Globally critical chip firm ASML jumps 6% after earnings; sees limited impact from U.S. China curbs

Shares of ASML, 1 of the world's astir important firms successful the semiconductor proviso chain, jumped 6% connected Wednesday aft reporting beardown net that bucked the inclination of a slowdown successful the spot industry.

The Dutch institution besides said that the latest export curbs connected high-end chips to China would person a "limited" interaction connected its business.

ASML does not marque chips. Instead, it sells $200 cardinal utmost ultraviolet lithography machines to semiconductor manufacturers similar Taiwan's TSMC, which are required to marque the astir precocious chips. It is the lone institution successful the satellite making specified machines, giving it a de-facto monopoly connected this portion of the proviso concatenation and making it 1 of the astir important firms successful the semiconductor industry.

ASML said Wednesday gross for the 3rd 4th of 2022 came successful astatine 5.77 billon euros ($5.6 billion), beating analysts forecast of 5.41 cardinal euros, according to Reuters. That was a 10% year-on-year rise.

Net nett totaled 1.7 cardinal euros versus forecasts of 1.42 cardinal euros, a 2.2% alteration versus the aforesaid play past year, but higher erstwhile compared to the 2nd 4th of this year.

Shares of spot firms person been battered successful 2022 amid a slowdown successful growth among companies similar Samsung and Micron arsenic the semiconductor roar hits a wall. ASML shares are down astir 40% truthful acold this year.

But the beardown results from ASML bucked the broader marketplace slowdown, sending shares much than 6% higher successful European greeting trade.

"This is simply a classical lawsuit of ASML's comparative resilience versus the remainder of its peers coming to the fore," Amit Harchandani, caput of European exertion equity research at Citi, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" connected Wednesday.

"This spot wide that ASML sees … we would accidental is much a reflection of the comparative positioning of the institution arsenic opposed to the broader semiconductor rhythm ... The broader rhythm decidedly seems to beryllium going done a downward signifier now."

Peter Wennink, CEO of ASML said Wednesday determination is "uncertainty successful the marketplace owed to a fig of planetary macro-economic concerns including inflation, user assurance and the hazard of a recession."

"While we are starting to spot diverging request dynamics per marketplace segment, the wide request for our systems continues to beryllium strong."

The U.S. has precocious introduced sweeping rules aimed astatine cutting China disconnected from obtaining oregon manufacturing precocious chips which could beryllium utilized successful applications specified arsenic supercomputers.

As portion of those rules, Washington restricted "U.S. persons" that enactment the improvement oregon accumulation of definite chips successful China, including those for subject uses, doing truthful without a license.

ASML told U.S. employees past week to halt servicing Chinese customers arsenic a result.

ASML's Wennink said the institution is "continuing to measure and travel the caller US export power regulations."

"Based connected our archetypal assessment, the caller restrictions bash not amend the rules governing lithography instrumentality shipped by ASML retired of the Netherlands and we expect the nonstop interaction connected ASML's wide 2023 shipment program to beryllium limited."

ASML's machines are captious for firms wanting to marque the astir precocious chips. If Chinese chipmakers can't get their hands connected the tool, it volition beryllium incredibly hard for them to drawback up to the likes of TSMC.