ASML Raises Spare-Part Prices 10%; Samsung and SK Hynix Agree

Korean tech outlet The Elec published an exclusive on the morning of October 10, Seoul time. In New York it was 8:37 p.m. on October 9, and the U.S. market had already closed.

According to the report, ASML will apply a flat 10% increase to spare parts for lithography machines sold in Korea, starting with January 2027 deliveries. The proposal went out in early September through ASML's Korean subsidiary. The purchasing teams at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix accepted it after talks.

ASML has made no official statement on the matter. The story rests on a single outlet and unnamed industry sources, and follow-up coverage repeats that source.

Which Parts the Increase Covers

The scope runs from routinely reordered consumables to major components replaced after failure or wear. That includes lenses and mirrors, light sources and precision drive units. Machines already running in the fabs are affected, not just new ones.

According to The Elec, ASML has until now adjusted prices part by part. It usually did so when a raw material got pricier or supply got tight. A single rate across every part is an unusual approach.

One industry source put it in two sentences: the capacity build-out is really happening, and equipment and parts have entered a shortage. The same source said ASML wants a larger share of the margin as its customers earn more.

ASML's Growing Revenue Line

ASML's installed base revenue, meaning service, parts and upgrades sold to machines in the field, was €8.19 billion in 2025. At the October 9 close of $1.12 per euro, that is about $9.2 billion, or 25% of $36.6 billion in total revenue.

That share is rising. In the second quarter, $3.1 billion of $10.4 billion in sales, or 29.6%, came from this line.

CEO Christophe Fouquet said the quarter was driven primarily by higher than expected installed base sales. The company expects this revenue to grow more than 30% in 2026.

Korea overtook China as ASML's largest market in the first quarter and held that position in the second. The increase lands on the company's biggest customer group.

A Story About Leverage, Not Cost

It is easy to read this as a cost item for Samsung. The better reading is that bargaining power in the chip equipment chain is changing hands.

That is where the profit leverage comes from. The cost of making the part does not rise with its price, so almost all of the increase falls to profit.

On the customer side, the math runs the other way. No one else makes EUV machines, so no one else makes their parts.

Samsung ran at a 55.1% operating margin in the third quarter (details). At that margin, a day of idle machines can cost more than a year of higher parts prices.

The Rest of the Chain Is Raising Prices Too

ASML is not alone. In July, The Information reported that ASML told Chinese chipmakers it would raise DUV tool prices by 10%.

Tokyo Electron said in late July it was adjusting prices even on products already on sale. Applied Materials said in August that prices rose on new and existing products (earnings analysis).

One customer is pushing back. According to The Elec, TSMC, ASML's largest customer, opposes higher machine prices. Talks on tool pricing with major customers are still under way.

SEMI expects global chip equipment sales to rise 23.2% in 2026 to $165.9 billion.

ASML's six-month chart frames the expectations this increase arrives on top of.

The report came out after Friday's close, so the stock has not reacted yet.

What It Means for Investors

• The market has not priced the report yet; the first reaction comes at Monday's open on October 12, and ASML has not confirmed it.
• Acceptance supports pricing power at ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA. The report covers only Korea; whether Micron faces a similar increase is unknown.
• The increase starts in January, so on October 14 management's comments on 2027 margins and pricing matter more than third-quarter margin.
• The risk to the thesis is a turn in memory prices: if Samsung and SK Hynix margins fall, they will have more reason to reopen the increase they accepted.

This story is based on The Elec's exclusive of October 10 (Seoul time), coverage of it by TradingKey and Sammy Fans, ASML's second-quarter results release of July 15, TrendForce's regional sales data and Barchart's earnings calendar. The price information relies on unnamed industry sources; the report carries no official statement from ASML, Samsung or SK Hynix. Euro amounts were converted at the October 9 closing rate of $1.12.