ASML Clinches Fresh Buy Ratings as Intel Hits One Million Wafers on High-NA EUV
Published on 09/26/2026 at 22:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
ASML shares closed Friday at EUR 1,527.20, capping a week in which the Dutch lithography giant collected fresh buy recommendations from two major Wall Street houses and confirmed that its most advanced machines are now running in volume production at Intel Foundry.
Barclays reaffirmed its buy rating on the stock Tuesday, while analysts at Bank of America Securities reiterated their own bullish call on September 20. The endorsements extend a run that has lifted the equity 66% since the start of the year, keeping ASML at the head of Europe's technology sector despite periodic bouts of consolidation.
The stock added 0.9% on the day of the EUR 1,527.20 close, buoyed by a sector-wide lift after Anthropic, an artificial intelligence developer, struck an USD 11.6 billion cloud-computing agreement with Akamai. That deal eased concerns that had surfaced shortly beforehand about a possible slowdown in global infrastructure spending.
High-NA EUV Reaches Volume Production
The technical milestone underpinning the bullish case came on September 8, when ASML and Intel Foundry reported significant progress in bringing High-NA EUV systems into volume manufacturing. More than one million wafers have already passed through the tools at Intel Foundry, covering tool certification, testing, research work and the production of selected layers for Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, codenamed Panther Lake.
ASML is also probing applications beyond conventional chipmaking. On September 9, the company announced a partnership with Xanadu Quantum Technologies to develop lithography processes for photonic quantum hardware, targeting the reduction of optical losses in chips built for quantum computers.
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At home, the group broke ground on September 8 at the Brainport Industries Campus Noord for a second major industrial campus in the Netherlands. The site will be developed in stages to cover roughly 350,000 square meters and accommodate as many as 20,000 jobs. The first construction phase is scheduled for completion in 2029, with room for at least 3,000 employees.
Heemskerk Flags European Gap
Not every signal from the company was expansionary. Executive Vice President Frank Heemskerk said Tuesday that ASML currently sells no lithography machines in Europe, citing insufficient investment and a shortage of new fab projects on the continent. He warned that Europe risks falling behind other semiconductor regions.
The company is meanwhile courting fresh growth further afield. Mid-month, ASML showcased its lithography and inspection systems at the SEMICON India trade fair and set out plans to open a customer service office in the country.
Washington Talks and the MATCH Act
Geopolitical questions continue to shape the outlook for the Dutch supplier. On Thursday, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten discussed the draft US MATCH Act and possible additional export restrictions on ASML with President Donald Trump. The legislative proposal aims to further limit sales of immersion DUV machines to China. Jetten said after the meeting he was confident a common agreement could be reached on the matter.
Buyback and the October Print
ASML kept up its capital return program through the period. Between September 14 and 18, the company repurchased 304,500 of its own shares for a total of EUR 427,767,898. Media reports also noted further tranches bought in mid-September under the same program.
Attention now turns to the third-quarter 2026 earnings report, due October 14. Investors are expected to focus on order intake and on how well the heavy spending on manufacturing capacity and new sites is translating into earnings.
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