldn’t guarantee growth in the coming year and as President Donald Trump’s tariff threats weigh on its outlook.
- The company, whose machines are needed to make advanced AI chips, made the statement as it posted second-quarter results.
- ASML also narrowed its outlook for the year.
ASML Holding (ASML) shares are dropping Wednesday after the Dutch semiconductor-gear manufacturer said it couldn’t guarantee growth in the coming year and as President Donald Trump’s tariff threats weigh on its outlook.
“Looking at 2026, we see that our AI customers’ fundamentals remain strong. At the same time, we continue to see increasing uncertainty driven by macro-economic and geopolitical developments,” CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a statement as the Dutch firm announced second-quarter results. “Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage.”
The company, whose extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines help make advanced AI chips, made the statement as it posted second-quarter results. ASML’s U.S.-listed shares, which entered Wednesday up by 18% this year, were recently down about 8%.
Trump Reportedly Set to Impose Chip Tariffs by August
Trump over the weekend sent a letter to the EU threatening 30% tariffs on imports from Aug. 1 onwards. ASML sells its machines to customers globally, including American chip maker Intel (INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), the world’s largest contract chip maker.
Semiconductors are currently exempted from U.S. tariffs, but it’s unclear whether gear makers like ASML would benefit from that. Trump also said late Tuesday that he was probably going to impose tariffs on semiconductors, along with pharmaceuticals, by Aug. 1, according to Bloomberg.
ASML also narrowed its growth outlook for the year. The company said it expects a full-year 2025 total net sales increase of around 15% relative to 2024 and projected gross margin of around 52%. Both of those numbers were around the midpoint of the outlook the company offered with its first quarter results.
The “SOX” index of semiconductor stocks was down 1% Wednesday afternoon.
Correction: ASML executives said they could not confirm growth in 2026. An earlier headline incorrectly said they were referring to 2025. This article has also been updated to reflect new share-price information.
