Two Names to Keep on Your Radar
If you follow AI or semis, you already know ASML. They’re the quiet monopoly sitting in the middle of the whole thing.
Most of the names people talk about, Nvidia, TSM, Intel, the hyperscalers, they all rely on ASML’s machines. There isn’t a real substitute. If you want cutting-edge chips, you go through them.
Those EUV machines are massive, complicated, and priced close to half a billion dollars each. A big fab can need eight or ten, sometimes more, so the order sizes get stupid fast. That’s why ASML has the leverage it does, especially with the U.S. leaning on them not to ship the top end gear to China.
What I like to watch next is the stuff that trades around ASML.
Photronics (PLAB) is a critical piece of the supply chain. Different business, but the tape tends to rhyme. When ASML runs, PLAB usually follows. When ASML gaps and PLAB lags, that spread often closes.
The other one is VAT Group (VACNY). They make ultra-specialized valves used in this equipment.
