South Korea Becomes ASML's Largest Market as AI Memory Demand Surges

South Korea topped ASML's market rankings in the first quarter of 2026, displacing China amid a sharp surge in equipment purchases from memory manufacturers. For the market, this signals an important shift: the investment cycle unleashed by the AI boom is increasingly driving demand toward companies that produce memory for AI servers and accelerators. ASML is the key supplier of lithographic systems for the most advanced semiconductor fabs, and therefore its quarterly sales geography often reveals where the industry's main capital expenditure flows are heading.

According to the company, in the first quarter of 2026, South Korea accounted for 45% of ASML's net system sales by delivery region. In the previous quarter, this share was 22%. China, which was still the top destination in the fourth quarter of 2025 with a 36% share, shrank to 19%.

Taiwan captured 23%, the US 12%, and other Asian markets 1%. In monetary terms, this represents approximately €2.84 billion in deliveries to South Korea in the net system sales category alone, which totaled €6.

3 billion in the quarter. By comparison, China received around €1.2 billion, and Taiwan approximately €1.

45 billion. This is not ASML's total revenue, but specifically system sales, which best reflect the current investment activity of chipmakers.

The company's total quarterly revenue reached €8.8 billion, net profit €2.8 billion, and gross margin was 53%.

The primary driver of this shift is memory. In ASML's system sales structure, the memory segment took up 51% in the first quarter, compared to just 30% a quarter earlier. The logic is straightforward: AI infrastructure requires not only more powerful GPUs and specialized accelerators, but also massive volumes of fast memory, primarily DRAM and HBM. South Korea is precisely the home market of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the two largest memory players, which are expanding capacity and accelerating the transition to more advanced process technologies.

For ASML, this means rising demand for both EUV systems and upgrades to its existing installed base. This is evident in the quarter's technological breakdown. EUV accounted for 66% of net system sales compared to 48% a quarter earlier, though fewer units of such systems were sold than mass-market KrF and ArFi machines. The reason is that EUV equipment is far more expensive and is used where customers transition to the most advanced process nodes. Growth in EUV share typically signals not just capacity expansion, but movement toward more complex and capital-intensive process technologies.

For the memory market, this is especially significant because manufacturers are simultaneously trying to increase output while maintaining performance levels required by AI workloads.

Another important contrast is China. During 2024–2025, Chinese customers were among ASML's primary order drivers, partly due to accelerated purchases amid export restrictions. But in early 2026, the structure has shifted: China's share dropped noticeably, and the center of gravity has temporarily moved to Korea and other markets where AI demand directly fuels production expansion.

ASML itself emphasizes that chip demand still outpaces supply, and customers are accelerating capacity expansion plans for 2026 and beyond. The company also raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to €36–40 billion and separately noted that this range already accounts for uncertainty around export controls.

For the industry, this signals that the next phase of the AI boom will be shaped not only by compute chips, but by who can fastest resolve bottlenecks in the memory supply chain. If the current trend persists, South Korea will solidify its role as one of the main capital expenditure hubs in semiconductors, and ASML's results will continue to serve as an early indicator of where the next shortage will emerge.