ASML Keeps Buying Back Stock as Europe's Chipmakers Sit Out 2026 and China Chases Its Own EUV Path

ASML keeps buying back shares and holds a global EUV monopoly, but European chipmakers have placed no 2026 lithography orders, it says.

ASML Holding is pressing ahead with its share repurchase programme, disclosing fresh transaction data that shows the Dutch lithography giant in the market on every trading day of the past week. The most active session came on 24 September, when the company picked up 57,700 of its own shares. The period closed on 25 September with a further 10,000 shares acquired for exactly EUR 15,335,519.

Buybacks of this kind are a familiar route for returning surplus cash to shareholders and lifting earnings per share, and the continuation of the programme speaks to the financial firepower Veldhoven has at its disposal. The stock has responded in kind: ASML climbed 4.2% in today's session to EUR 1,622.00, leaving it 7.2% below its 52-week high.

A Home Market That Has Gone Silent

The picture on the operational side is considerably less upbeat. Frank Heemskerk, an Executive Vice President at ASML, said European chipmakers have so far placed no orders for lithography systems in 2026. He used the occasion to press European policymakers to take steps that would deliberately stimulate demand for semiconductors manufactured on the continent.

That hesitancy reflects a broader reluctance among regional manufacturers to commit capital. Without firm customer orders in hand, European chipmakers are holding back on the hefty outlays required for cutting-edge production equipment.

Washington, Beijing and the Fight Over Export Rules

Trade politics continues to cast a long shadow. According to Bloomberg, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has intervened with the United States in an effort to head off additional export restrictions on ASML's China business. Jetten said on Friday that he is working toward solutions within the existing export curbs, and in talks with US President Donald Trump he raised explicit concerns about the prospect of further measures from Washington.

Those rules have for some time limited shipments of advanced equipment to China, and the debate over fresh conditions underlines just how squarely the world's largest chip equipment maker sits at the intersection of trade policy and industrial strategy.

Meanwhile, China is broadening its own efforts in extreme ultraviolet lithography. Rather than simply replicating ASML's complex EUV platform, Beijing is reportedly pursuing a parallel technological route based on alternative light sources. The move strikes at the strategic core of the Dutch company's business: ASML holds a global monopoly in industrial EUV systems, and the technology is widely regarded as the defining hurdle in producing the most advanced chips.

High-NA Ties Deepen as Analysts Stay Bullish

On the technology front, ASML is advancing its leading position alongside key international customers. In early September the company agreed a deeper partnership with Samsung Electronics covering the next generation of high-numerical-aperture machines. The South Korean chipmaker intends to fold High-NA EUV into mass production of next-generation DRAM by 2028.

Sentiment on the financial markets remains supportive of long-term demand. Bank of America Securities reaffirmed its "Buy" rating on Friday, following Barclays, which had confirmed its own buy recommendation on 22 September.

India, and a Legal Footnote

Beyond its established markets, ASML is hunting for new sources of growth. According to Executive Vice President Lin Kiat Yap, the company is initially building a team of 20 to 30 engineering graduates in India. How far the build-out goes will depend heavily on the plans of Tata Electronics' semiconductor division and on how the Indian market develops.

Separately, legal wrangling is generating some background noise. Media reports indicate a former business partner is seeking a court examination of two auditors who were involved in the purchase of the De Heiberg sports complex at the time. The proceedings carry no material significance for ongoing operations.

At the market close, the shares changed hands at EUR 1,589.00 in an earlier reading, up 2.0% and 9.1% adrift of the 52-week high of EUR 1,748.00. Despite mounting political friction and Asia's catch-up attempts, the Dutch company's technological lead remains the bedrock on which the market case rests.