ASML Soars Above $500 Billion Value on TSMC’s Upbeat Outlook

(Bloomberg) — ASML Holding NV shares soared to a record high, sending its market value beyond $500 billion, after its key customer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gave a stronger-than-anticipated outlook for 2026.

The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker rose as much as 7.6% on Thursday in Amsterdam, extending its year-to-date gain to 24%. ASML is only the third European company to reach the $500 billion milestone after luxury conglomerate LVMH and Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S.

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ASML surged over the symbolic level after TSMC on Thursday forecast capital spending to rise to as much as $56 billion in 2026, more than expected, showing how the chipmaker is benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom.

“The milestone means a lot for the market sentimentally,” said Barclays Plc strategist Emmanuel Cau. “Europe is a small market, so if ASML as a major stock goes up, the broader market will automatically benefit. The rally in ASML also gives European investors a gateway to play the mainstream AI trade.”

TSMC’s outlook provides fresh optimism for sustained global AI spending in 2026 after recent signs of volatility in the so-called AI trade. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been committed to build the data centers needed to train and run AI, fueling growth among companies ranging from water chiller manufacturers to chip makers.

ASML has grown to be Europe’s most valuable company as the only producer of cutting-edge lithography machines that TSMC needs to manufacture chips used in everything from Apple Inc.’s smartphones to Nvidia Corp.’s artificial intelligence accelerators.

“This is ultimately a very positive start to the earnings season for the tech giants,” said Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot. “These results give us a good indication of what we are likely to see from both the chips companies and the semicap equipment providers.”

Veldhoven, Netherlands-based ASML is due to report its 2025 results on Jan. 28.

–With assistance from Sagarika Jaisinghani and Michael Msika.

(Updates with details from second paragraph.)