ASML Holding (ASML) perpetual market

ASML is a Dutch company that holds one of the most critical monopolies in technology: it is the only maker of the extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography machines required to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors. These machines, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars each and are among the most complex devices ever built, use precisely controlled light to etch the tiny circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. Because leading chipmakers such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel cannot produce cutting-edge chips without ASML's equipment, the company is an indispensable and irreplaceable link in the global chip supply chain. Its dominance also makes it a focal point of geopolitics, with export controls restricting sales of its most advanced systems to China. ASML's order book and technology roadmap are treated as a leading indicator for the entire semiconductor industry and the long-term trajectory of computing and artificial intelligence.