With a $400 million price tag and years of development behind it, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) says its High-NA EUV machines are now prepared for mass production, promising to simplify chip manufacturing and accelerate the rollout of more powerful AI hardware.
ASML, the only company that sells commercial EUV lithography systems, developed the new tool to help chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) produce more powerful and energy-efficient chips.
Chief Technology Officer Marco Pieters told Reuters the company will present new technical data at a conference in San Jose, highlighting the machine's progress.
The High-NA systems, which cost about $400 million each, have processed 500,000 silicon wafers, achieved limited downtime, and demonstrated the precision required to create advanced chip circuits.
At about $400 million per unit, the latest tools cost nearly twice as much as the company's earlier EUV machines, underscoring both their technological leap and premium positioning.
ASML currently reports about 80% uptime and aims to reach 90% by year-end.
While the machines are technically ready, Pieters said chipmakers will likely need two to three years of additional testing and development before fully integrating them into mass production.
EUV Light Source Breakthrough
ASML also advanced the performance of a critical EUV light source, a development that could increase chip output by as much as 50% by the end of the decade.
The company said its system can consistently generate 1,000 watts under customer conditions and sees a path to 1,500 watts, with no fundamental barrier to eventually reaching 2,000 watts.
With these improvements, customers could raise wafer production to about 330 per hour by decade's end, up from roughly 220 today.
AI-Driven Growth Powers Record 2025
Strong AI-driven demand fueled ASML's 2025 results, with full-year net sales of $39.16 billion and net income of $11.5 billion.
Fourth-quarter revenue reached $11.62 billion, and net bookings totaled $16.77 billion, more than half tied to EUV systems.
The company ended the year with a backlog of about $46.47 billion.
For 2026, ASML projects net sales between $40.72 billion and $46.7 billion and approved a share repurchase program of up to $14.37 billion through 2028.
Over the past 12 months, the stock climbed over 106%, outperforming the PHLX Semiconductor Index's 75% gain.
ASML Price Action: ASML Holding shares were down 0.87% at $1451.00 during premarket trading on Friday. The stock is approaching its 52-week high of $1547.22, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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