A relatively unknown company from Veldhoven in the Netherlands — ASML Holding NV — has quietly become one of the biggest drivers of the global technology market. Over the past six months, its shares on the Nasdaq have delivered a remarkable near-90% gain, outpacing most major tech stocks and highlighting the crucial role it plays behind the scenes of modern electronics.
Unlike Apple or Intel, ASML doesn’t make devices or consumer chips. Instead, it manufactures the sophisticated machines — known as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems — that chipmakers need to produce the world’s most advanced semiconductors. These systems are vital for etching tiny, efficient circuits onto silicon wafers — a process at the heart of modern microchips used in smartphones, data centers, electric vehicles and AI hardware.
ASML’s dominance stems from the fact thatit is essentially the only company on Earth capable of producing commercial EUV tools, giving it an unrivaled position in the semiconductor supply chain. No other competitor has matched its technological lead or manufacturing scale, creating barriers to entry that are nearly impossible to overcome in the short term. This near-monopoly has led to strong investor confidence and persistent demand from top contract manufacturers and foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Samsung Electronics and Intel Corporation.
There are three major forces behind ASML’s extraordinary stock performance:
Surging global demand for cutting-edge chips:As semiconductor makers expand production and shift toward smaller process nodes, EUV machinery — which enables this transition — has become indispensable.
AI-driven infrastructure growth:The ongoing expansion of AI computing infrastructure requires ever more powerful semiconductors, driving long-term demand for EUV systems that can produce them.
Robust order backlog:ASML’s order books — including record quarterly and long-term bookings — extend years into the future, providing visibility into revenue streams and shielding it from short-term economic fluctuations.
The complexity of EUV systems — each as large as a bus and assembled from hundreds of thousands of parts — makes them extremely difficult to replicate. This technological and logistical challenge has kept ASML’s lead intact, and governments view these machines as strategic assets given their role in national tech ecosystems and semiconductor self-sufficiency.
In summary, ASML’s boom isn’t just a short-lived stock market story — it reflects structural shifts in chipmaking, the rise of AI computing, and a tech supply chain where one company sits at the core of innovation that touches nearly every advanced product on the market.
