Why Nvidia’s AI boom needs Dutch chip equipment maker ASML
Nvidia It has become the world’s most valuable company thanks to its advanced chips powering the artificial intelligence revolution. But he can’t succeed without it ASML.
The Dutch semiconductor equipment company, one of Europe’s most valuable companies, produces the lithography machines needed to print extremely fine patterns on silicon wafers.
It is the only company in the world that produces extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used to produce the most advanced semiconductors. It has a 90% share of the broader lithography market.
Bank of America analyst Didier Scemama recently predicted that it will soon have a monopoly on next-generation EUV lithography. “ASML has industrialized the next generation of EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography technology that we believe will underpin many of this decade’s disruptive trends,” he wrote in a note Wednesday.
His rating came after ASML’s earnings report revealed that bookings in the fourth quarter of 2025 were more than double analyst expectations.
ASML’s share price
Catching up with ASML is ‘almost impossible’
Morningstar stock analyst Javier Correonero told CNBC that lithography is the “building block of any chip,” adding that ASML machines play a role in the production of 99% of semiconductors.
However, it is EUVs that are vital for AI formation.
ASML makes two types of EUV: low numerical aperture, used to produce current-generation AI chips, including Nvidia Blackwell, and more advanced high numerical aperture, used in R&D by companies developing next-generation semiconductors.
ASML’s EXE:5000 is at the High NA Laboratory in Veldhoven.
Both machines fire powerful lasers at molten tin droplets in a vacuum, creating plasma that emits EUV light. The light is then directed using ultra-precise mirrors and reflected off a mask containing the pattern of one layer of the chip, which is then miniaturized and reflected onto a silicon wafer.
These systems are purchased by chip foundries such as Taiwanese company TSMC, which contracts with chip designers such as Nvidia.
Correonero said companies such as Japan’s Nikon and Canon, which ship some lithography machines for non-advanced process nodes, are “distant competitors.”
“These are large conglomerates that have invested only a fraction of what ASML has invested over three decades. It is almost impossible to keep up at this point,” he added.
Look ahead
EUVs account for the majority of ASML’s booking value, contributing 7.4 billion euros ($8.8 billion) to total net bookings of 13.2 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2025. During 2025, the company sold 48 EUV systems, generating revenue of 11.6 billion euros.
Although ASML does not publicly disclose the cost of its machines, analysts told CNBC that the price tag for its most advanced high NA EUV is between 320 million and 400 million euros. Correonero said the low NA EUV sold for around 220 million euros.
He added that companies such as TSMC, Intel and Samsung are currently testing high NA EUV in a laboratory environment.
“Once customers get used to the tool, it is slowly being introduced into high-volume production. High NA is expected to reach high-volume production by 2027-2028, and Intel will be the first adopter,” Correonero said. said Correonero.
ASML’s share price is up 36% in the last year. It’s up another 32% since January 1. It became the third European company to reach its highest valuation earlier this month. He retained half a trillion dollars in earnings.
Analysts expect the stock to continue rising as advanced chips are critical for ongoing AI development. ASML forecasts net sales in 2026 to be between 34 billion and 39 billion euros, above the 32.7 billion euros it achieved in 2025.
