ASML raised its 2026 sales forecast to €43 billion-€45 billion after reporting €9.3 billion in second-quarter sales and €2.9 billion in profit. [1] The Dutch equipment maker is benefiting from customers expanding advanced-chip capacity. A separate report of TSMC resistance to equipment price increases remains unconfirmed by either company.
The paper's July 16 account said TSMC's $60 billion-$64 billion capital budget had not yet become installed tools, qualified capacity or shipped output. ASML's forecast adds supplier visibility to that chain. It does not identify each final order, configuration, delivery slot or negotiated price.
CNBC reported that ASML lifted guidance for the second time this year, from an earlier €36 billion-€40 billion range, and raised its expected gross margin to 54%-56%. Sales and profit exceeded analyst estimates. Chief executive Christophe Fouquet described first-half order intake as extremely strong and said customers were accelerating expansion plans. [1]
Those commitments matter because ASML is the only producer of extreme-ultraviolet lithography machines used for the most advanced semiconductors. Scarcity gives the supplier unusual leverage, but it does not make pricing friction impossible. Large customers still negotiate model, configuration, service, timing and volume across multiyear capital plans.
The assigned Google News feed surfaces specialist reports claiming that equipment price increases triggered TSMC pushback. [2] The feed does not contain a statement from ASML or TSMC confirming a dispute, a price proposal, an affected model or an order revision. The account must therefore remain attributed reporting, not a settled commercial fact.
That boundary changes the interpretation. If a customer objects to a proposed increase, it may still sign at another price, alter a configuration, shift delivery timing or negotiate service terms. If a supplier raises list prices, the change may not equal the realized price on every system. Without contracts, neither side's bargaining position can be converted into fab cost per wafer.
ASML plans to add 30% to its 2026 low-NA EUV capacity and 30% to its deep-ultraviolet immersion capacity. [1] Capacity expansion is itself staged. Factory space and labor must become completed machines; machines must be accepted by customers; installed tools must qualify at usable yields. Higher guidance describes expected sales, not instant capacity at TSMC or any other fab.
Geography adds another constraint. China supplied 14% of ASML's second-quarter sales, down from 19% in the first quarter, while South Korea supplied 43%. ASML still expected China to provide about 20% of annual sales despite tightening export controls. [1] Those shares describe where recognized sales occurred; they do not identify the customer or equipment behind the reported TSMC negotiation.
The market record also resists a simple triumph. ASML shares rose more than 7% at Wednesday's open before closing 0.49% lower, after having climbed 115% during the year. CNBC cited an analyst who considered expectations high and the shares somewhat overvalued. [1] Price action shows competing expectations, not proof that either supplier power or customer resistance has won.
The next useful disclosure is narrow: which equipment and service packages are under negotiation, what price change is proposed, whether an order or delivery date changes and whether either company acknowledges the disagreement. Until then, ASML has confirmed a stronger forecast. The reported TSMC price dispute remains precisely that: reported and unconfirmed.
-- DAVID CHEN, Beijing