ASML recorded no revenue from Europe in the first two quarters of 2026, according to figures cited from the lithography company’s earnings reports, sharpening concerns that the region’s semiconductor strategy is not generating near-term demand for its most important chipmaking-equipment supplier.
Frank Heemskerk, ASML’s executive vice president of public affairs, told a panel at Amsterdam cultural center De Balie that the company was selling no equipment in Europe because investment and new factory construction were not producing orders. Europe represented 1% of ASML revenue in 2025, after 5% in 2024, 4% in 2023 and 2% in 2022, according to investor presentations cited in the report.
The warning is not a claim that every European semiconductor project has stopped. Intel operates Fab 34 in Ireland and has announced a €5 billion expansion there. European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, backed by TSMC, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, is building a roughly €15 billion factory near Dresden. Infineon opened a €5 billion power-semiconductor facility in Dresden in July, while GlobalFoundries began another expansion of its Dresden operation in March.
Those projects, however, are generally focused on process technologies and products that do not require the newest and most expensive extreme-ultraviolet or High-NA EUV scanners. That distinction matters to ASML, the sole supplier of EUV lithography systems. A factory investment can strengthen regional production without immediately becoming a customer for the company’s leading-edge equipment.
Heemskerk argued that European policy should address demand, not only subsidize the supply side. His proposal is for governments to help bring large chip buyers into closer contact with European manufacturers and use the region’s combined market power to encourage local sourcing. Industrial artificial intelligence was one area he identified as an opportunity requiring collective organization. ASML has raised the issue in discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he said.
The company’s position highlights a structural challenge for the European Union’s chip ambitions. Subsidies can help finance factories, but manufacturers also need customers willing to buy the output before they can justify additional capacity and tooling. Some chips made in Europe are also sent elsewhere for packaging, leaving parts of the production chain outside the region.
ASML’s zero-share result covers the first half of the year rather than a final full-year total, and the existing factory projects could generate future equipment sales. For now, the figures show a gap between long-term investment announcements and immediate orders for lithography machinery in ASML’s home region.
