Industry group SEMI projects sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment will climb 9% to $126 billion in 2026. Sales are expected to rise an additional 7.3% to $135 billion in 2027.
This growth is driven by chipmakers expanding capacity to meet surging demand for logic and memory chips used in artificial intelligence. Key markets for this expansion remain China, Taiwan, and South Korea.
ASML, the dominant supplier of lithography systems, is a primary beneficiary of this long-term trend. Separately, investment bank Barclays reaffirmed its "neutral" rating on ASML stock on the same day.
Despite the positive industry forecast, European tech shares were subdued. This performance was influenced by lingering valuation concerns and a report detailing China’s progress in developing domestic chip capabilities.