(Reuters) -ASML, the world's biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment, on Wednesday warned that it expected a significant fall in demand from China next year despite its third quarter bookings beating market forecasts.

The Dutch group's net bookings, the most closely watched figure in the industry, were 5.40 billion euros ($6.27 billion)in the third quarter of 2025, versus analysts' consensus estimate of 5.36 billion euros according to researcher Visible Alpha.

"We do not expect 2026 total net sales to be below 2025... On the other hand, we expect China customer demand, and therefore our China total net sales in 2026 to decline significantly." ASML's CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a statement.

ASML said it will communicate its new targets in January.

"A slight beat in bookings means there will be no sales decline in 2026, flat to growth", Michael Roeg of Degroof Petercam said. "It could have been a stronger message".

($1 = 0.8607 euros)