ASML's growth path loses momentum on news that TSMC can make some chips without ASML's machines. x.com 

ASML faces moat erosion now that China has a homegrown alternative to its machines. The Information reports a state-backed Shanghai company has started mass-producing DUV lithography tools. Chinese fabs stockpiling older DUV tools had become a major revenue driver, with China at 36% of sales in 2024 and 29% last year. Output is tiny, about five machines this year and maybe twenty next. But once a second supplier exists, the question shifts from "no alternative" to "for how long." x.com 

ASML's planned 2027-28 output cannot meet customer demand, supporting a Buy rating and €1,830 target. Long-term customer down payments rose from €3.6bn to €9.3bn; customers seek 2029-30 orders that ASML has not accepted. Critical-tool price rises begin in 2027, with full effect in 2028, but are not meant to recur annually. Q3 EPS excluding a €509.7m investment gain still beat consensus. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

Lam Research's record results suggest the equipment cycle is not ending despite its stock selloff. Revenue reached $8.22B, up 54% year over year and over 20% sequentially, while EPS rose 75%; ASML and TSMC also report customers needing more tools. Overweight with a $355 target and 35% upside, but the selloff is a gift only if Lam guides December higher. x.com  x.com 

Requests for ASML lithography-tool slots as far out as 2030 signal years of locked-in downstream AI infrastructure spending plans. ASML's machines come before the chips, making those customer requests a clearer early demand signal than chip headlines. x.com 

ASML's growing installed base generates recurring service revenue that raises its revenue floor during industry downturns. Fiscal.ai's chart shows quarterly service and field option revenue of 3,289 million in September 2026. ASML's CEO says planned supply for 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet customer demand, and the company is exploring capacity beyond the previously communicated 30% increase for 2028. x.com  x.com 

TSMC may lose pricing power as performance gains shift from shrinking transistors to stacking, interconnects and optics, while logic folding could make older processes competitive. Despite strong leading-edge demand, investors may overestimate the profit share its node leadership can retain. Its cautious expansion and past reluctance toward advanced packaging suggest a risk-averse culture that protects returns but could leave it late to disruptive technologies and key customers. x.com 

ASML may have topped, since semicap thrives on shortage and would be hit hardest in an overbuild. Then earnings acceleration from memory and fab projects stops or reverses; the labs' leading-edge chase may be at its apex, positioning is bullish and the moat is threatened. Bullishness on Korean, US and Taiwan fab projects makes sense for now. But if the cycle top is confirmed and labs change how they chase the frontier, or token deflation kills some labs, the shortage can end sooner. x.com  x.com  … Show more

ASML cannot make enough EUV machines to meet demand, which it says will outrun supply through 2028. Its 2026 sales guide rose from €34-39 billion to €44-45 billion, and gross margin hit 57.5%. The combination of an EUV monopoly, demand outrunning supply and growing pricing power is rare. x.com 

ASML lacks the growth it needs, even though @mzuhair123 makes a good case that High-NA going mainstream by decade-end will strengthen its Dutch hegemony. x.com