When it comes to advancing digitization and future technologies, the path leads very quickly to semiconductors, which are supposed to drive innovative progress, as it were, regardless of whether artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 5G, big data, robotics, autonomous driving or the Internet of Things.

The ever-increasing flood of data must be mastered with the help of ever more powerful chips.

These are facts that shareholders of chip companies like Intel, Samsung Electronics or Taiwan Seniconductor (TSMC) will like.

All of the companies mentioned have one thing in common.

You cannot do without another company in chip production: the Dutch group ASML.

The company is the most important supplier to the chip industry.

ASML mainly offers so-called lithography systems.

These are special machines that are required in semiconductor manufacture.

In the area of ​​so-called EUV systems, ASML is even the only provider.

These exposure machines work with extreme ultraviolet light and can cost more than 150 million euros each.

They are essential for chip manufacturers as they allow the production of much smaller, but much more powerful chips.

Dutch know-how

In the third quarter of this year, ASML received orders worth 6.2 billion euros. EUV systems accounted for 2.9 billion euros. In addition, new records were set for deliveries and sales in the EUV business in the September quarter. In addition, the so-called TWINSCAN NXE: 3600D scanners have achieved a record throughput of 160 wafers per hour for customers. Above all, the American company Intel is fixated on the top-of-the-range devices, as the largest chip company in the world also wants to end up ahead of competitors such as TSMC in terms of technology. When Intel presented its new strategy in the summer, the High Numerical Aperture EUV were an important part of it.

The generally high demand for semiconductors brought ASML group-wide sales growth from 4 billion euros in the previous quarter to 5.2 billion euros in the third quarter of 2021. For the current fourth quarter, the company forecast is between 4.9 and 5.2 billion euros. For the year as a whole, management once again sees itself on the right path to achieving the growth target of 35 percent, after revenues in the previous year were around 14 billion euros. By 2025, the group has even planned to grow sales to between 24 and 30 billion euros, depending on the market scenario.

It is precisely such predictions that have made ASML a true investor darling over the past few years. This year, too, the company's share more than lived up to its reputation. The share price has risen by around 66 percent since the beginning of 2021. ASML thus delivered the strongest performance in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index. This lists the 50 largest listed companies in the Eurozone.

In view of the importance of ASML for the semiconductor industry and the increasing demand for chips in many future technologies, ASML is likely to remain an investor's favorite - especially since, apart from the current situation in the chip industry, the company is considered to be a very reliable dividend payer. ASML has been raising the payout over and over again for the past eleven years. The fact that the dividend yield is currently comparatively low at 0.5 percent can be explained by the steep price increase in recent months, which more than compensates shareholders for this.

In the wake of the corona stock market crash, the ASML share price was knocked back to 176 euros in March 2020, whereupon the share rose sharply. From this base, the price more than quadrupled in the next 20 months. A record high was reached in November at 776 euros. After the price rally, prices fell back to around 670 euros at times until mid-December. The share is still trading above the 200-day line. The large picture on the chart suggests that prices will continue to rise; the ASML share is trading in a long-term, overarching upward trend. Over a ten-year perspective, the price increased by an average of 36 percent per year. ASML was thus by far the strongest title in the EuroStoxx 50 in the decade. If you look at analyst comments, you will only read positive things about ASML.Among other things, Goldman Sachs sees a price target of 880 euros for ASML.