- Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) reports second-quarter revenue of €4.02B with earnings of €2.52 per share, topping the consensus estimates of €4.12B and €2.49, respectively. Sales were up 21% on last year's quarter.
- Gross margin was 50.9%, above the company's prior guidance primarily due to higher revenue in software upgrades as customers move to increase capacity quickly amid the global semiconductor shortage.
- The company sold 69 of its new lithography machines, used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, during the second quarter, down from 73 units in the first quarter. ASML sold 3 used lithography machines, matching the prior quarter.
- ASML also announced a new €9B share buyback program as part of the company's commitment to return excess cash to shareholders. The new program runs from July 22, 2021, through the end of 2023. The program replaces the existing authorization that was launched in 2020.
- "The demand continues to be high across all market segments and our product portfolio. This is a reflection of the market that is focused on increasing capacity to support the build-up of the digital infrastructure. The long-term demand is not only for advanced nodes, but also for legacy and mature nodes in Logic as well as Memory. We are working to maximize output and we currently expect net sales growth by around 35% in 2021 compared to last year with an expected gross margin between 51% and 52%," says CEO Peter Wennink.
- For Q3, the company expects revenue of €5.2-5.4B, above the €4.68B consensus, and gross margin between 51% and 52%.
- U.S.-traded shares of ASML are up 2.6% pre-market.
- Earnings press release.