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    organization

    ASML

    Also known as ASML Holding, ASML Holding N.V.

    ASML is a Dutch company that designs and builds the lithography machines chipmakers use to print circuit patterns.[1] It is the only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems,[2] and in July 2026 it guided 2026 net sales of €43 billion to €45 billion.[3]

    Editor reviewedUpdated SemiconductorsTech policyBig Tech
    Key facts

    ASML is a Dutch company that designs and manufactures lithography machines. These machines use light to print the patterns that form circuits on chips.[1] It is the only maker of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems.[2] In July 2026 ASML guided 2026 net sales of €43 billion to €45 billion.[3]

    Company overview

    ASML was founded in 1984.[4] Its global headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, is also its largest R&D and manufacturing site.[5] It had more than 44,000 full-time-equivalent employees in 2025.[6] Christophe Fouquet is President and Chief Executive Officer.[7]

    Products and technology

    ASML sells lithography systems together with the software and services chipmakers need to mass produce chips. Its machines use light to print the tiny patterns that form the circuits inside chips.[1] ASML is the only maker of EUV systems;[2] what that means for the AI chip supply chain is discussed in AI chip supply concentration. It also makes deep ultraviolet (DUV) immersion systems and put its 2026 capacity for them at around 130 systems.[8]

    Its EUV systems use 13.5-nanometer light, far shorter than the 193-nanometer light of its most precise DUV systems.[9] The NXE platform has a numerical aperture of 0.33 and prints features at 13 nm resolution.[10] The newer High NA (EXE) platform raises the numerical aperture to 0.55 and offers 8 nm resolution.[11] ASML shipped the first modules of the first High NA system to Intel in December 2023.[12] In July 2026 Intel was reported to be using High NA systems for some layers of its Intel 18A process.[13] TSMC said in 2019 that its N7+ process was the industry’s first commercially available EUV technology delivering customer products in high volume.[14]

    ASML continues to develop the EUV light source, which produces light by turning tin droplets into plasma with laser pulses.[15] In February 2026 it was reported to have demonstrated a 1,000-watt source, up from 600 watts. ASML said this could raise throughput to about 330 wafers per hour per machine by 2030, from about 220 today.[16]

    Financial results

    ASML reported 2025 total net sales of €32.7 billion, a gross margin of 52.8% and net income of €9.6 billion.[17] Fourth-quarter 2025 net sales were a record €9.7 billion and included revenue for two High NA systems.[18] Net bookings in that quarter were €13.2 billion, of which €7.4 billion were EUV systems.[19]

    In the second quarter of 2026 ASML reported net sales of €9.3 billion, a gross margin of 54.0% and net income of €2.9 billion.[20] It guided third-quarter 2026 net sales of €11.0 billion to €12.0 billion.[3]

    Capacity plans

    ASML put its 2026 capacity for low-NA EUV systems at around 65. In July 2026 it said it planned to add 30% to that for 2027 and was investigating another 30% increase for 2028.[21] It planned a similar 30% increase in DUV immersion capacity for 2027.[8]

    Export controls

    In June 2026 US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised concerns that one of ASML’s EUV machines might have reached China in violation of export restrictions. ASML responded that it had never shipped an EUV machine to China, nor any component, module or equipment specially designed for one.[22] Separately, Reuters reported in December 2025 that a prototype EUV machine had been completed in Shenzhen and was being tested, though it was not yet making chips.[23] US controls on chipmaking equipment for China date to October 2022 and are tracked on the US AI chip export controls page.[24]

    Questions readers ask

    Is ASML the only company that makes EUV machines?

    Yes. EUV lithography systems are made by a single manufacturer, ASML, which describes the technology as unique to ASML.[2]

    Has ASML sold EUV machines to China?

    ASML said in June 2026 that it has never shipped an EUV machine, or components specially designed for one, to China.[22]

    How big is ASML?

    ASML reported 2025 net sales of €32.7 billion and net income of €9.6 billion, and had more than 44,000 full-time-equivalent employees.[17][6]

    How many EUV systems can ASML build?

