A New Chapter in *Chip War*! ASML Starts with €8.8 Billion

If the global semiconductor industry were viewed as an ultra-long-term RPG, ASML would be the NPC in the party holding the ultimate forging station. Its financial report for the first quarter of 2026 feels like the settlement screen for a main quest: net sales of 8.8 billion euros, approximately RMB 70.8 billion, a gross margin of 53.0%, and net profit of 2.8 billion euros. These numbers are not merely a financial screenshot; they are more like a message to players that the talent tree for advanced processes is still being lit up at full speed.

This quarter, ASML sold a total of 79 lithography systems, including 67 brand-new machines and 12 professionally refurbished second-hand systems. This mix is quite interesting: new machines represent top-tier players continuing to challenge high-end dungeons, while refurbished units are like gear upgrades for mid- and backline guilds, helping more production lines maintain combat effectiveness. The original text mentions that ASML is “the only company in the world capable of supplying extreme ultraviolet lithography machines.” Placed on the industry map, that statement is almost equivalent to saying it holds the only legendary orange weapon.

Judging from its guidance, ASML is not stepping on the brakes. The company expects net sales in the second quarter of 2026 to be between 8.4 billion and 9.0 billion euros, with gross margin remaining between 51% and 52%, and R&D expenses expected to reach 1.2 billion euros. For the full year, it has set a net sales target of 36 billion to 40 billion euros, with gross margin expected to be between 51% and 53%. This set of expectations reads like a clear seasonal roadmap: short-term fluctuations remain, but equipment upgrades and skill development will not stop.

For gamers, this kind of news is not far removed from graphics cards, handhelds, or consoles. The pace of chip manufacturing will eventually feed through to GPUs, CPUs, memory, and various end devices—it just won’t show up as quickly as a game update patch note the next day. If advanced process expansion goes smoothly, the energy efficiency and supply of high-performance hardware may improve in the future; if any link in the supply chain gets stuck, the familiar cycles of shortages, price hikes, and launch-day rushes may also return.

My observation is that what is truly worth watching in ASML’s financial report is not “how much it earned,” but that it still stands at a critical gateway of technological evolution. The delivery of 79 systems, a quarterly R&D budget of 1.2 billion euros, and full-year sales expectations of 36 billion to 40 billion euros together form an industry-level quest board. For gamers and hardware enthusiasts, the short-term buying advice remains practical: don’t expect graphics card prices to drop immediately just because of one financial report. But if you are paying attention to next-generation consoles, AI PCs, or high-end graphics cards, these upstream signals are worth keeping an eye on over the long term.