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ASML sells the systems and services chipmakers use to manufacture semiconductors; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) manufactures chips from designs supplied by its customers. ASML is an equipment supplier, not a chipmaker. TSMC is a contract foundry, not an equipment vendor. Both benefit from semiconductor demand, but they earn revenue at different stages and respond to different customer decisions—so their financial results and stocks are not interchangeable measures of the same business.
This comparison uses ASML’s 2025 annual report, TSMC’s 2025 Form 20-F, and both companies’ Q2 2026 releases, available as of October 13, 2026. The figures below are company-reported; the two companies report in different currencies and have different business mixes.
How ASML and TSMC differ in the semiconductor supply chain
Making a semiconductor involves several stages. Chip companies design processors and other chips; manufacturers turn those designs into physical devices; and specialized suppliers provide the equipment, software, materials, and services needed along the way. ASML and TSMC are important to that process, but they do not perform the same job.
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ASML sells semiconductor-manufacturing systems, including lithography technology, along with software and services. Chipmakers use its systems as part of the equipment in their production facilities. ASML therefore earns revenue when customers buy systems, and it also earns revenue by servicing and upgrading the systems already installed at customer sites.
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ASML’s 2025 net sales were €32.7 billion: €24.5 billion came from net system sales and €8.2 billion from net service and field-option sales. The service business matters because ASML’s exposure is not limited to new equipment orders. Its existing installed base also generates sales through support and options.
TSMC manufactures customer-designed chips
TSMC describes itself as a dedicated semiconductor foundry. A customer supplies a chip design; TSMC manufactures the semiconductor. TSMC also provides activities such as packaging, testing, computer-aided design, and mask manufacturing, but wafer fabrication is the core of the business: it accounted for approximately 86% of TSMC’s 2025 net revenue.
In practical terms, ASML supplies tools used by manufacturers, while TSMC operates as a manufacturer. ASML is not a foundry selling customers finished chips, and TSMC is not an equipment company selling lithography systems.
How each company earns revenue—and what can change it
ASML: system orders and the installed base
ASML’s revenue depends in part on chipmakers’ decisions about whether and when to invest in production capacity and manufacturing technology. When customers place system orders, the scale and timing of those orders affect ASML’s sales. Its service and field-option business gives it another source of revenue tied to equipment already in use.
That mix makes ASML sensitive to capital-spending plans across its customer base. A manufacturer can adjust the timing of an equipment investment even when it still expects demand for chips over the longer term. Demand for installed-base support and upgrades is a separate part of ASML’s business, rather than a substitute for new system sales.
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TSMC: wafer production, utilization, and mix
TSMC’s results are more directly linked to customer demand for production. Relevant factors include the volume of wafers ordered and shipped, how much of its manufacturing capacity is used, pricing, the mix of technologies and products, and foreign-exchange rates. The company identifies demand, supply, pricing, capacity, technology, and exchange rates as factors that can affect revenue and margins.
TSMC’s 2025 net revenue rose 31.6% year over year. Its filing attributed the increase mainly to a higher average selling price associated with a greater share of advanced-technology revenue and increased wafer shipments. It reported shipping approximately 15 million 12-inch-equivalent wafers in 2025, compared with approximately 13 million in 2024. Those figures describe wafer shipments and revenue for TSMC—not ASML’s system sales or the number of chips sold to end users.
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2025 financial results: useful context, not a direct ranking
The companies’ annual results help show the scale and composition of their operations. They do not make an apples-to-apples performance ranking: ASML reports the cited annual figures in euros under US GAAP, while TSMC reports in New Taiwan dollars and supplies a US-dollar translation for convenience. Their revenue also comes from different kinds of business.
| Company and reporting basis | 2025 revenue or net sales | Gross margin | Net income | Earnings per share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASML; euros; annual highlights identified as US GAAP | €32.7 billion net sales | 52.8% | €9.6 billion | €24.73 basic EPS |
| TSMC; New Taiwan dollars; company filing | NT$3,809.054 billion net revenue; the filing also gives a US$121.423 billion convenience translation | 59.9% | NT$1,697.604 billion attributable to parent shareholders | Not stated in the cited annual figures |
TSMC cautions that its translated US-dollar amounts are provided for reader convenience and do not represent a guaranteed conversion rate. The figures in this table are reported values, not a currency-adjusted comparison. They also reflect different revenue structures: ASML sells systems and related services, whereas most of TSMC’s revenue comes from wafer fabrication.
