ASML

What ASML does

ASML makes lithography systems, the machines that print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Based in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, it describes its business as supplying chipmakers with hardware, software and services for mass-producing those patterns. It began in 1984 as a venture created by Philips and Advanced Semiconductor Materials International (ASMI) and became an independent listed company in 1995, according to its corporate history.

Its most advanced products use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers. ASML says the technology is unique to the company and prints features at a resolution that deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, used in its other systems, cannot reach. The newest generation, High NA (high numerical aperture), raises the numerical aperture of the optics from 0.33 to 0.55.

Why it matters

ASML says EUV systems print the most intricate layers of a chip, with DUV systems printing the rest. It says chips made with EUV are used in applications including artificial intelligence (AI). Nikkei Asia reported in May 2026 that ASML holds over 80% of the market for chip lithography equipment. Nikkei Asia said Nikon plans to compete with lower-priced machines.

Export controls also affect the company directly. The United States tightened its rules on chipmaking equipment in December 2024. ASML then said it expected China to account for about 20% of its 2025 sales. In October 2025 it said it expected sales to China to decline significantly in 2026. A think tank report covered by Nikkei Asia in July 2026 alleged that China directs economic statecraft and espionage at Dutch strategic industries. It pointed to pressure on ASML. In November 2025 ASML rejected claims in a newly published Dutch book about the company. It called them highly inaccurate and denied it had knowingly broken any agreement with a government.

Recent developments

ASML reported 2025 net sales of €32.7 billion and net income of €9.6 billion on January 28, 2026, with an order backlog of €38.8 billion. The same day it told employees that a proposed reorganization of its technology and IT groups could bring a net reduction of about 1,700 positions, mostly in the Netherlands.

On July 15, 2026 the company reported second-quarter net sales of €9.3 billion. Citing AI-related demand, it raised its 2026 sales forecast to between €43 billion and €45 billion, from €36 billion to €40 billion in April. It also announced Intel Foundry had started high-volume manufacturing of some processors using High NA EUV on specific layers of the Intel 18A process.

On September 8, 2026 ASML and TSMC announced an industry initiative, formed a day earlier. It aims to move High NA EUV to 12-inch photomasks, the patterned plates that carry a chip design, from today's 6-inch format. TSMC said it intends to use High NA in high-volume manufacturing from 2030. Samsung said it plans to bring it into DRAM memory chip production by 2028. In September 2025 ASML invested €1.3 billion in Mistral AI for a stake of about 11%.

What to watch

ASML guided in July 2026 for third-quarter net sales of €11.0 billion to €12.0 billion. It said it plans to add 30% to its low NA EUV capacity for 2027, from about 65 systems in 2026. It said it is studying a similar increase for 2028. In April 2026 it said its 2026 guidance range allowed for possible outcomes of export control discussions. ASML says it will update its longer-term outlook at a Capital Markets Day on June 10, 2027. Scenarios it presented in November 2024 put 2030 annual sales at roughly €44 billion to €60 billion.