Although the race for dominance in artificial intelligence appears to be led by American tech giants, Europe also has its own champions—companies without which the development of this transformative technology would be impossible. One of the most important among them is ASML, a Dutch company that produces lithography machines essential for manufacturing the world’s most advanced microchips. These chips form the backbone of AI algorithms and data centers across the globe.
While Silicon Valley companies are investing billions into building sophisticated AI systems, ASML provides the tools that make this new digital economy possible. The company is now Europe’s most valuable listed firm, boasting a market capitalization of around $390 billion, ahead of Germany’s SAP, France’s LVMH, and Denmark’s Novo Nordisk. In the third quarter of 2025, ASML reported €7.5 billion in revenue, with equally strong projections for the months ahead.
Strong results and growing demand from the AI sector
ASML generated €7.5 billion in revenue in Q3 2025 and expects €9.5 billion in Q4, which would bring annual revenues to around €32.5 billion—a 15% increase year-on-year. It marks another stellar year for one of Europe’s leaders in AI-enabling technologies, driven by soaring global demand for infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence.
The value of new orders rose by €5.4 billion in Q3, with €3.6 billion coming from sales of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems—ASML’s flagship technology and one of the most complex industrial innovations ever developed. The only time ASML recorded higher EUV orders was in Q4 2023, when they reached €5.6 billion.
ASML today plays a central role in the global AI economy, manufacturing the most advanced lithography machines in the world, which are indispensable for creating the chips powering AI models, data centers, and smartphones. Its EUV technology enables the production of smaller, faster, and more efficient processors that drive modern computing.
As a result, ASML has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI investment boom, not by producing AI systems themselves, but by supplying the hardware foundation without which AI progress would grind to a halt. As a European leader in an industry largely dominated by American firms, ASML demonstrates that breakthrough innovation can flourish on this side of the Atlantic as well.
A cautious outlook amid geopolitical risks
ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet adopted a cautious tone when discussing forecasts for 2026, deliberately avoiding the word “growth” to prevent the kind of market overreaction seen in previous quarters. He stated only that revenues would not fall below 2025 levels.
This prudence reflects uncertainty surrounding potential new export restrictions, particularly concerning China, which already accounts for 42% of ASML’s revenues and is striving to achieve self-sufficiency in chip manufacturing.
The market still assumes that the latest escalation in the U.S.–China trade war will prove temporary, as both economies remain deeply interdependent. ASML has maintained its long-term revenue forecast of €44–60 billion annually by 2030, implying a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7–13%, or roughly 10% per year on average.
The data center boom fueling demand
According to McKinsey & Company, global data center investments could reach nearly $7 trillion by 2030, with over $4 trillion allocated to computing hardware. More than 40% of that spending is expected to occur in the United States.
Analysts estimate that global demand for data center computing power could more than triple by the end of the decade, representing a CAGR of around 22%. In the U.S. alone, the rate of increase may reach 20–25% per year.
While much of this growth is being driven by AI workloads, especially generative AI models, which account for roughly 40% of total demand growth, other factors also contribute. The expansion of cloud services, the subscription-based software model (SaaS), the digitalization of public services, and the rise of 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) are all accelerating global demand for advanced computing technology.
EUV technology at the heart of the AI era
If the massive wave of planned investments in data centers, AI, and semiconductor manufacturing materializes, ASML’s EUV technology will play a crucial enabling role.
Reaching the upper end of ASML’s current forecasts would likely require either a loosening of export restrictions or the introduction of another breakthrough innovation from the Dutch company.
Whatever the scenario, one thing is certain: ASML has cemented its status as Europe’s quiet leader of the AI revolution—an industrial powerhouse whose precision engineering underpins the entire global digital ecosystem.
Source: CEO.com.pl – ASML, the Quiet Leader of the AI Revolution: Europe’s Tech Giant Reports Record Results
