European technology and heavy industrial stocks went up on the day following Nvidia‘s better-than-expected quarterly earnings, which brought back worldwide confidence in the AI hardware cycle. The US chipmaker was not only far ahead of the analyst expectations but also gave a very positive outlook, indicating that the boom in AI-data-centre investments is not going to dwindle anytime soon.
The knock-on effect was very fast across Europe. The stocks of BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI), VAT Group, ASML, ASM International, and Siemens Energy went up by 2.2% to 7.4% in the early trading hours(04:01 ET / 09:01 GMT), as investors saw the Nvidia results as a go-ahead signal for another wave of spending on high-performance computing infrastructure.
For a good number of months, there had been a question whether the demand for AI-specific semiconductor tools would drop after a period of rapid growth. With Nvidia’s news, those worries are almost completely silenced—at least for the time being. The company’s success has a great impact on the global chip supply chain because its orders set the trend for the whole semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.
European semiconductor equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) better sees the light ahead
One of the major European winners was BESI which experienced a significant rise in data-centre-related orders. The firm is very positive about its Q4 revenues rising from 15% to 25% compared to the previous quarter.
This increase is mainly due to the rising demand for advanced packaging equipment – a technology that is necessary for stacking and binding chips in AI accelerators. As data centers becoming more and more dependent on powerful and tightly packed chips, companies like BESI are turning into the core of the AI build-out.
VAT Group stays positive and realistic about a gradual revival after the crisis
VAT Group, a provider of critical vacuum valves for chip-fabrication equipment, has had a mixed performance over the last few months. It recently announced a 17% quarterly decrease in order intake, together with a decline in its backlog to CHF 259 million.
Even though the semiconductor market is soft as indicated by their numbers, VAT Group has retained its full-year guidance. It is banking on a slow recovery of wafer-fabrication-equipment spending in 2026, next-generation semiconductor nodes being the main driver, and new investment cycles originating from big fabrication plants.
Market analysts have pointed out that the company still faces challenges in the short term and that Nvidia’s positive news has brought about a lift in sentiment which could comfort investors that the negative trend won’t continue for a prolonged period.
ASML and ASM International stock prices are lifted by the wave
ASML and ASM International, two of the most important European suppliers to the global chip industry, have benefited from the market upswing on Thursday. They did not, however, issue any new statements in connection with Nvidia’s results.
Both firms are indispensable for the fabrications of the most advanced chips. ASML is a leader in providing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, and ASM International is a significant player in deposition technology.
Since Nvidia and other AI-chip manufacturers are dependent on these cutting-edge manufacturing tools, a positive signal for the future of AI-chip demand would also lead to higher expectations of ASML and ASMI getting more orders. That is exactly the interaction that was reflected by the trading on Thursday, when investors decided to bet that the AI boom will continue to result in supply chain constraints and new equipment orders during 2025.
Energy infrastructure also shares in the gains
What is even more incredible is that the upbeat mood wave did not just roll through the semiconductor suppliers. Europe’s energy-infrastructure industry has also been revitalized with Siemens Energy being one of the biggest gainers.
The company has been announcing the demand increase by data-centre operators – a phenomenon that has escalated very quickly during the last year due to AI workloads that require a great amount of electricity. Siemens Energy claimed that their order bookings had reached an all-time high that included 14 gigawatts of gas-turbine bookings for this year. The most striking thing is that almost 60% of those bookings were coming straight from data-centre power needs.
After the company managed to return to profit in its fiscal Q4, it also confirmed its medium-term outlook, thereby trusting that the demand for power in data-centres will still be one of the main drivers of growth.
AI boom still largely determines the fate of European markets
There was a broad-based rise on Thursday which is a strong indication that European industries are fundamentally interconnected with the global AI investment cycle. They cover from chip machinery to electricity generation. Nvidia’s results were a wakeup call that AI infrastructure is still far from being saturated, and for Europe’s tech and industrial suppliers, this means that demand is still alive, order books remain filled and investors are regaining their confidence.
While markets are still trying to figure out the full extent of the changes, one thing is certain: Europe’s position in the worldwide AI supply chain is not just becoming more and more important but also more and more lucrative.
