Nvidia has become the world’s most valuable company thanks to its advanced chips that are powering the AI revolution. But this could not succeed without ASML.
The Dutch semiconductor equipment company, one of the largest in Europe, makes the lithography machines needed to print extremely fine patterns on silicon wafers.
It is the only company in the world that manufactures extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used to produce the most advanced semiconductors. It holds 90% of the broader lithography market.
Didier Scemama, an analyst at Bank of America, predicts that the company will soon gain a monopoly on next-generation EUV lithography. “ASML has industrialized next-generation EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography technology, which we believe will underpin many of the disruptive trends of this decade,” he wrote in a note Wednesday.
His note came after ASML’s earnings report revealed that bookings were more than double analysts’ expectations in the fourth quarter of 2025.
ASML stock price
Catching up with ASML “is practically impossible”
Javier Correonero, equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNBC that lithography is “the building block of any chip,” adding that ASML machines have played a role in the production of 99% of semiconductors.
But it is EUVs that are crucial for the development of AI.
ASML manufactures two types of EUV: a low numerical aperture, used to produce the current generation of AI chips, including the Nvidia Blackwell, and a more advanced high numerical aperture, used in R&D by companies developing next-generation semiconductors.
EXE:5000 from ASML in the High NA laboratory in Veldhoven.
Both machines fire powerful lasers at molten tin droplets in a vacuum, which creates a plasma emitting EUV light. The light is then guided using ultra-precise mirrors and reflected onto a mask containing the pattern of one layer of the chip, which is then shrunk and projected onto a silicon wafer.
These systems are purchased by chip foundries like Taiwanese company TSMC, which work under contract with chip designers like Nvidia.
Correonero said companies like Japan’s Nikon and Canon, which provide lithography machines for non-advanced process nodes, were “distant competitors.”
“These are large conglomerates that have invested only a tiny fraction of what ASML has invested over three decades. At this point, catching up is virtually impossible,” he added.
Looking to the future
EUVs represent the majority of ASML’s booking value, contributing €7.4 billion ($8.8 billion) to a total of €13.2 billion in net bookings in the fourth quarter of 2025. During 2025, the company sold 48 EUV systems, generating €11.6 billion in revenue.
Although ASML does not publicly reveal the cost of its machines, analysts told CNBC that the price of its most advanced high-NA EUV is between €320 million and €400 million. Its low NA EUV sells for around 220 million euros, Correonero said.
Companies like TSMC, Intel and Samsung are currently experimenting with high-NA EUV in the lab, he added.
“Once customers are accustomed to the tool, it is gradually introduced into high-volume manufacturing. High NA is expected to reach high-volume manufacturing by 2027-2028, with Intel as the first adopter,” Correonero said.
ASML’s share price is up 36% in the last year. It has jumped another 32% since January 1. Earlier this month, it became the third European company to see its valuation fall. the half-trillion dollar markearnings he held.
Analysts expect the stock to continue rising as advanced chips remain critical to the continued development of AI. ASML forecasts that the year 2026 will see its net turnover be between 34 and 39 billion euros, ahead of the 32.7 billion euros achieved in 2025.
