ASML.US (ASML.US) falls to the “throne” SAP (SAP.US) becomes Europe's highest market capitalization technology company

The Zhitong Finance App noticed that due to lower performance expectations, the stock price of lithography giant ASML.US (ASML.US) plummeted, and its position as the most valuable technology company in Europe was replaced by software company SAP (SAP.US).

On Tuesday, Asmack lowered its performance guidelines on the grounds of delays in chip factory construction, which shocked investors. The company's market value evaporated by more than 60 billion euros (65.3 billion US dollars). The company also received about half of the orders expected by analysts in the third quarter.

The 16% drop is Asmack's biggest drop in 26 years. Like Nokia and Vodafone Group when the internet bubble burst more than 20 years ago, it is one of the biggest single-day losses in Europe.

Meanwhile, thanks to a significant increase in cloud computing revenue, SAP's stock price has risen 52% this year. Part of the increase is due to growing demand for artificial intelligence applications. The last time Asmack lagged behind SAP in terms of market capitalization was in 2020.

SAP announced a restructuring plan this year as part of its efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into SAP software to help enterprise customers be more efficient. The company will announce third-quarter results next Monday.

As of press release, SAP shares rose 1.1% to €212.15, with a market capitalization of €261 billion.

Since reaching record levels in July, Asmack's stock price has fallen by more than one-third due to the possibility that the US may impose more restrictions on its business in China and the overall weakness of the semiconductor industry. The index fell 5% on Wednesday.

Its customer, Intel, is cutting expenses through restructuring, including plans to postpone factories in Germany and Poland, and customers of memory chip manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics are also closely monitoring their own expenses.

The downturn in the chip industry has led to a sharp drop in Asmack orders

Asmack's poor performance, and the company mistakenly released financial results one day earlier, which exacerbated the company's weak results. Asmack said in a statement that the early release of earnings “was due to a technical error.” The company will hold a conference call with investors on Wednesday at 3 p.m., in Amsterdam.