ASM shares rose as much as 5.8% to €722.20 in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
“We stand ready to support our customers as they expand capacity and drive innovation to meet the multi-year surge in AI data centre demand,” CEO Hichem M’Saad said in the statement.
Almere, Netherlands-headquartered ASM, like the much larger Dutch lithography-gear maker ASML Holding NV, is a beneficiary of the investment boom in AI infrastructure. The rapid development of data centres has led to semiconductor manufacturers boosting capacity, in turn stoking demand for chip-equipment makers’ products.
ASM makes tools that deposit thin film layers on wafers, a step that’s essential to the process of making chips. It is capitalising on the industry’s shift to so-called gate-all-around device architecture, where its machines can deposit layers that are one atom thick to make more energy-efficient chips.
See also: ASM outlook beats estimates as AI boom drives tool demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, one of ASM’s largest customers, in January outlined plans for as much as US$56 billion in capital spending this year. ASM then announced a stronger-than-anticipated preliminary order intake for the fourth quarter, driven by “solid” bookings from logic customers and a rebound in demand from China.
ASM said it now expects sales in China to increase in 2026, calling it “a notable improvement” from its prior forecast of a double‑digit decline.
“Most of any positive surprise on guidance is China driven,” Barclays analyst Simon Coles said in a note Wednesday.
See also: Beyond Intel: AEM’s next chapter is taking shape
The company will stop disclosing quarterly bookings and backlog starting this quarter but will provide the backlog at year-end.
Net income last quarter was €166.1 million, the company said, beating estimates. ASM also announced a share buyback of as much as €150 million from 2026 to 2027. The full-year dividend of €3.25 for 2025 missed estimates.
It has announced plans to invest in a facility in Almere that is set to be its new global headquarters, including an R&D centre and product development operations. The expansion is aimed at supporting ASM’s target of reaching more than €5.7 billion in sales by 2030.
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
