Lithography systems: Memory manufacturers account for most of ASML's revenue
ASML expects continued high demand from chip manufacturers. However, the company is now tight-lipped about bookings.
Inside ASML's EUV scanner NXE:3400.
(Image: ASML)
The Dutch manufacturer ASML confirms the developments of recent weeks: "Demand for chips exceeds supply. In response, our customers are advancing their capacity expansion plans for 2026 and beyond."
However, ASML is now concealing the effects: In the annual report, new lithography systems for exposing silicon wafers are no longer listed among the bookings. Previously, the booking value was a significant factor for fluctuations in ASML's stock price.
Instead, ASML now prefers to focus on technical progress. New to its own presentation is a roadmap with upcoming devices that, for example, shorten exposure times or increase alignment accuracy.
(Image:Â ASML)
Traditionally declining revenue
In the first quarter of 2026, ASML generated sales of almost 8.8 billion euros. The approximately 10 percent decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 is traditional; ASML always books the most lithography systems sold at the end of the year. In the past quarter, ASML sold 67 new and 12 refurbished systems for 6.3 billion euros. Two-thirds of the revenue comes from modern lithography systems with an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source.
2.5 billion euros come from system maintenance for customers and upgrades, for example, to increase wafer throughput. The net profit remaining is just under 2.8 billion euros.
South Korea is currently the largest customer country with a revenue share of 45 percent. The two memory manufacturers Samsung and SK Hynix are located there. The distribution of end-use is therefore not surprising: half of the revenue comes from memory manufacturers, the other half from logic chip manufacturers (e.g., processors and AI accelerators).
(Image:Â ASML)
Up to 40 billion euros in annual revenue
In the current quarter, ASML expects revenue between 8.4 billion and 9.0 billion euros. Annual revenue is projected to be between 36 billion and 40 billion euros. In 2025, it was 32.7 billion. ASML's growth is limited because the company can only gradually increase the production of lithography systems. ASML is significantly dependent on suppliers such as Zeiss and Trumpf for this.
The ASML share has fallen by about four percent since the publication of the annual report, but is still up around 25 percent since the beginning of the year.
(mma)
