ASML is one of the most strategically important companies in the global semiconductor industry, even though it does not manufacture the chips found in smartphones, data centers or AI accelerators. Instead, the Dutch company produces the highly specialized machines that chipmakers use to create the microscopic patterns that form modern semiconductor circuits, placing ASML at a critical point in the global technology supply chain.

What Does ASML Actually Make?

ASML designs and manufactures lithography machines, which use light to transfer extremely small circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. The process is fundamental to semiconductor manufacturing because shrinking these patterns allows chipmakers to place more transistors onto each chip and improve computing performance.

ASML’s portfolio includes deep ultraviolet (DUV) systems used across a wide range of semiconductor production, as well as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) systems for the most advanced manufacturing processes. EUV technology uses extremely short-wavelength light and enables chipmakers to produce increasingly sophisticated designs. ASML is currently the only company capable of supplying EUV lithography systems for high-volume semiconductor manufacturing.

Why Is ASML So Important to the AI Boom?

The rise of artificial intelligence has increased demand for advanced processors, high-bandwidth memory and increasingly sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing. That trend directly affects ASML because chipmakers need additional lithography capacity as they move toward more advanced production nodes.

In 2025, ASML generated €32.7 billion in total net sales, up 15.6% from 2024, while gross margin reached 52.8%. The company sold 48 EUV lithography systems during the year and invested €4.7 billion in research and development. ASML has also indicated that AI-related demand is supporting investment in advanced logic and memory capacity.

A Strategic Company With Global Risks

ASML’s importance extends beyond its financial results. Its technology sits at the intersection of semiconductor competition, artificial intelligence and international trade policy. Restrictions on advanced semiconductor equipment exports to China have created an additional layer of geopolitical complexity for the company and its customers.

Customer concentration is another consideration. ASML’s largest customers include some of the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturers, meaning changes in their capital-spending plans can materially influence orders and revenue. At the same time, developing next-generation lithography systems requires substantial research, engineering and supplier coordination, creating significant barriers to entry for potential competitors.

ASML expects 2026 total net sales of between €34 billion and €39 billion, with EUV revenue expected to increase significantly as advanced logic and DRAM investment develops. Longer term, the company has identified a potential 2030 annual revenue range of approximately €44 billion to €60 billion.

For investors and the broader technology industry, the key issue is how rapidly AI infrastructure spending translates into sustained semiconductor capacity expansion. ASML’s future performance will depend on that demand, customers’ capital-expenditure plans, successful development of next-generation lithography technology and the evolving global rules governing semiconductor equipment exports.