Latest news with #ChristopheFouquet
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
ASML sees share price drop as Trump's tariffs darken outlook
Supplier of chipmaking equipment ASML retracted its growth forecast for the coming year on Wednesday, sending shares down around 7% in morning trading in Amsterdam. 'The level of uncertainty is increasing, mostly due to macroeconomic and geopolitical considerations. And that includes, of course, tariffs,' said CEO Christophe Fouquet. 'Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage.' The warning came despite the fact that the Dutch firm saw sales and bookings rise above analysts' expectations during the second quarter. Sales rose 23% to €7.7 billion, while net bookings came in at €5.5bn. Net income was at €2.3bn. For the third-quarter, ASML predicted net sales between €7.4bn and €7.9bn, falling short of estimates, and a gross margin between 50% and 52%. The firm also forecast 15% revenue growth for the year ahead. A boom in artificial intelligence is fuelling demand for ASML's semiconductor-making machines, which are needed to power AI technologies. Last week, chipmaker Nvidia — a firm that relies on ASML products — became the first company in the world to reach a market value of $4 trillion. So far, the extent to which ASML will be affected by US tariffs and retaliatory duties is unclear. Semiconductors are currently exempt from Trump's duties although it's not yet known whether chipmaking machines will receive the same leniency. Related Nvidia to sell H20 chips to China again after US gives export approval Dutch court convicts man for sharing sensitive knowledge from tech giant ASML with person in Russia Easing tensions between the US and China are also helping Nvidia, which in turn bodes well for ASML. On Tuesday, Nvidia said it would start selling its H20 AI chip in China again after the Trump administration relaxed export restrictions. The move is a U-turn for the government, which in April banned sales of the chip to China, linked to concerns that the technology could be used for military purposes. ASML also faces restrictions on sending certain advanced products to China. There has been no suggestion that these measures, imposed by the Dutch government, will be lifted. 'ASML cites the macroeconomic environment and tariffs having an impact on the orders. More specifically, it is more likely uncertainty from China, memory capex uncertainty and the struggles at Intel and Samsung that are more likely to be hampering things,' said Ben Barringer, global technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot. Intel and Samsung, two ASML customers, are facing financial headwinds, with the latter reporting its first fall in profit in around two years last week. Barringer continued: 'Ultimately, this is a speed bump for what remains a high-quality company. It still has a big backlog so growth should still pull through'. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Dutch giant ASML sees profits rise but warns on 2026
THE HAGUE: Dutch tech giant ASML said Wednesday it booked higher net profits in the second quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year but warned that geopolitical headwinds had darkened the 2026 outlook. The firm, which makes cutting-edge machines for the manufacture of semiconductors, said net profits came in at 2.3 billion euros, compared with 1.6 billion euros in the second quarter of last year. However, it warned that the growth outlook for next year was somewhat less rosy than before. 'Looking at 2026, we see that our AI customers' fundamentals remain strong,' said Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet in a statement. 'At the same time, we continue to see increasing uncertainty driven by macro-economic and geopolitical developments,' he cautioned.'Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage.' Investors appeared to give more weight to the gloomy outlook for 2026 than the positive quarterly data, with ASML stock down six percent at the opening bell. When Fouquet presented first-quarter results in April, he also warned of 'increased uncertainty' due to tariffs with the situation likely to 'remain dynamic for a while.' However, he had reiterated his belief at that stage that 2025 and 2026 would be 'growth years.' The firm said its net sales in the second quarter of 2025 came in at 7.7 billion euros, at the upper end of its forecasts of between 7.2 and 7.7 billion euros. Net bookings, the figures most closely watched in the markets as a predictor of future performance, were 5.6 billion euros, compared to 3.9 billion euros in the first quarter. Fouquet said he expected sales in the third quarter to come in between 7.4 billion and 7.9 billion euros. ASML is a key cog in the global economy, as the semiconductors its machines help to make can power everything from smartphones to missiles. Longer term, ASML believes the rapidly expanding AI market will push its annual sales up to between 44 and 60 billion euros by 2030. It expects a 15-percent increase in sales this year to around 32.5 billion euros. 'I think long term, the semiconductor market remains very strong,' said Fouquet. 'And I think a lot of people say that AI is really a great opportunity. We have seen again the fundamentals around AI to be very, very strong.' The semiconductor industry has been buffeted by geopolitical headwinds in recent years. Washington has sought to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that they could be used to advance Beijing's military systems and otherwise undermine American dominance in AI. In May, Trump's administration rescinded some export controls on semiconductors. But Washington also unveiled fresh guidelines warning firms that using Chinese-made high-tech AI semiconductors, specifically tech giant Huawei's Ascend chips, would put them at risk of violating US export controls. Beijing described the warnings as 'typical unilateral bullying and protectionism.' On Tuesday, US tech giant Nvidia announced it would resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China, after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had halted exports. — AFP
