ASML Can't Keep Up With 2027 or 2028 Demand. Is It the Best AI Stock to Buy Now?

ASML (ASML) posted record Q3 2026 results, delivering 11.7 billion euros in revenue and a 57.5% gross margin, both ahead of company guidance.

The bigger story for positioning is supply, not demand. Management indicated that planned 30% production increases for 2027-2028 may still fall short of customer orders for AI chip manufacturing equipment. That is a capacity ceiling on EUV lithography systems, the product line at the center of the article's bullish thesis.

Interpretation: when a supplier cannot meet demand even after a 30% ramp, buyers typically compete for allocation rather than negotiate on price. The article frames this as strong pricing power, and the 57.5% gross margin beat is consistent with that reading. It also suggests revenue growth is gated by what ASML can build, which makes delivery execution as important as order flow.

For TSM (TSM), the picture reads differently. As a manufacturer of AI chips, TSM sits on the demand side of this equation, and ASML's supply constraint on equipment is relevant context for how fast chipmakers can add capacity. That connection is analytical inference, not a stated company claim.