microchip ©Jon Sullivan
ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares fell 3.3% on Thursday after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (NYSE:TSM) indicated it will delay using the company’s most advanced lithography systems.
TSMC, ASML’s biggest customer according to Bloomberg supply chain data, said it does not plan to introduce ASML’s high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (high-NA EUV) machines into production before 2029. Each unit carries a price tag of more than €350 million ($410 million).
TSMC Deputy Co-Chief Operating Officer Kevin Zhang told reporters that the company will continue relying on its existing EUV technology, describing the newer high-NA EUV systems as “very, very expensive.”
Zhang made the remarks while confirming that TSMC’s next-generation A13 chip is expected to enter production in 2029.
The postponement could complicate ASML’s roadmap, as the Dutch company had expected its high-NA EUV tools to begin large-scale deployment between 2027 and 2028.
ASML is targeting revenue of up to €60 billion by 2030, with investor sentiment closely tied to the pace of adoption of its next-generation equipment.
Analysts at Bernstein said the development “probably shouldn’t be a surprise,” noting that TSMC had already signaled last year that it would not use high-NA EUV for its A14 process node.
They added that the baseline expectation has long been for adoption to occur at the A10 node around 2030. While there had been speculation that TSMC might introduce the technology for limited layers in 2029, analysts described that view as “more speculative” due to limited supporting evidence.
“While HNA adoption is viewed as a major milestone, it’s probably neutral, or even positive, for ASML to have slower HNA,” the analysts said.
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