Nasdaq-100® Inside the Index: ASML (ASML)
Key Figures
- $40.2B* revenue (TTM)
- $44.1B backlog (FY2025)
- $10.6B net sales (Q2 2026)
- 51.3%* gross margin (FY24)
- ~31.1× forward P/E (9/24/26)
VOL 1 • ISSUE 26 • OCTOBER 2026
ASML’s machines print the circuits on advanced chips. It ended 2025 with more unfilled orders than a year of sales.
ASML • Technology • Index Constituent
This Issue — ASML
ASML, a current Nasdaq-100® constituent at ~0.69% index weight as of September 24, 2026, designs and builds lithography systems: the machines chipmakers use to print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, layer by layer. Chipmakers run those machines to make advanced logic and memory chips, and ASML also earns from servicing and upgrading the machines already installed in their factories. The company is headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands.
* TTM is the twelve months ended June 28, 2026. Revenue, gross margin and forward P/E per Bloomberg Research; backlog and Q2 2026 net sales per company disclosures. ASML reports in euros; figures converted to USD at the 9/24/2026 EUR/USD spot rate of 1.1367, per Bloomberg Research.
Business Model & Revenue Drivers
Machines, Then Service on the Machines
Chipmakers use ASML systems to print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Two families do the work: deep ultraviolet (DUV) machines, the established technology, and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines, which use shorter-wavelength light to print the finest features on advanced logic and memory chips. In FY2025, EUV systems brought in $13.19B and DUV systems $13.70B, with metrology and inspection systems adding $0.94B (per company disclosures).
A sold machine keeps earning. Service and field upgrades on the installed base added $9.31B in FY2025, about a quarter of the year’s $37.1B in revenue. The customers are chipmakers most readers know by name, including Samsung, Intel and Micron, alongside TSMC and SK Hynix (per Bloomberg research).
Revenue by Source (FY2025, USD; TOTAL $37.1B)
- Systems: $27.8B
- Service & upgrades: $9.3B
Competitive Moat
The EUV Machine and the Orders Behind It
Bloomberg’s September 24, 2026 equity research report on ASML describes it as the world’s sole commercial supplier of EUV lithography systems. The same report estimates it holds about 95% of the global lithography equipment market as of September 2026.
According to company disclosures and Bloomberg research, that EUV technology, built through decades of development alongside a complex supply chain and long customer qualification cycles, may create barriers to entry for some competitors. Net bookings reached $31.9B in FY2025, and more than half were EUV (per company disclosures).
Net Bookings (FY2025, USD)
- EUV: $16.5B
- All other systems: $15.4B
Operating Strengths
Three Operating Measures
- 38.9% return on capital (FY2024). Return on invested capital peaked at 53.9% in FY2023, then eased as spending on new capacity rose (per Bloomberg research).
- $9.1B net cash (END FY2024). ASML held more cash than debt at the end of each year from FY2020 to FY2024 (per Bloomberg research).
- $7.27 dividend per share (FY2024). Up from $3.13 in FY2020, with share buybacks continuing in September 2026 (per company disclosures).
Growth Catalysts
From EUV to High-NA to Hyper-NA
The next machine is High-NA EUV. Numerical aperture (NA) measures how finely a machine’s optics can focus: 0.33 on standard EUV, 0.55 on High-NA, which Bloomberg research says enables chip features smaller than one nanometer. Intel is already using High-NA on its 18A chipmaking process, and ASML is developing a hyper-NA system at 0.75, planned for launch by 2030 with research partner Imec (per company disclosures).
- A raised 2026 outlook. Full-year 2026 revenue is expected to reach $48.9–51.2B, with a 54–56% gross margin and EUV system sales up more than 45% year over year (company guidance).
- More EUV capacity. ASML is expected to support at least 60 standard EUV tools in 2026 and at least 80 in 2027, and is exploring ways to build more than 110 EUV machines in 2028 (per company disclosures).
- AI and memory demand. Customers are making long-term capacity commitments as AI demand grows, and makers of high-bandwidth memory rely on EUV for advanced memory chips (per Bloomberg research). ASML also invested $1.5B in Mistral AI, a developer of AI models.
