Tech giant ASML announces record orders in boost for AI boom
Dutch firm says it expects strong growth in 2026, countering fears of an investment bubble. Tech giant ASML has reported a quarterly record in orders of its chip-making equipment, boosting hopes for the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom and countering fears of an investment bubble. The Dutch firm said on Wednesday that it booked orders worth 13.2 billion euros ($15.8bn) in the final quarter of 2025, more than half of which were for its most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list ASML logged orders worth 7 million euros during the same period the previous year. Net sales came to 9.7 billion euros in the October-December period, ASML said, taking sales for all of 2025 to 32.7 billion euros. Net profit for the year was 9.6 billion euros, up from 7.6 billion euros in 2024. The Veldhoven-based company forecast net sales of between 34 billion euros and 39 billion euros in 2026. ASML Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said the company’s chip-making customers had conveyed a “notably more positive assessment” of the market situation in the medium term based on expectations of strong AI-related demand. “This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake,” Fouquet said in a statement. “Therefore, we expect 2026 to be another growth year for ASML’s business, largely driven by a significant increase in EUV sales and growth in our installed base business sales.” Fouquet also said the company would cut about 1,700 jobs, most of them at the leadership level, amid concerns work processes had become “less agile”. Advertisement “Engineers in particular have expressed their desire to focus their time on engineering, without being hampered by slow process flows, and restore the fast-moving culture that has made us so successful,” Fouquet said. The proposed cuts, which would affect positions in the Netherlands and the United States, represent about 4 percent of ASML’s 44,000-strong global workforce. ASML holds an effective monopoly on the production of machinery used by TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and Intel to make the most advanced AI chips. The company sells only about 50 of its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines each year, with each unit costing about 250 million euros. ASML’s share price surged on Wednesday, with its stock up nearly 6 percent as of 9.30am local time. “ASML’s latest results suggest the AI boom is still in full swing, with strong orders and a bullish outlook,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “However, job cuts in the business would suggest it is not getting carried away with the strength of current trading.” ASML’s restructuring “looks like a sharper focus on efficiencies and different ways of working, rather than saying there isn’t enough work for existing staff to do,” Mould added. “Nonetheless, it’s a sign that the AI craze might be trying to catch its breath.” Tech giants such as Meta, OpenAI, Nvidia and Oracle have poured billions of dollars into AI in the expectation that the technology will deliver dramatic changes to how people work and live. Global AI-related spending is forecast to hit $2.53 trillion in 2026 and $3.33 trillion in 2027, according to projections by technology insights firm Gartner. The investment boom has propelled the US stock market to record highs, stoking concerns about the sustainability of huge spending on a technology whose promise remains largely unrealised. Adblock test (Why?)
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar dies: How did aircraft crashed, here’s what we know so far
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, four others dies after the aircraft crashed in the Pune district on January 28. Here’s what we know so far
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Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has been confirmed dead in a major plane crash after the aircraft was attempting to make a landing in Baramati, Pune but lost control and crashed. Along with Ajit Pawar, five others including his PSO, pilots and crew members are also reportedly dead. One of the pilot was Capt. Shambhavi Pathak.