    ASML put its 2026 low-NA EUV capacity at around 65 systems and said in July 2026 that it planned to add 30% for 2027.[21]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      ASML designs and manufactures lithography machines, which use light to print the patterns that form circuits on chips, and supplies chipmakers with related software and services. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    2. [2]

      ASML is the only manufacturer of EUV lithography systems; ASML itself describes EUV lithography as unique to ASML. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    3. [3]

      In July 2026 ASML guided 2026 total net sales of €43 billion to €45 billion and third-quarter 2026 net sales of €11.0 billion to €12.0 billion. confirmedas of 2026-07-15· forecast

    4. [4]

      ASML was founded in 1984. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

      • About ASML · ASML · Key facts: year founded (retrieved 2026-10-10)
    5. [5]

      ASML's global headquarters in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, is its largest R&D and manufacturing site. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    6. [6]

      ASML had more than 44,000 employees (full-time equivalents) in 2025. confirmedas of 2025-12-31

    7. [7]

      Christophe Fouquet is ASML's President and Chief Executive Officer. confirmedas of 2026-01-28

    8. [8]

      ASML also planned to add 30% to its 2026 DUV immersion capacity of around 130 systems for 2027. confirmedas of 2026-07-15· forecast

    9. [9]

      EUV lithography uses light with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers, compared with 193 nanometers for the highest-resolution deep ultraviolet (DUV) systems. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    10. [10]

      ASML's NXE EUV systems have a numerical aperture of 0.33 and print features with a resolution of 13 nm. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    11. [11]

      ASML's High NA EUV systems (EXE platform) raise the numerical aperture to 0.55 and offer 8 nm resolution, which ASML says allows transistors 1.7 times smaller and densities 2.9 times higher. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    12. [12]

      ASML shipped the first modules of the first High NA EUV system to Intel in December 2023. confirmedas of 2023-12-31

    13. [13]

      In July 2026 Intel was reported to be using ASML's High NA EUV (EXE) systems to produce some layers of its Intel 18A process for a subset of Core Ultra Series 3 laptop processors. reportedas of 2026-07-15

    14. [14]

      TSMC said in October 2019 that its N7+ process, the industry's first commercially available EUV lithography technology, was delivering customer products in high volume after starting volume production in the second quarter of 2019. confirmedas of 2019-10-07

    15. [15]

      In ASML's EUV source, molten tin droplets about 25 microns across are hit first by a low-intensity laser pulse that flattens them and then by a more powerful pulse that vaporizes them into a plasma emitting EUV light, about 50,000 times per second. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    16. [16]

      In February 2026 ASML was reported to have demonstrated a 1,000-watt EUV light source, up from 600 watts, which it said could raise throughput to about 330 wafers per hour per machine by 2030 from about 220 today. reportedas of 2026-02-24

    17. [17]

      ASML reported 2025 total net sales of €32.7 billion, a gross margin of 52.8% and net income of €9.6 billion. confirmedas of 2025-12-31

    18. [18]

      ASML's record fourth-quarter 2025 net sales of €9.7 billion included revenue recognized for two High NA EUV systems. confirmedas of 2025-12-31

    19. [19]

      ASML's net bookings in the fourth quarter of 2025 were €13.2 billion, of which €7.4 billion were EUV systems. confirmedas of 2025-12-31

    20. [20]

      ASML reported second-quarter 2026 total net sales of €9.3 billion, a gross margin of 54.0% and net income of €2.9 billion. confirmedas of 2026-06-30

    21. [21]

      In July 2026 ASML said it planned to add 30% to its 2026 low-NA EUV capacity of around 65 systems for 2027 and was investigating a further 30% increase for 2028. confirmedas of 2026-07-15· forecast

    22. [22]

      In June 2026 ASML said it had never shipped an EUV machine to China, after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick raised concerns that one may have reached the country in violation of export restrictions. confirmedas of 2026-06-19

    23. [23]

      Reuters reported in December 2025 that a prototype EUV machine had been completed in Shenzhen and was being tested, but was not yet making chips. reportedas of 2025-12-17

    24. [24]

      A BIS interim final rule effective October 7, 2022 amended the Export Administration Regulations to control advanced computing integrated circuits, computers containing them, and certain semiconductor manufacturing items. confirmedas of 2022-10-13

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Refresh: replaced the paraphrased company-description excerpt with a verbatim quote; added links to the supply-chain, export-control and computing-hardware pages.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "ASML." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/asml

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