Gross margin is the share of revenue remaining after the costs included in cost of revenue; it is not a complete measure of profitability or investment value. The reported 2025 margins—52.8% for ASML and 59.9% for TSMC—should be read in the context of each company’s operations and reporting basis rather than treated as a simple league table. Net income and EPS are also company-specific measures, not direct proxies for which share offers the better return.
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Q2 2026 results: both grew, but on different business bases
The latest common interim period in this comparison is Q2 2026. ASML issued its results on July 15, 2026; TSMC’s release, for the quarter ended June 30, was issued July 16. The amounts below are in the companies’ own reporting currencies and refer to different business mixes.
| Q2 2026 measure | ASML | TSMC |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue measure | €9.326 billion total net sales | NT$1,270.38 billion consolidated revenue |
| Gross margin | 54.0% | 67.7% |
| Net income | €2.918 billion | NT$706.56 billion |
| Other reported operating detail | €2.762 billion in installed-base management sales | Advanced technologies (7-nanometer and more advanced) represented 77% of wafer revenue |
| Additional reported measures | Not stated in the cited quarterly snapshot | Operating margin 60.3%; net profit margin 55.6%; diluted EPS NT$27.25 (US$4.31 per ADR unit) |
TSMC’s CFO Wendell Huang said in the Q2 2026 release that the business was supported by strong demand for its leading-edge process technologies. That is management’s explanation of the quarter, not a guarantee of future demand. ASML’s CFO Roger Dassen described the company’s 2025 results as in line with guidance while AI investment continued to gather momentum. Both statements reflect management’s framing at the time; neither removes the companies’ exposure to changes in spending and demand.
Do not compare €9.326 billion with NT$1,270.38 billion as if the raw amounts had a common unit. Converting currencies would make the units comparable, but it would not make the businesses, revenue definitions, or financial structures identical. The margin figures likewise describe different operations, so a higher reported percentage by itself does not establish a better business or stock.
What management guided for after Q2 2026
Guidance is a forecast issued at a particular time, not an actual result or a promise. The periods covered also differ, so the ranges below should not be compared as though both companies were forecasting the same window.
| Company and release date | Forecast period | Revenue guidance | Gross-margin guidance | Other guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASML, July 15, 2026 | Full year 2026 | €43–45 billion | 54–56% | For Q3 2026: revenue of €11–12 billion and gross margin of 55–57% |
| TSMC, Q2 2026 results page | Q3 2026 | US$44.6–45.8 billion, based on an assumed USD/NTD exchange rate of 32 | 65–67% | Operating margin of 56–58% |
ASML’s €43–45 billion range is for the full year, while TSMC’s US$44.6–45.8 billion range covers one quarter. The numerical ranges are not comparable without accounting for both that period difference and the companies’ reporting currencies and business models.
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This comparison is current through October 13, 2026. ASML had scheduled its Q3 2026 results announcement for October 14, the following day, so Q3 actual results are not included here.
Key risks are different, even though both companies face semiconductor cycles
ASML: timing of capital investment
ASML’s equipment business is exposed to customers’ investment decisions: customers may change the size or timing of planned purchases. Its 2025 annual-report financial discussion described uncertainty around those decisions and mixed demand across semiconductor segments during the year, while also saying AI-related demand continued to surge. These are conditions and management commentary for that reporting period, not a guarantee that every segment or customer will maintain the same level of spending.
Because ASML has both system sales and installed-base management sales, a change in new system orders and a change in demand for support or field options are not identical events. Readers assessing ASML should keep those revenue streams distinct rather than treating all sales as a single measure of equipment orders.
