ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) stock is making big gains in this week's trading thanks to strong fourth-quarter results and encouraging guidance. The Dutch semiconductor equipment specialist's share price was up 14.7% from last week's market close heading into this Friday's trading, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

ASML published its Q4 results on Jan. 24, posting sales and earnings for the period that came in significantly ahead of the market's expectations. The company reported net income of 2 billion euros on revenue of 7.2 billion euros, beating the average analyst estimate's call for a profit of 1.87 billion euros and 6.9 billion euros in sales. The strong performance pushed the company's share price to a new record high in subsequent trading.

ASML's net income rose 9% year over year, and its sales climbed 12.5% in the period. Notably, the company recorded 9.19 billion euros in net bookings in Q4 -- up 253.5% on a sequential quarterly basis and 45.4% year over year. On the other hand, full-year bookings of roughly 20 billion euros were still down roughly 34.7% compared to bookings in 2022.

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Source Fool.com