ASML tops Europe's market caps, reaches $668 billion valuation

Dutch chip‑equipment maker ASML became the most valuable company in European history, closing on June 3 with a market capitalisation of about $668 billion, overtaking the previous record set by Novo Nordisk. The surge followed analyst notes from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley that lifted price targets and argued the firm can ship more than 110 low‑NA EUV lithography systems without expanding its production sites, well above the roughly 90 units investors had expected.

EUV machines are a critical choke‑point for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, and every leading‑edge wafer used for AI models passes through an ASML scanner. The company also announced a new expansion at the Brainport Industries Campus in Eindhoven, with construction slated to start in the third quarter of 2026 and to proceed in multiple phases. While rivals such as Substrate, Canon, Nikon and Chinese initiatives are developing alternative lithography technologies, analysts say none are likely to replace high‑volume EUV scanners in the near term.