The selloff in ASML and BESI on China's new immersion DUV tools is an overreaction with minimal real impact. China plans five units this year and 20 in 2027 for SMIC, Hua Hong and CXMT, under 4% of ASML's roughly 130 annual immersion DUV shipments. DUV can make 7nm chips via multi-patterning, but at higher cost, lower capacity and more alignment errors, and EUV is a fundamentally different technology. Nikon and Canon face the most pressure. x.com 

ASML's 6% drop on a report of Chinese immersion DUV mass production is no cause for panic. Per a Chinese semiconductor expert, the first-gen tool is five or six generations behind ASML's 1980-class machines, which Chinese fabs already stockpile, and SMEE's six dry DUV tools sold in 2023 never ran production. No Western fab is likely to qualify a Huawei-linked tool, the lost revenue was already exiting under export controls, and lithography isn't China's binding constraint. x.com  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 EUV R&D is starting to pay off through operating leverage. Q3 R&D fell as a share of sales, though one quarter is not a trend. Higher units, IBM sales and EUV/DUV prices put 2028 estimates well above the 2030 guide and ahead of consensus; shares look cheap at €1,530. Assuming 30% prepayment, liabilities imply €42-45bn of orders in 2026's first nine months, subject to invoicing lags. The proposed MATCH Act could restrict China sales; 2029-30 demand is less certain than 2028. x.com  x.com  … Show more

ASML's reaction to news that DUV mass production has started looks like an overreaction. x.com 

ASML could break down from here on the China news. x.com 

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's fears about Chinese competition are noise: China's claim to compete rests on 20-year-old DUV tools, while nobody else has ASML's EUV machines. ASML is a trillion-dollar monopoly with a 20-year head start, so there is no real competition. The broader tech selloff reflects worries such as Nvidia backstopping OpenAI's buildout and open-weight models like Kimi K3, which are more noise than signal; even good open models need massive infrastructure. 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'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