ASML still patiently waiting for the upswing

Hopeful developments at major customers haven’t yet made their way into ASML’s books. Q1 order intake at the semiconductor equipment manufacturer came in at 3.6 billion euros, miles below the previous quarter’s 9.2 billion euros. Sales were down, too, by 20 percent compared to the same period last year.

Nonetheless, the upswing has set in, CFO Roger Dassen assured in an interview published alongside the quarterly report. Pointing to rising tool utilization and normalizing inventory levels, he said that “it’s pretty clear that the industry is in its upturn.” It’s only a matter of time, then, before things start to look up. “We expect an industry recovery over the course of 2024,” added soon-to-be-CEO Christophe Fouquet, who made his debut on the earning call.