ASML (ASML, Financial) shares edged nearly 6% lower on Wednesday morning after the chip equipment maker's latest sales outlook failed to meet analysts' projections, even as quarterly profit topped expectations.
The Dutch firm posted first-quarter earnings per share of 6 euros, beating the consensus estimate of 5.74 euros. Revenue came in at 7.74 billion euros, up from 5.29 billion euros a year earlier but still narrowly missing the 7.77 billion-euro forecast.
ASML guided for second-quarter revenue in the range of 7.2 billion to 7.7 billion euros, falling short of the 7.80 billion euros analysts had been anticipating. The company held its full-year sales target steady at 30 billion to 35 billion euros, slightly below the market's midpoint expectation of 32.49 billion euros.
The gap between market projections and the company's guidance highlights the volatility tied to the semiconductor cycle and investor wariness over demand recovery timing.
