Thought Leadership
The Dutch chip manufacturer ASML Holding NV has lost its position as Europe’s most valuable technology company to the software group SAP after a forecast cut caused the company’s shares to plummet.
The German group announced a restructuring plan this year as part of its efforts to integrate AI into SAP software to make enterprise customers more efficient. SAP will report its third-quarter results on Monday.
ASML lost more than 60 billion euros in market capitalization after the company shocked investors on Tuesday by lowering its forecast. ASML cited delays in the construction of chip factories as the reason. In addition, the company only booked around half of the orders expected by analysts in the third quarter.
The 16 percent slide in the ASML share price on Tuesday was the biggest one-day loss in 26 years and one of the biggest single-day losses in Europe.
Meanwhile, shares in SAP rose 52% this year as the Walldorf-based company benefited from strong growth in cloud revenues, driven in part by rising demand for artificial intelligence applications. ASML last trailed SAP in terms of market capitalization in 2020.
