AI Stocks Plunge: Meta Loses 9% as ASML Also Slides

Shares in several major AI companies had a bruising week on the stock market. Meta fell 9.4%, while Dutch chipmakers ASML, ASMI and Besi also slid sharply. Investors are growing increasingly concerned about the vast sums companies are pouring into artificial intelligence. There were winners, too: Germany’s SAP jumped nearly 8%.

On Friday, October 23, 2026, the US Nasdaq ended a volatile week down about 0.7%. The broader S&P 500 shed 0.5%. Those relatively modest declines masked much sharper moves in individual stocks.

Companies supplying chips, data centers and other AI infrastructure were among the hardest hit. On Thursday alone, the US semiconductor index fell 6.7%.

The declines often followed quarterly results that showed strong revenue growth. Investors are no longer focused solely on how fast AI companies are expanding. They also want to know how much that growth is costing—and when the investments will start paying off.

Meta was one of the week’s biggest losers. Shares in the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp fell 9.4%.

The drop came despite a sharp increase in revenue. According to Meta’s quarterly results, revenue grew 26% to $64.6 billion.

The main concern is spending. Meta expects to invest between $135 billion and $145 billion this year in servers, data centers and other infrastructure. Capital expenditures, including certain lease payments, had already reached $34.9 billion in the third quarter alone.

Free cash flow was negative that quarter, at minus $2.12 billion. By this measure, Meta invested more than it generated from its business operations.

Costs also rose sharply, though there is an important caveat: Meta recorded a one-off legal charge of nearly $9.9 billion. So AI was not the only reason for the increase.

Meta says AI is already boosting its advertising business through better recommendations and more effective ads. But investors increasingly want clear evidence of how much additional revenue those investments will ultimately generate.

Meta’s decline reflects a wider debate. Microsoft, Google and Amazon are also pouring huge sums into new AI systems. As long as their existing businesses continue to grow strongly, they can fund that spending. But investors’ expectations are rising fast.

It was also a tough week on the Amsterdam exchange for companies that make equipment for the chip industry.

ASML fell 4.7%, ASM International (ASMI) dropped 7.1% and Besi lost 6.7%.

Besi’s decline was particularly striking.

On Thursday, the chip equipment maker, based in Duiven, reported €342.6 million in new orders for the third quarter. That was 96% more than a year earlier and well above analysts’ expectations of about €298 million, according to Reuters.

Besi is benefiting, among other things, from demand for hybrid bonding. The technology lets manufacturers connect chips directly and with extreme precision, helping them make faster, more energy-efficient processors and memory chips.

According to Besi’s quarterly results, orders for this technology in the first nine months of 2026 more than doubled compared with all of 2025.

Even so, Besi’s shares fell 7.7% on Friday alone.

Investors are concerned about how quickly chipmakers will actually adopt the new technology. Earlier this month, a report by research firm SemiAnalysis also unsettled the market by claiming that ASML may be developing a competing product.

Besi CEO Richard Blickman rejected that claim on Thursday. He said ASML operates in a different technological area and does not view the company as a direct competitor in hybrid bonding. ASML has not confirmed that it is developing a competing system.

Besi’s outlook for the fourth quarter also dampened enthusiasm. The company expects revenue to be roughly in line with the third quarter, while analysts had anticipated slightly more growth.

The company is a reminder that strong orders do not automatically translate into a rising share price.

Not every technology company had a bad week.

German software company SAP climbed 7.6%. According to SAP’s quarterly results, quarterly revenue topped €10 billion for the first time.

Cloud revenue grew 26% to €6.67 billion. SAP sells business software for tasks including administration, finance and human resources, and is steadily adding more AI features.

For investors, one key attraction is that much of SAP’s revenue comes from recurring subscriptions. That gives the company a relatively clear view of how its revenue is likely to develop.

The picture is less straightforward for suppliers to AI data centers. They often have to pour huge sums into hardware, buildings and power infrastructure before seeing a return.

That contrast was on full display this week.

US chipmaking-equipment manufacturer Lam Research fell nearly 13%, despite quarterly revenue of $8.22 billion. Investors were particularly disappointed by the company’s outlook and supply problems.

Energy company Bloom Energy also came under pressure. It supplies, among other things, power systems suited to large data centers.

Bloom reported a 138% increase in revenue, yet its shares fell more than 11% on Friday. A weaker-than-expected cash flow was a major factor.

AI cloud specialist CoreWeave also slid nearly 12% this week. The debate here centers on debt, financing costs and whether its massive data-center expansion will ultimately prove profitable.

The percentages below compare regular closing prices on Friday, October 16, with those on Friday, October 23, 2026.

The figures are based on historical closing prices, including US price data from Stock Analysis and ASML’s Amsterdam prices. US stocks are quoted in dollars and European stocks in euros. Currency effects, dividends and transaction costs are excluded.

European markets close earlier in the day than US markets. So while the returns cover the same trading week, they do not capture exactly the same final trading hours.

Tesla was another notable gainer. Its shares rose nearly 5% despite mixed quarterly results. Reports of a potential partnership or combination with SpaceX helped draw investor interest. No merger has been completed.

The coming trading week could reveal a lot about the financial fallout from the AI boom.

On Tuesday, October 27, Dutch company ASM International reports its quarterly results. It makes machines that chipmakers use to deposit ultra-thin layers of material onto chips.

Microsoft and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, report on Wednesday, October 28. Both are expected to discuss in detail the growth of their cloud businesses and the investment required to support AI.

The US Federal Reserve is also due to announce its interest rate decision that day. Higher rates typically make it more expensive to fund major investment projects with borrowed money.

Amazon reports its quarterly results on Thursday, October 29. Investors will focus on Amazon Web Services, its cloud business, which sells AI computing power to companies.

That makes the coming week a crucial one for the entire sector. Demand for AI remains strong, but investors are demanding more from companies’ financial results.

For chipmakers such as Nvidia, ASML and Besi, much depends on their customers’ investment plans.

For now, the biggest question is not whether companies will keep spending on AI. It is how much they will earn from it.