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Who is Altafhusen Ghanchibhai alias Shakil? Key accused sentenced to 5.5 years imprisonment, Rs 5000 fine in Pakistan espionage case
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The Ajit Pawar Era: Key policies that defined his tenure in Maharashtra | Know in 10 points
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Top Dem fundraiser slammed for honoring Nazi officer in social media post: ‘Disturbing trend’
A top Democratic fundraiser in Michigan is taking heat for a Veteran’s Day social media post in which she honored her grandfather, who served as an officer in the Nazi military forces during World War II. Kelly Neumann, a fundraising host for Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson and senatorial candidate Mallory McMorrow, honored her grandfather, Albert Neumann, a WWII German military officer whom she called “one of my best friends.” In a 2024 Veterans Day post on Facebook that features pictures of a man wearing a Nazi uniform, Neumann praised her grandfather, writing, “His story is a true testament that people can change and love can indeed win.” The post appears to have been removed from Neumann’s account following Fox News Digital’s request for comment. EXPERT WARNS DEMOCRATS RISK BACKLASH OVER FAILURE TO CONDEMN VIOLENT RHETORIC IN THEIR RANKS Neumann wrote in the post, “Happy Veterans Day to all my friends and family who serve/served! Without you, America would not be here today.” “I do not talk much about [him] much but my Grandfather, Albert Neumann was on the German side in WWI and WWII,” she went on. “He escaped to Brazil with my Father after Germany lost in WWII and then made their way to Detroit where they spoke no English and worked their way to provide a stable life for their family.” “My grandfather was one of my best friends,” she wrote. “He was one of the first people in my life that accepted me as gay when I was nervous and scared.” “I’ll never forget him embracing me and loving me for who I am,” Neumann continued, concluding, “His story is a true testament that people can change and love can indeed win.” The post sparked outrage online after resurfacing. Los Angeles rabbi and author David Wolpe commented, “This is so outrageous I had to double check it wasn’t a hoax.” Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Aric Nesbitt wrote, “I guess escaping justice for war crimes, death camps, genocide, and Nazi salutes is okay as long as you’re a far left extremist in the end.” “Michigan wants off this ride,” Nesbitt added. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., reacted, “When Democrats tell you who they are, believe them.” “Unsurprisingly, the party that falsely smears Republicans as ‘Nazis’ HONORS ACTUAL NAZIS,” wrote McClain. “That tells you everything about the state of the Democrat party today.” ARIZONA DEM TEARS INTO HER OWN PARTY OVER TREND THAT SHE DEEMS ANTISEMITIC: ‘SICK AND TIRED’ Neumann, Benson and McMorrow did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Benson currently serves as Michigan secretary of state, and McMorrow is a state senator running for the U.S. Senate. In addition to being a fundraiser, Neumann has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Michigan Democrats, including Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Debbie Stabenow. Though she did not address Neumann’s Nazi Facebook post, McMorrow posted on X on Tuesday that “on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 81 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945, we remember the six million Jews and countless others killed by the Nazis.” “The Holocaust attempted to exterminate an entire people – their lives, culture, families – by perpetuating a cycle of hatred, antisemitism, dehumanization and lies,” wrote McMorrow. “Today we recommit to fighting against antisemitism and hate in all its forms so these horrors may never happen again.” Last October, both Benson and McMorrow were criticized for headlining a “unity dinner” event that featured equating supporters of President Donald Trump with Nazis. The sign, displayed by local Democrats, said “MAGA=NAZI” and “86 47.” The number “86” originated in restaurants to mean “cancel” or “throw out,” but in underworld slang, it is frequently used as a call sign for murdering someone. The number “47” is commonly interpreted as denoting the 47th president of the United States, Trump. TRUMP ADMIN MARKS INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY HONORING MILLIONS MURDERED BY NAZI REGIME McMorrow, who is running in the crowded Democratic Senate primary, also ignited social media backlash last year when she shared a violent fantasy about conservative Supreme Court justices. McMorrow was asked by an attendee at a Huron Valley Indivisible event on Nov. 12 whether there “was any sense in dealing with the Supreme Court.” The state senator answered, “So, I’m a Notre Dame grad, and Amy Coney Barrett coming out of my university makes me furious. Just on a personal level.” She went on, “I talked to somebody yesterday who said they saw her and Brett Kavanaugh at a tailgate last weekend,” saying, “I would not have been able to control myself. That would be bad. There would be beers thrown in peoples’ faces.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Senate Leadership Fund spokesperson Chris Gustafson drew a line between the Facebook post and Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner. Platner, a progressive Democrat, stirred up his own controversy last year when it was discovered that he had a tattoo resembling the Nazi SS “Totenkopf” symbol. Platner has since had the tattoo covered over. “From Mallory McMorrow in Michigan to Graham Platner in Maine, the Democrat Party’s fondness for Nazi regalia is a sad and disturbing trend,” said Gustafson, adding, “The fact McMorrow is still silent is telling.”