Earnings Season Underlines Europe’s Tech Prowess as Investors Look Beyond Wall Street

In particular, the region’s technology sector saw a series of strong earnings growth over the recent quarter, with results that largely surpassed expectations and drove new confidence in the outlook for the continent’s AI initiatives. 

Illustrating this increasingly buoyant look to Europe’s tech future, the MSCI Europe Technology Index recorded a 16% rise in earnings per share (EPS) for the third quarter, far surpassing earlier forecasts of 4.2%. This level of outperformance makes technology Europe’s strongest sector. 

Those leading Europe’s charge include Dutch semiconductor firm ASML Holding NV (AMS: ASML) and telecommunications giant Ericsson AB (STO: ERIC-B), with the latter benefiting from the sale of its call-routing business. 

Although software leader SAP SE (ETR: SAP) reported a more mixed outlook owing to trade tensions and a weaker US dollar, CEO Christian Klein pointed to the firm’s AI innovation pipeline as a key driver for future growth. 

“Europe may not have experienced the same fast-paced AI boom as Wall Street following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but it’s certainly making up lost ground,” explained Iván Marchena, Senior Economist at global brokerage brand Just2Trade. 

“The continent is in the midst of its very own AI super-cycle, with global data center and chip investment reaching $1 trillion, in a trend that’s not only growing investor optimism but driving upward revisions in earnings forecasts throughout Europe’s tech landscape.” 

AI Brings Cautious Optimism

Although its €350 billion ($400 billion) valuation puts it at around one-tenth the size of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the Dutch semiconductor firm ASML Holding NV is one of Europe’s brightest players in the artificial intelligence landscape, posting growth of 33% in 2025 to October. 

ASML’s Q3 results saw sales reach €7.5 billion and net income climb to €2.1 billion. While the company has taken measures to temper expectations for the future due to trade uncertainty surrounding China and the wider geopolitical landscape, expectations for the quarter ahead remain strong for the semiconductor equipment manufacturer. 

Because the artificial intelligence boom requires increasingly advanced chips to power the technology, ASML’s cutting-edge chip-making machines are drawing plenty of investor interest. Growing demand from the AI sector is likely to provide a significant boost to the company’s performance as the technology matures. 

With a new share buyback scheme to be announced in January 2026, ASML is continuing to seek ways to return substantial cash to shareholders. But are these European tech pioneers strong enough to prise new investors away from Wall Street’s tech giants? 

Driving New Investment

The clouded outlook on trade helped to drive fresh investment into Europe as tariff uncertainty drove $100 billion worth of inflow into the continent’s equity funds, as US outflows doubled over the same period. 

One of the key beneficiaries of these shifting investment trends is Germany. The European Union’s largest economy has seen foreign direct investment rebound in 2025, more than doubling to €46 billion over the first four months of the year to its highest level since 2022. 

At the same time, German firms have been pulling capital out of the United States, with a negative investment balance of €2.38 billion recorded in the wake of President Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement in April. 

In a June McKinsey Global Institute report, the strategic consulting firm ran a series of simulations to assess how US importers and Chinese exporters could rearrange trade across 5,000 products. 

In nine of the varied simulations, European imports from China and exports to the US go up by almost $200 billion, showcasing a potential new role the continent could play in the future of global trade. 

With exports to the United States from as many as 70 countries impacted by steeper tariffs, Europe has the opportunity to transform its role in world supply chains, helping its emerging tech industries to gain new prominence. 

Wooing Wall Street

The signs are positive that European tech startups are beginning to compete with their US counterparts, thanks to greater investor interest from the United States and beyond. 

The value of funding rounds for European AI companies skyrocketed 600% in the third quarter of 2025 in comparison with the previous quarter, owing largely to the $2 billion raise for French AI company Mistral. 

However, September brought the series C funding round for ASML, which drew €1.3bn ($1.5bn) in investment. With Nvidia, the world’s most valuable stock and semiconductor giant, forming part of the round, it’s clear that Europe is growing its appeal to Wall Street at a considerable pace. 

Now the emphasis must turn to the European Union to consolidate this growing global interest and foster a regulatory environment that nurtures the continent’s most innovative tech firms. 

Europe is finally an active component of the artificial intelligence boom, and after a positive earnings season, its brightest tech players can continue to earn interest from US investors.