ASM Raises 2027 Bar, Sees Molybdenum and 1.4nm as New Growth Vectors
Record Quarter, Raised Bar
ASM International crossed a milestone in Q2 2026: revenue reached €1.0B, up 24% year-on-year at constant currency, with equipment sales driven by record ALD revenue and spares & services up 34%. CFO Paulus Verhagen highlighted a new level of transparency: “With these Q2 results, we have now disclosed for the first time the equipment sales breakdown by customer segment for the first half year.” — Paulus Antonius Henricus Verhagen, Chief Financial Officer · 2026-07-29 That breakdown shows logic/foundry dominating at 77%, with memory at 15%—a mix that sets up H2 for a substantial memory pickup.
More consequential was the 2027 guidance raise. CEO Hichem M'Saad stated:
This is a decisive shift from the caution of prior quarters. In April, the company only committed to “our growth in our market, in our revenue in 2026 will at least outgrow the WFE market again” — Hichem M'Saad, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) · 2026-04-22. Now the bar is materially higher for next year.we now expect our 2027 revenue to exceed the top end of the €3.7 billion to €4.6 billion range we shared last year
New Growth Vectors: 1.4nm, Molybdenum, and Memory
The drivers are a combination of technology nodes that are adding more capacity expansion and new materials that open entirely new served markets. On 1.4nm, Hichem said the node will contribute meaningfully in 2027, with customers ramping pilot lines now and preparing for HVM in 2028. “We expect the 1.4-nanometer node to contribute meaningfully for ourselves, really strong, 1.4-nanometer is going to be strong in 2027.” — Hichem M'Saad, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-07-29
Perhaps the most striking news is the company's entry into metal deposition via molybdenum. “This is the first time that ASM is used for metal deposition market, and customers like the solution, we are really excited about the latest wins that we have.” — Hichem M'Saad, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-07-29 These are new wins at the 1.4nm node, incremental but strategically significant as the first step into a new product category. The company also continues to strengthen its DRAM market position, with another epitaxy win and a clear path to benefit from the transition to 4F² and peripheral circuitry — expected to add $400–450M to served available market over the next two nodes.
China and Supply Chain
China remains a large contributor, but the mix is shifting. Mature Logic/foundry is expected to decline in H2, while memory and power/wafer/analog grow from a low base. CFO Paulus noted that China demand is partly accelerated by export-control speculation, yet visibility remains limited. Meanwhile, the company flagged increasing supply chain stress, but so far it is manageable. The gross margin held at 51.9%, aided by product mix and cost discipline, and free cash flow hit a record €355M.
The contrast with prior commentary is stark. A year ago, the company was still discussing a potential silicon carbide recovery in 2027: “We still believe that there is a market for us, a good market for silicon carbide that we will start seeing come back, hopefully, also in 2027.” — Paul Verhagen, CFO · 2025-10-29 Today, the narrative is dominated by the logic and memory momentum, with a much broader growth runway. ASM is clearly riding the AI infrastructure wave, but its company-unique moves in molybdenum and 1.4nm give it an edge that is now being reflected in the guidance.