SAP Dethrones ASML as Europe’s Most Valuable Technology Firm

(Bloomberg) — ASML Holding NV lost its place as Europe’s most valuable technology company to software firm SAP SE after a guidance cut sent the Dutch chip-machine maker’s shares plunging.

Most Read from Bloomberg

ASML has lost more than €60 billion ($65.3 billion) in market capitalization after shocking investors on Tuesday by lowering its guidance, citing delays in chip plant constructions. It also booked only about half the orders analysts expected in the third quarter.

Tuesday’s 16% rout was the biggest drop in ASML shares in 26 years, and among biggest one-day value wipeouts in Europe, along with Nokia Oyj and Vodafone Group Plc when the dotcom bubble burst more than two decades ago.

Meanwhile, SAP shares have risen 52% this year as the Walldorf-based company benefited from a surge in cloud revenue growth, in part fueled by rising demand for artificial intelligence applications. The last time ASML lagged behind SAP in terms of market capitalization was in 2020.

The German company this year announced a restructuring plan as part of its push to integrate AI into SAP software to help enterprise clients become more efficient. It will report its third-quarter results on Monday.

SAP shares were up 1.1% to €212.15 at 10:34 a.m. in Frankfurt, giving it a market capitalization of €261 billion.

ASML’s shares have fallen by more than a third since reaching a record in July, hurt by the prospect of more US restrictions on its business in China and broader weakness in the semiconductor sector. They were down 5% on Wednesday.

Its customer Intel Corp. is cutting expenses in a restructuring that includes delays to planned factories in Germany and Poland, and memory chipmaker clients such as Samsung Electronics Co. are watching their spending.

ASML’s weak results were amplified by the company mistakenly releasing its financial results a day earlier than scheduled. ASML published the release prematurely “due to a technical error,” it said in a statement. The company will hold a call with investors at 3 p.m. in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

–With assistance from Henry Ren and Jan-Patrick Barnert.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.