ASML
ASML
ASML in Veldhoven builds the machines chip fabs use to print patterns on silicon. For the newest generations there is no alternative anywhere.
- Ticker
- ASML
- Exchange
- Euronext Amsterdam / Nasdaq
- Headquarters
- Veldhoven, Nederland
- Founded
- 1984
- Role in the AI chain
- Supply chain
Indicative, delayed price. Not investment advice.
What the machines do
Lithography exposes a pattern on a wafer. ASML's EUV systems use extremely short wavelengths, enabling features a few nanometres wide.
A machine costs hundreds of millions of euros and ships in parts; the service contracts afterwards are a steady income stream.
Export rules and politics
The Netherlands and the US restrict exports of the most advanced systems to China, which hits the order book and makes ASML a geopolitical file.
Meanwhile AI demand pushes investment at TSMC, Samsung and Intel, where ASML benefits first.
Risks
The order cycle is lumpy and the customer base is small.
Frequently asked questions
Why has ASML no EUV competition?
The technology took decades and a chain of specialised suppliers. No one else has a working system.
How hard do export limits hit?
They cap sales of top systems to certain markets while AI investment lifts demand elsewhere.
Is ASML an AI stock?
Indirectly: without these machines there are no advanced AI chips.
This page is editorial explanation, not investment advice. Share prices can swing hard; never invest money you need.