ASML Stock Up 30% as It Eyes the Next Big AI Chip Market

TLDR

• ASML’s $400 million High-NA EUV machines have processed 500,000 wafers and are technically ready, but chipmakers need 2–3 more years before full mass production.
• The company is planning to enter the advanced chip packaging market, targeting a key growth area for AI hardware.
• ASML’s EUV light source could boost chip output by up to 50% by end of the decade, with a path to 2,000 watts of power.
• Full-year 2025 net sales hit $39.16 billion with net income of $11.5 billion; backlog stands at $46.47 billion.
• ASML stock is up over 30% this year and more than 106% over the past 12 months.

ASML Holding is moving beyond its core business in EUV lithography and setting its sights on new territory in AI chip manufacturing.

ASML Holding N.V., ASML

The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker, the only company in the world that sells commercial EUV systems, is now actively researching tools for advanced chip packaging — a fast-growing part of the AI hardware supply chain.

Chief Technology Officer Marco Pieters, promoted to the role in October, laid out the company’s roadmap in an interview with Reuters on March 2.

The push into packaging comes as chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD increasingly design chips that stack vertically or connect horizontally — more like skyscrapers than flat single-story structures. That shift has turned packaging, once a low-margin business, into a higher-value part of chip manufacturing.

TSMC already uses advanced packaging to build Nvidia’s most powerful AI chips, and ASML sees an opening to supply the tools needed for that process.

High-NA EUV Machines Near Mass Production

ASML’s next-generation High-NA EUV machines, priced at around $400 million each — roughly twice the cost of its previous EUV systems — have now processed 500,000 silicon wafers.

The machines are hitting about 80% uptime, with a target of 90% by the end of 2025. Pieters said chipmakers will likely need another two to three years of integration work before the machines are running in full-scale production.

ASML also disclosed progress on its EUV light source, which now consistently generates 1,000 watts under customer conditions. The company sees a path to 1,500 watts and eventually 2,000 watts — an improvement that could raise wafer output from roughly 220 per hour today to around 330 per hour by the end of the decade, a potential 50% increase.

Last year, ASML released a scanning tool called the XT:260, built specifically for advanced AI memory chips. Engineers are working on additional tools, Pieters confirmed.

Record 2025 Results Underpin Expansion

ASML posted strong 2025 numbers to back up its ambitions. Full-year net sales came in at $39.16 billion, with net income of $11.5 billion.

Fourth-quarter revenue reached $11.62 billion. Net bookings for the quarter totaled $16.77 billion, more than half of which were tied to EUV systems.

The company ended the year with a backlog of $46.47 billion.

For 2026, ASML is projecting net sales between $40.72 billion and $46.7 billion. It also approved a share repurchase program of up to $14.37 billion through 2028.

The stock trades at roughly 40 times forward earnings — higher than Nvidia’s approximately 22 times. ASML’s market cap sits at around $560 billion.

ASML stock has gained more than 30% year-to-date and is up over 106% in the past 12 months, outpacing the PHLX Semiconductor Index’s 75% gain over the same period.

In January, the company reorganized its technology division to put more emphasis on engineering over management roles — a structural shift that reflects Pieters’ focus on R&D-led growth.

Pieters, who has a software background, said AI will also be used internally to speed up the control software in ASML’s machines and improve chip inspection during production.

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