Chip tool maker ASM expects to exceed 2027 sales goal on strong AI demand, CEO says

By Nathan Vifflin

Oct 28 (Reuters) - ASM International will beat its 2027 sales forecast as unprecedented AI investment drives demand for its chip tools, although supply-chain constraints could cap some of the upside, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

The company said on Tuesday it would reach its 2030 sales target three years early, driven by AI-related capacity investments, and forecast fourth-quarter revenue above expectations.

CEO Hichem M'Saad told Reuters that ASM had "very good visibility" on orders into 2028, with some customers sharing roadmaps out to 2030.

"We're going to achieve greater than 5.7. How much greater in a way, it really depends on many factors. One of them is really the supply chain," M'Saad said in an interview, adding that parts of it were "a little bit stressed out".

ASM has enough manufacturing capacity but depends on suppliers for parts, and "there is certainly some risk," CFO Paul Verhagen told analysts on a conference call later on Wednesday.

Its shares were up 3% in mid-morning trade, taking their year-to-date gains to 48%.

AI CHIP DEMAND SUPPORTS GROWTH BEYOND 2027

M’Saad said the biggest growth driver was the next-generation 1.4-nanometre node, which needs more of ASM’s deposition layers and where its market share is higher.

"We see this as the first inning of a cycle," he said.

Memory growth this year and next comes mainly from new capacity, with recent wins on newer technology entering production from 2028. "Our golden age in memory hasn't even started," he said. M’Saad called the gross margin of around 52% "a floor for the future", despite rising supplier prices. "I don’t think it’s going to go down," he said.

China sales, focused on older technologies due to export controls, grew in 2026, but "our growth is happening outside of China, because the leading edge is happening outside of China," M'Saad said.

Verhagen told analysts China demand would be similar in 2027, adding that the proposed U.S. MATCH Act to curb chip tool sales there "will have an impact, but we're not going to speculate on how much."

($1 = 0.8993 euros)

(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk, editing by Anna Pruchnicka and Matt Scuffham)