5 Green Flags for ASML's Future
Last year, shares of the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) soared 63% as the global chip shortage highlighted the importance of its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems.
These massive systems, which only ASML produces, cost about $150 million each and are used to etch circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. The world's top foundries -- including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), Samsung, and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) -- all use ASML's EUV systems to manufacture their smallest and densest chips.
ASML's monopolization of the EUV market, along with its dominance of the broader market for older lithography systems, made it a linchpin of the global semiconductor market and a top beneficiary of the global chip shortage. As a result, ASML's stock hit an all-time high of $895.93 a share last September -- which valued the company at 57 times forward earnings.
Source Fool.com