Historical Context
Revenue From FY2020 to the Year to June 2026
~19% ANNUAL REVENUE GROWTH, FY2020 TO FY2024
- FY2020: $15.89B
- FY2021: $21.16B (+33% YOY)
- FY2022: $24.07B
- FY2023: $31.33B
- FY2024: $32.13B
- TTM: $40.16B (+25% VS FY24)
SOURCE: ASML FORM 20-F FILINGS, ASML INVESTOR RELATIONS. REVENUE CONVERTED FROM EUR TO USD AT 1.1367 (9/24/2026 SPOT); TTM ENDS JUNE 28, 2026, PER BLOOMBERG RESEARCH
Revenue roughly doubled from $15.89B in FY2020 to $32.13B in FY2024, about 19% a year (per Bloomberg research). FY2021 brought the sharpest step, up 33%, while FY2024 was close to flat on FY2023. In the twelve months to June 2026, revenue reached $40.16B as EUV shipments and AI-related capacity additions picked up.
GROSS MARGIN (FY2020 TO FY2024)
48.6% → 51.3% | +2.7 pts
EARNINGS PER SHARE (FY2020 TO TTM)
$9.64 → $31.32 | 3.2×
FREE CASH FLOW (FY2023 TO FY2024)
$3.74B → $10.34B | 2.8×
Intel is already running ASML’s High-NA machine on its 18A process. A hyper-NA successor is planned for launch by 2030.
Valuation & Investment Thesis
Reading the Forward Multiple
At $1,717.33 on 9/24/2026, the shares trade at approximately 31.1× forward earnings, against 54.8× trailing earnings, with a 0.51% dividend yield (per Bloomberg research). Free cash flow was $10.34B in FY2024.
Longer term, 2030 revenue is expected to reach $50–68B, with gross margins of 56–60% (company guidance). At approximately 31.1× forward earnings, investors may consider whether growth in EUV and High-NA shipments supports current valuation levels.
Key Risks
What Could Change the Story
- Export controls. Restrictions on shipments to China remain a material overhang (per Bloomberg research).
- Chip spending cycles. Free cash flow fell from $11.30B in FY2021 to $3.74B in FY2023 as chipmakers’ equipment spending moved (per Bloomberg research).
- Customer concentration. TSMC, Samsung and Intel together account for most system revenue, so delays at any one can shift shipments (per Bloomberg research).
- High-NA timing. Some analysts have pushed out logic adoption, with broad high-volume use potentially delayed to 2028 (per Bloomberg research).
- Long-term competition. Nvidia’s CEO said in September 2026 that China could achieve advanced lithography by 2030 (per public remarks cited in Bloomberg research).
What This Means For You
The Index Angle, in Plain Terms
In Your Index Fund — If you hold a fund that tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index®, you already own this.
- Index composition follows transparent eligibility criteria, and ASML is a current constituent at ~0.69% index weight as of September 24, 2026: about 69 cents of every $100 tracking the Nasdaq-100 sits in ASML.
- The memory stacked beside AI processors, known as high-bandwidth memory, relies on EUV machines for its advanced chips (per Bloomberg research).
- ASML is a Dutch company based in Veldhoven, and it reports its results in euros; figures in this issue are converted to US dollars.
Decoding the Jargon
Two terms doing the heavy lifting in this issue.
- Lithography. Printing a chip’s circuit pattern onto a silicon wafer with light; ASML’s EUV machines brought in $13.19B in FY2025.
- Order backlog. Orders signed but not yet delivered: $44.1 billion at the end of 2025.
Bottom Line
Inside the Nasdaq-100®, ASML builds chipmaking machines. Its newest is built for features below a nanometer.
About the Series
The Nasdaq-100® is a globally recognized index of 100 of the most innovative large cap companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market®. The Inside the Index series profiles one constituent each issue, from software to soft drinks and computer chips to potato chips, exploring what makes each business distinctive and the metrics investors should know.
Sources
NASDAQ GLOBAL INDEXES. ASML HOLDING N.V. SEC FILINGS VIA SEC EDGAR: FORM 20-F ANNUAL REPORTS, FORM 6-K REPORTS; FORM 20-F FOR FY2025; ASML Q4 AND FULL-YEAR 2025 RESULTS PRESENTATION; ASML SEC FILINGS ARCHIVE; ASML INVESTOR RELATIONS. BLOOMBERG RESEARCH, ASML HOLDING NV EQUITY RESEARCH REPORT (SEPTEMBER 24, 2026). BLOOMBERG CONSENSUS ESTIMATES. USD AT EUR/USD 1.1367 (9/24/2026 SPOT). TTM IS THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 28, 2026. DATA AS OF 9/24/2026.
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