ASML

ASML stands apart because it sells the machines that make the most advanced computer chips possible, especially EUV lithography systems for foundries and chip makers. By our assessment, that makes it one of the most important suppliers in semiconductors: when people talk about the front end of chip manufacturing, ASML is near the center of that conversation. The downside is that this is not a broad consumer business and not a flexible one; the systems are hugely complex, expensive, and tied to a small set of customers who can actually use them. In practice, the company is about precision engineering, long lead times, and service as much as hardware. It sits above most of the chip industry in leverage over what can be built at all, which is a rare position. ASML is based in the Netherlands.