Malaysian Reserve
4 days ago
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
TSMC profit surges again after AI drives big jump in sales
TAIWAN Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a better-than-expected 61% jump in profit for the June quarter, bolstering confidence in the momentum of the global AI spending spree. The world's biggest contract chipmaker on Thursday said net income for the period was NT$398.3 billion ($13.5 billion), extending a streak of beating analysts' estimates that dates back to 2021. The company previously posted a 39% surge in revenue. TSMC's performance underscores resilient demand for high-end artificial intelligence chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which is outpacing its production capacity. Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei affirmed in a shareholder meeting in June that AI orders continue to run hot and TSMC anticipates 2025 sales will grow in the mid-20% range in US dollar terms. The company's revenue has grown roughly 40% over the first half of the year, even with a stronger Taiwanese dollar suppressing that figure. It's pledged to spend another $100 billion ramping up manufacturing in Arizona, in addition to an expansion in Japan, Germany and back home. A day before TSMC's results, key chipmaking gear supplier ASML Holding NV triggered anxiety across markets by walking back its growth forecast for 2026. Geopolitics and the global economy are sources of 'increasing uncertainty,' Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said. Its shares dropped more than 11%. –BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
ASML sees share price drop as Trump's tariffs darken outlook
Supplier of chipmaking equipment ASML retracted its growth forecast for the coming year on Wednesday, sending shares down around 7% in morning trading in Amsterdam. 'The level of uncertainty is increasing, mostly due to macroeconomic and geopolitical considerations. And that includes, of course, tariffs,' said CEO Christophe Fouquet. 'Therefore, while we still prepare for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage.' The warning came despite the fact that the Dutch firm saw sales and bookings rise above analysts' expectations during the second quarter. Sales rose 23% to €7.7 billion, while net bookings came in at €5.5bn. Net income was at €2.3bn. For the third-quarter, ASML predicted net sales between €7.4bn and €7.9bn, falling short of estimates, and a gross margin between 50% and 52%. The firm also forecast 15% revenue growth for the year ahead. A boom in artificial intelligence is fuelling demand for ASML's semiconductor-making machines, which are needed to power AI technologies. Last week, chipmaker Nvidia — a firm that relies on ASML products — became the first company in the world to reach a market value of $4 trillion. So far, the extent to which ASML will be affected by US tariffs and retaliatory duties is unclear. Semiconductors are currently exempt from Trump's duties although it's not yet known whether chipmaking machines will receive the same leniency. Related Nvidia to sell H20 chips to China again after US gives export approval Dutch court convicts man for sharing sensitive knowledge from tech giant ASML with person in Russia Easing tensions between the US and China are also helping Nvidia, which in turn bodes well for ASML. On Tuesday, Nvidia said it would start selling its H20 AI chip in China again after the Trump administration relaxed export restrictions. The move is a U-turn for the government, which in April banned sales of the chip to China, linked to concerns that the technology could be used for military purposes. ASML also faces restrictions on sending certain advanced products to China. There has been no suggestion that these measures, imposed by the Dutch government, will be lifted. 'ASML cites the macroeconomic environment and tariffs having an impact on the orders. More specifically, it is more likely uncertainty from China, memory capex uncertainty and the struggles at Intel and Samsung that are more likely to be hampering things,' said Ben Barringer, global technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot. Intel and Samsung, two ASML customers, are facing financial headwinds, with the latter reporting its first fall in profit in around two years last week. Barringer continued: 'Ultimately, this is a speed bump for what remains a high-quality company. It still has a big backlog so growth should still pull through'. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
TSMC profit surges again after AI drives big jump in sales
[TAIPEI] Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported a better-than-expected 61 per cent jump in profit for the June quarter, bolstering confidence in the momentum of the global artificial intelligence (AI) spending spree. The world's biggest contract chipmaker on Thursday (Jul 16) said net income for the period was NT$398.3 billion (S$17.4 billion), extending a streak of beating analysts' estimates that dates back to 2021. The company previously posted a 39 per cent surge in revenue. TSMC's performance underscores resilient demand for high-end AI chips from the likes of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, which is outpacing its production capacity. Chief executive officer CC Wei affirmed in a shareholder meeting in June that AI orders continue to run hot and TSMC anticipates 2025 sales will grow in the mid-20 per cent range in US dollar terms. The company's revenue has grown roughly 40 per cent over the first half of the year, even with a stronger Taiwanese dollar suppressing that figure. It's pledged to spend another US$100 billion ramping up manufacturing in Arizona, in addition to an expansion in Japan, Germany and back home. A day before TSMC's results, key chipmaking gear supplier ASML Holding triggered anxiety across markets by walking back its growth forecast for 2026. Geopolitics and the global economy are sources of 'increasing uncertainty', chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet said. Its shares dropped more than 11 per cent. BLOOMBERG
