ASML Holding N.V.
ASML Holding N.V. provides lithography solutions for the development, production, marketing, sales, upgrading, and servicing of advanced semiconductor equipment systems. The company offers lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. It also provides extreme ultraviolet lithography systems; and deep ultraviolet lithography systems comprising immersion and dry lithography systems solutions to manufacture various range of semiconductor nodes and technologies. In addition, the company offers metrology and inspection systems, including YieldStar optical metrology systems, a diffraction-based wafer metrology platform to assess the quality of patterns on the wafers; and HMI electron beam solutions to locate and analyze individual chip defects. Further, it provides computational lithography solutions, and lithography systems and control software solutions; and refurbishes and upgrades lithography systems, as well as offers customer support and related services. Additionally, the company offers hardware, software, and services to chipmakers to produce the patterns of integrated circuits. It operates in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China, rest of Asia, the Netherlands, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States. The company was formerly known as ASM Lithography Holding N.V. and changed its name to ASML Holding N.V. in 2001. ASML Holding N.V. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.
What does it do?
ASML makes the machines that make computer chips — and there is literally no other company on Earth that can do what they do at the highest level. Think of it this way: every smartphone, laptop, and AI server needs chips, and those chips are printed onto silicon using incredibly precise light-based machines called lithography systems. ASML's most advanced machines, called EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) systems, use light with a wavelength smaller than a virus to etch circuits onto chips. Without ASML, companies like TSMC, Samsung, and Intel simply cannot build the most advanced chips in the world.
AI is driving a once-in-a-generation surge in demand for advanced chips, and every chip factory being built to meet that demand needs ASML's machines — there is no substitute. ASML sits at the single most critical chokepoint in the entire global technology supply chain, which gives it enormous pricing power and makes it a geopolitical flashpoint between the US and China. Investors see it as one of the purest ways to bet on the long-term growth of AI, without having to pick which AI company wins.
How does it make money?
ASML makes money by selling its lithography machines, which range from around $80 million for older DUV (Deep Ultraviolet) systems to over $380 million for a single cutting-edge High-NA EUV machine. Revenue hit $32.7 billion in the latest annual results, up from $28.3 billion the prior year — a 15% jump driven by strong EUV demand. Beyond hardware sales, ASML earns recurring revenue through service contracts, software upgrades, and spare parts, which creates a steady income stream even when new machine orders slow down. Net income came in at $9.4 billion, meaning roughly 29 cents of every dollar in revenue becomes profit — a sign of exceptional pricing power.
Why do investors care?
The core growth story is simple: the world needs more and more advanced chips, and only ASML can supply the tools to make them. Every new AI data center, every smartphone upgrade cycle, and every push for energy-efficient computing requires chipmakers to buy more ASML machines. The company has a multi-year order backlog — meaning customers are already pre-paying to secure machines years in advance — which gives investors unusual visibility into future revenue. For the thesis to fully play out, chip demand needs to stay strong, ASML needs to successfully ramp its next-generation High-NA EUV machines, and geopolitical restrictions on China sales cannot deepen much further.
Deep Dive
MemberA full investor briefing on ASML Holding N.V. — history, leadership, risks, and outlook.