ASML Smashes Earnings Estimates with Record Orders Amid AI Boom, Announces Job Cuts

ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment giant, has reported a massive surge in quarterly orders, far exceeding market expectations, fueled by an insatiable global demand for artificial intelligence chips. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings for 2025 revealed that net bookings for its advanced lithography systems, essential for producing the world's most powerful semiconductors, hit a new record. This boom is directly tied to investments from major chipmakers scaling up production for AI data centres and next-generation computing.

Alongside the stellar financial results, which also showed a significant year-over-year increase in sales, ASML announced a strategic restructuring plan. This initiative includes cutting approximately 1,700 jobs, primarily at its headquarters in the Netherlands, as part of an effort to optimise operational costs and sharpen its long-term focus.

The contrasting moves highlight the company's position at the heart of the global technology supply chain: capitalising on a historic market upswing while proactively managing its business for future cycles. The record backlog underscores robust confidence in sustained demand for advanced chipmaking tools, even as geopolitical tensions and export controls add complexity to the global semiconductor landscape.