ASML Holdings (NASDAQ:ASML), Europe’s semiconductor giant, suffered its worst one-day share decline since 1998, falling over 15% after an inadvertent early release of its third-quarter results. The leaked results showed a 53% drop in bookings, well below market expectations, despite a 20% increase in net sales to 7.5 billion. This mismatch between strong current performance and weak future demand sparked a broad sell-off as investors scrambled to reassess the company’s growth trajectory.

The real success came from the revised ASML forecast for 2025. The company lowered its sales forecast to 30-35 billion from the previous 30-40 billion. This revision is due to lagging demand for ASML’s EUV lithography machines, which are critical to manufacturing next-generation chips. While the boom in AI-related chips remains strong, other segments such as logic and memory are recovering more slowly, reinforcing investor concerns about longer-term growth and profitability.

Despite these headwinds, ASML remains confident in its long-term drivers, particularly the AI ​​and electrification trends. However, this market volatility has led to increased investor attention, meaning the company is now under pressure to manage slower growth in key segments while maintaining its leadership position in semiconductor technology.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.