ASML Holding NV became only the third European company to surpass US$500 billion in market value after key customer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) gave a stronger-than-anticipated outlook for this year.
Shares of the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker rose as much as 7.6 percent in Amsterdam yesterday, hitting a record high and extending their year-to-date gain to 24 percent. That took ASML’s market capitalization to about 453 billion euros (US$527 billion). Only luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S have previously reached the milestone.
ASML surged above the symbolic level after TSMC yesterday forecast capital spending rising to as much as US$56 billion this year, more than expected, showing how the chipmaker is benefiting from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Photo: Bloomberg
“The milestone means a lot for the market sentimentally,” Barclays PLC strategist Emmanuel Cau said. “Europe is a small market, so if ASML as a major stock goes up, the broader market will automatically benefit. The rally in ASML also gives European investors a gateway to play the mainstream AI trade.”
TSMC’s outlook provides fresh optimism for sustained global AI spending this year after signs of volatility in the so-called AI trade. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been committed to build the data centers needed to train and run AI, fueling growth among companies ranging from water chiller manufacturers to chipmakers.
ASML has grown to be Europe’s most valuable company as the only producer of cutting-edge lithography machines that TSMC needs to manufacture chips used in everything from Apple Inc’s smartphones to Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators.
“This is ultimately a very positive start to the earnings season for the tech giants,” Quilter Cheviot technology research head Ben Barringer said. “These results give us a good indication of what we are likely to see from both the chips companies and the semicap equipment providers.”
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