ASML price above €1,000

The exchange fund ASML experienced a historic moment: the stock price broke the €1,000 barrier for the first time. This brings the total market value of this chip machine manufacturer to €400 billion. This is as much as the four well known market names of Shell, Unilever, Heineken and Ahold combined. While ASML has been the largest company in the Netherlands in terms of market value for some time, and is also the second largest listed company in Europe, the company is still relatively unknown to the general public. It’s high time for a short introduction.

ASML was founded in 1984 as a joint venture between ASM International – a company active in the chip industry since 1968 – and Philips. The abbreviation ASML stands for Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography. After both exchange funds sold their interests, the chip machine maker from Veldhoven in Brabant has an independent listing at Beursplein 5 since 1995. Although the name is still relatively unknown compared to historical heavyweights like Unilever and Shell, it has gradually overtaken both companies over the past thirty years as the largest fund in the AEX index.

ASML mainly owes this growth to the ever-continuing demand for chips. Its main customers are major chip manufacturers, such as Intel and Samsung. ASML started with 40 employees in 1984, and it now has 40,000 employees. The expectation is that the number of employees will only increase since the introduction of artificial intelligence is increasing the demand for chips. And to top it off, it’s all happening in the year ASML is celebrating its 40^th birthday. There is a sting in the tail though – particular attention needs to be paid to the potential for growth being severely limited if a political decision is made to limit the export of chip machines to China in the near future.