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NVIDIA The company has become the most valuable company in the world thanks to its advanced chips that are powering the artificial intelligence revolution. but if not ASML.
The Dutch semiconductor equipment company, one of Europe’s most valuable, makes the photolithography machines needed to print extremely fine patterns on silicon wafers.
It is the only company in the world that produces extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines for the production of state-of-the-art semiconductors. It holds 90% of the broader lithography market.
Bank of America analyst Didier Scemama predicts that it will soon occupy a monopoly in next-generation EUV lithography. “ASML has industrialized next-generation EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography technology that we believe will underpin many of this decade’s disruptive trends,” he wrote in a note on Wednesday.
His report came after ASML’s earnings report showed a drop in order volumes. More than double analysts’ expectations Q4 2025.
ASML share price
Catching up with ASML ‘almost impossible’
Morningstar equity analyst Javier Correonero told CNBC that lithography is the “building block of any chip,” adding that ASML machines play a role in 99 percent of semiconductor production.
But EUV is crucial to the development of artificial intelligence.
ASML produces two types of EUV: low numerical aperture, used to produce the current generation of artificial intelligence chips, including Nvidia Blackwell; and more advanced high numerical aperture, used for research and development by companies developing next-generation semiconductors.
ASML’s EXE:5000 is located in the High NA laboratory in Veldhoven.
Both machines fire powerful lasers at droplets of molten tin in a vacuum, creating a plasma that emits EUV light. Ultra-precise mirrors are then used to direct the light and reflect it off a mask containing a pattern of one layer of the chip, which is then shrunk and projected onto a silicon wafer.
These systems are purchased by chip foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and signed contracts with chip designers such as Nvidia.
Correonero said companies such as Japan’s Nikon and Canon, which provide some lithography machines for non-advanced process nodes, are “distant competitors.”
“They are large conglomerates investing a fraction of what ASML has invested over three decades. At this point, catching up is almost impossible,” he added.
Looking to the future
EUV accounts for the majority of ASML’s bookings, contributing €7.4 billion ($8.8 billion) to total net bookings of €13.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. In 2025, the company sold 48 EUV systems, generating revenue of 11.6 billion euros.
While ASML has not publicly disclosed the cost of its machines, analysts told CNBC that its state-of-the-art high-NA EUV will cost between €320 million and €400 million. Correonero said its low numerical aperture EUV sells for about 220 million euros.
He added that companies such as TSMC, Intel and Samsung are currently experimenting with high numerical aperture EUV in laboratory settings.
Correonero said: “Once customers get used to the tool, it will be gradually introduced into high-volume production. High NA is expected to reach high-volume production in 2027 to 2028, and Intel will be the first adopter.”
ASML’s stock price rose 36% last year. Since January 1, the company’s stock price has soared another 32%. Earlier this month, the company became the third European company to see its valuation take a hit The five trillion dollar markthe income it holds.
Analysts expect the stock to continue rising as advanced chips remain critical to the continued buildout of artificial intelligence. ASML expects net sales to reach 34 billion to 39 billion euros in 2026, up from 32.7 billion euros in 2025.
