Crash chip stocks! The number of orders in the third quarter fell short of market expectations, and ASML.US (ASML.US) plummeted by more than 16%

The Zhitong Finance App learned that ASML.US (ASML.US) US stocks dived straight in the intraday period and were temporarily suspended during trading in Amsterdam. As of press release, the stock was down more than 16% to $727. The company's third-quarter performance was in full swing. Sales and gross margin were in line with expectations, but orders fell short of half of market expectations, and sales targets for next year were lowered. According to financial reports, the company's total net sales for the quarter were about 7.5 billion euros, up 20% month-on-month; analysts expected 7.17 billion euros; net profit was about 2.1 billion euros, up 32% month-on-month, and expected 1.91 billion euros; and gross margin was 50.8%. Asmack's third-quarter orders were 2.63 billion euros, down 53% from the previous quarter, falling far short of market expectations of 5.39 billion euros.

Asmack expects total net sales for the fourth quarter of 2024 to be between 8.8 billion and 9.2 billion euros, and gross margin between 49% and 50%, which is basically in line with expectations. Total net sales for the full year of 2024 are expected to reach around 28 billion euros.

However, the company lowered its growth forecast for 2025, especially demand for EUV devices. Due to customer caution about new technology nodes and the slow recovery of the logic chip market, the timing of EUV demand was delayed, causing the company's expectations for the future to fall below the previously given range. Asmack expects total net sales in 2025 to be between 30 billion and 35 billion euros, which is in the lower middle of the analysts' estimated range. Analysts expect 35.94 billion euros; gross margin will remain at 51% to 53%, and the company originally expected about 54%-56%.

Christophe Fouquet, president and CEO of Asmack, said in a statement: “While strong developments in the field of artificial intelligence have brought some upward potential, recovery in other markets has been slower than expected, leading customers to be more cautious. Especially in the field of logic chips, due to intense competition in foundries, the promotion of new nodes has slowed down, and the demand schedule for lithography equipment has changed as a result.”

The company also announced that it will pay an interim dividend of €1.52 per share on November 7, 2024. Additionally, the company did not make any share repurchases in the third quarter. Shares of Europe's most valuable technology company have dropped 30% since hitting a record high in July. The reason is that the US may impose more restrictions on business in other countries, and the overall weakness of the industry.

Chip stocks followed Asmack's decline on Tuesday, with Nvidia (NVDA.US) falling more than 4%, the biggest intraday decline since September 6; AMD (AMD.US) fell more than 4%, Micron Technology (MU.US) fell more than 2.5%, and TSM.US (TSM.US) fell more than 2%.