Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML Holding NV beat expectations for the second quarter, posting net sales of €7.69 billion and a gross margin of 53.7%, helped by €5.54 billion in new orders for its lithography systems. Net profit reached €2.29 billion, also ahead of estimates. Even so, management guided third-quarter revenue to €7.4 billion–€7.9 billion, below analysts’ projections, and narrowed its full-year 2025 revenue growth outlook to about 15%. Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet and Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen warned that macroeconomic and geopolitical risks—including uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs—mean the company "cannot guarantee" it will expand in 2026. The downbeat long-term signal overshadowed the quarterly beat and sent ASML shares down as much as 8% in Wednesday trading. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. delivered a contrasting message a day later, reporting record June-quarter earnings on unrelenting demand for artificial-intelligence processors. Net profit jumped 60.7% year on year to NT$398.3 billion (US$13.5 billion) on revenue of NT$933.8 billion, lifting gross margin to 58.6%. The world’s largest contract chipmaker forecast third-quarter sales of US$31.8 billion–US$33 billion—above consensus—and raised its 2025 revenue-growth target to about 30%. Its shares gained roughly 3% after the release. The diverging outlooks underscore how the semiconductor upcycle driven by AI is being tempered by policy risk. While both companies are benefiting from a surge in advanced-chip demand, ASML’s longer-term view is clouded by potential fallout from Washington’s 145% tariff on Chinese goods, whereas TSMC says it has yet to see customers alter investment plans. Investors will be watching whether the tariff debate spills over to capital-spending decisions across the sector.