Chip-Equipment Supplier ASM International Lifts Guidance Again Amid AI Spending Frenzy — Update

By Mauro Orru

ASM International raised its sales forecasts for next year once again as companies invest heavily in semiconductors and the tools needed to produce them to keep up with soaring demand for artificial intelligence.

The Dutch group, which supplies chip makers with wafer processing equipment for the deposition of thin films, said revenue next year should exceed 5.7 billion euros, equivalent to $6.37 billion. The upgrade comes three months after the group boosted its 2027 projections.

In September last year, ASM International set a 2027 revenue target between 3.7 billion euros and 4.6 billion euros. In July, it boosted that goal, saying revenue would exceed the top end of that range.

The race to build AI infrastructure--backed by hundreds of billions of dollars in investment commitments from the world's largest tech companies--is fueling demand for advanced chips and, consequently, for the tools needed to make more of them.

"The continued build-out of AI infrastructure is driving significant capacity requirements across the industry," Chief Executive Hichem M'Saad said. "Capacity remains tight across our customer base, and customers are moving quickly to increase output."

The company said it expected logic and foundry customers--those seeking to produce the integrated circuits that power everything from smartphones to computers and data centers--to be the strongest growth driver next year.

ASM International said the 2027 guidance boost meant it now expected to achieve the revenue target it had set in 2025 for the end of the decade three years ahead of schedule.

The company, like other suppliers of chip-making gear, has emerged as a beneficiary of the AI spending surge. Its stock is up over 40% since January despite recent jitters that exposed chip stocks to wild swings as investors worry about the scale of AI spending, rising interest rates and heavy debt burdens.

Earlier this month, ASM International's larger rival, ASML Holding, lifted its 2026 guidance for the third time and said it was looking at ways to further boost output of its semiconductor-making machines to meet demand.

As companies hoard semiconductors to power data centers, certain types of chips are in short supply. Micron Technology Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra said last month that supplies of memory and storage chips would be much tighter in the coming years.

ASM International posted third-quarter sales of 1.16 billion euros, up 44% on year at constant currencies and above analysts' forecast of 1.10 billion euros, according to Visible Alpha. For the current quarter, ASM International expects sales of about 1.23 billion euros against a Visible Alpha forecast of 1.19 billion euros.

The company posted a net profit of 308.1 million euros compared with 384.1 million euros a year earlier. Gross profit--a closely watched metric of pricing power and profitability--came in at 603.2 million euros, generating a 52% margin. Analysts had forecast a net profit of 299.2 million euros and a gross profit of 560 million euros, according to Visible Alpha.

The group said its management board had authorized a new share buyback program of up to 300 million euros as part of efforts to return cash to shareholders.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2026 14:00 ET (18:00 GMT)