By Sam Boughedda
ASML Holdings (NASDAQ:ASML) shares fell over 3.5% in early Wednesday trading after the company reported first-quarter earnings, topping profit expectations but missing revenue forecasts.
The semiconductor company posted Q1 earnings per share (EPS) of €4.96 (€1 = $1.0970), €0.44 better than the analyst estimate of €4.52, while revenue for the quarter came in at €6.74 billion versus the consensus estimate of €6.79B. In addition, the company said it sees second-quarter revenue between €6.5B and €7B, versus the consensus of €7.05B.
Following the report, GlobalData analysts told clients in a note that ASML held "steady despite growing uncertainly around U.S. export bans and the economy."
"ASML's Q1 2023 results and outlook were strong, despite the growing uncertainty caused by bans on chip technology exports to China and the overall tech sector backdrop, including softening consumer demand and headcount reductions," they wrote.
Despite revenue missing expectations, they described the growth as strong and said that combined with a confident 2023 outlook, ASML is "very well positioned."
"Given the industry context of negative double-digit revenue declines at Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Micron (NASDAQ:MU), and Kioxia, if ASML delivers on its 25% revenue growth target for 2023, the company will have weathered this downturn considerably better than its peers. This will strengthen its position as a top-quality semiconductor stock in investors' minds."
Despite Wednesday's fall, ASML shares are up more than 10% in 2023. That year-to-date increase could have been even higher, but on Monday, ASML fell 4% after a report by Taiwan's Economic Daily News said Taiwan Semi intends to cut its capex target to a range of $28B to $32B this year.