Dutch chip giant blames ‘technical error’ as tech tank sector issues windfall profits: ‘Very unfortunate’

A Dutch chipmaking giant sparked chaos after it accidentally released a disappointing financial outlook a day earlier than planned – knocking billions off the market value of the entire semiconductor sector.

Shares in ASML — which makes equipment used to make chips, including processors used to power artificial intelligence — fell nearly 6% on Wednesday. The stock had sunk 16% the day before — equating to a loss of more than $52 billion in market value.

This happened after ASML’s third quarter results mysteriously appeared online. The company later confirmed that the report had been “erroneously published” due to what it described as a “technical error”. CEO Christophe Fouquet later apologized during an earnings call.

“That was very unfortunate,” Fouquet said.

In the accidental posting, the Netherlands-based firm revealed that it had lowered its sales outlook for 2025 and warned that its gross profit margins would also be lower than previously expected. ASML said weakness in the chip market “is expected to continue into 2025, which is leading to customer caution”.

The mistake sparked an outcry on social media as users mocked ASML.

“ASML’s accidental release of third-quarter results adheres to the time-honored tradition of our most technically sophisticated companies being somewhat inept with slide decks and spreadsheets,” Sequoia Capital partner Andrew Reed wrote in X.

Elsewhere, X user @StockMKTNewz joked: “Will everyone join me in a moment of silence for the ASML intern?”

ASML is widely regarded as a setback for the overall chip industry – and its warning had wider ramifications for the sector. Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Intel and other chip stocks fell on the news.

“Today, without AI, the market would be very sad, if you ask me,” Fouquet said during the call, according to Bloomberg. “The recovery is not what I think everyone wished for.”

VEB, a Dutch shareholder rights association, was critical of ASML for making the unforced error, although an official admitted it was a “human error”.

“For a company which is the largest listed company in the Netherlands and also the leading technology company in Europe … it is not what we would expect from ASML,” VEB chief Gerben Everts told Reuters.

“They should be ashamed that this happened and that it was so prominent in the news,” Everts added.