Company profile · ASML
ASML
Semiconductor lithography equipment
Exceptional Company Series
Passes all five structural tests and clears our elevated bar on both the strength of the business today and the consistency of its earnings record. An assessment of business quality, not a buy signal — exceptional can also be expensive. Why → · About the series →
The one-minute version
ASML makes the machines that make advanced chips possible — extreme ultraviolet lithography systems with no real competitor, sold to every leading-edge chipmaker on earth. The strongest business of the candidates on paper (28.5% EPS growth, 35.4% return on capital), but the price has run well ahead of the earnings line, which is a valuation question rather than a business one. A second read of the balance sheet flags it as a near-miss rather than a clean pass, not yet resolved.
The five structural tests
Trajectory: improving ↑ — EPS grew 28.4% over the latest reported year, against -1.5% the year before. The rate of growth is rising, not just the earnings.
The compounding record
The same five measures for every company in the series, so any two can be read against each other.
Why the economics are exceptional
Earnings, twelve years
Weakest point: 2016, 21% off the prior peak. Source: Legend, from company filings and market data, as at 31 August 2026.
Exceptional Company Series
ASML — the two-page fact sheet
Everything on this page, laid out to be read in one sitting or printed: what the business is, the five structural tests, twelve years of earnings, and the honest risk list. No valuation and no price target — the same rule as the writing.
Download the PDF ↓Closing price, USD — not a valuation, not real-time. As of 2026-09-08.
Published 2026-08-31: Makes the machines that make advanced chips possible, with no real competitor at the leading edge. No article yet -- a candidate profile, not a series member.
- Sector
- Technology
- Industry
- Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
- Head office
- Netherlands
- Employees
- 43,938
- Market cap (as of 2026-09-08)
- USD 658,685,427,712
- Return on equity (as of 2026-09-08)
- +53.9%
- P/E (trailing)
- 58.1×
- Profit margin
- 30.1%
- Dividend yield
- 0.53%
- Beta (5y monthly, vs S&P 500)
- 1.36
- 52-week range
- 786.75 – 1,999.96 USD
- Website
- asml.com
- Growth (YoY, market data)
- Revenue +21.3% · EPS +28.5%
Where this sits
Every company here is put through the same five structural tests. A small number clear all five and stay clear — those are the Exceptional Company Series. The rest are on the same map, each saying in its own words what it passed and what it did not.
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