TSMC: production demand, concentration, and operations
TSMC’s exposure runs more directly through wafer demand, capacity utilization, pricing, technology mix, and exchange rates. Customer concentration is another material consideration: its 2025 filing says its ten largest customers represented approximately 78% of net revenue, and its largest customer represented approximately 19%. Those percentages underline how significant major customer relationships are to the business; they do not, on their own, identify future orders or establish how a change in one relationship would affect a particular quarter.
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How to compare the stocks without confusing the companies
“Which stock is better?” cannot be answered from operating results alone. Business performance, valuation, and suitability for an individual investor are separate questions. The company disclosures used here establish business models and reported results, but do not establish a current valuation winner.
Start with the exposure you want to evaluate
- Equipment and installed-base exposure: ASML’s sales include manufacturing systems as well as service and field-option sales. Its results are partly connected to customers’ equipment investment decisions.
- Foundry and wafer-production exposure: TSMC manufactures customer-designed chips. Its results are more directly tied to production demand, utilization, pricing, technology mix, and foreign exchange.
- Customer concentration: TSMC disclosed that its ten largest customers accounted for about 78% of 2025 revenue, with its largest customer at about 19%. That is a specific disclosed feature of TSMC’s customer base, not a like-for-like comparison with an ASML concentration statistic.
- Reporting and currency: ASML’s cited 2025 annual figures are in euros and identified as US GAAP. TSMC reports in New Taiwan dollars and warns that US-dollar translations are for convenience.
Then examine valuation using dated market data
A stock comparison needs a defined date and instrument, along with comparable measures such as market capitalization, price-to-earnings ratios, or other valuation multiples. It should also make clear which earnings period or forecast is used and how currencies are treated. No current share price, market capitalization, valuation multiple, dividend yield, or analyst consensus is established by the operating disclosures summarized here; consequently, they cannot support a claim that one stock is cheaper or offers better expected returns.
Even with current valuation data, a lower multiple would not automatically mean a better investment. The investor would still need to decide how to weigh the companies’ distinct revenue drivers, risks, growth expectations, and time horizon. A stock’s recent operating growth and its price are related inputs, but neither alone settles that decision.
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ASML and TSMC have different share-market access. TSMC’s ordinary shares are listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and some shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange as American Depositary Shares (ADSs). An investor comparing exposure should identify the actual instrument, trading currency, and market before comparing prices or returns.
For TSMC, the Q2 2026 release reports diluted EPS of NT$27.25, or US$4.31 per ADR unit. Those are figures associated with different units; they should not be read as two interchangeable per-share prices. The reviewed filing does not establish current depositary or brokerage fees, so check the relevant offering and broker terms before making a transaction.
For either company, distinguish the currency in which the business reports from the currency in which a particular share or depositary instrument trades. Exchange-rate movement can affect an investor’s return when converting between currencies, independently of how the underlying company performs.
A practical way to read future results
When the companies issue another report, use a short checklist to keep their different business models in view:
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- Confirm the reporting period and release date. A quarter, a full year, and a forecast period are not interchangeable. Separate actual results from guidance.
- Record the currency and reporting measure. Note whether revenue is stated in euros, New Taiwan dollars, or a translated amount, and whether a figure is net sales, net revenue, or consolidated revenue.
- For ASML, separate systems from installed-base sales. System sales reflect equipment demand; service and field-option sales reflect another revenue stream tied to the installed base.
- For TSMC, look at wafer and technology mix alongside revenue. Shipments, utilization, pricing, and the share of revenue from different technologies can help explain a change in reported results.
- Read the margin in context. Compare a company with its own earlier periods and understand its business mix before drawing conclusions from a margin percentage.
- Keep customer and investment risks specific. Consider ASML’s customers’ capital spending and TSMC’s production demand and concentration disclosures rather than treating “semiconductor demand” as one uniform driver.
- Use market data for a stock decision. Pair operating analysis with dated share prices and valuation measures for the actual instrument being considered; do not infer valuation from revenue growth or margins alone.
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