"The order expectations remain unchanged, and confidence has already been reassessed." Bank of America: The collaboration of the three giants bolsters the long-term roadmap for High-NA of ASML Holding NV ADR (ASML.US).

On Tuesday, ASML Holding NV ADR (ASML.US) became the market focus as Bank of America Corp praised the company for its additional chip manufacturing equipment supply agreements with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US), Intel Corporation (INTC.US), and Samsung. The bank's analyst Didier Scemama reiterated a "buy" rating for ASML Holding NV ADR and maintained a target price of 2,452. He stated that advancing the construction of the 12-inch photomask ecosystem is crucial for overcoming the current limitations of High-NA technology. On September 8, Dutch lithography giant ASML Holding NV ADR released multiple announcements, declaring commitments towards next-generation High Numerical Aperture (High-NA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment in collaboration with the world's three largest chip manufacturers: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, Intel Corporation, and Samsung Electronics. The three giants simultaneously disclosed their respective High-NA mass production timelines and jointly launched a far-reaching industry initiative: to transition from the decades-old 6-inch photomask standard to the larger 12-inch photomask. High-NA EUV is seen as a revolutionary upgrade to existing EUV lithography technology. The current commercial EUV equipment has a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.33, whereas High-NA EUV raises this to 0.55, significantly improving lithographic resolution. This means chip manufacturers can integrate more transistors on the same-sized wafertransistor sizes can shrink by about 1.7 times, with density increasing nearly threefold. Bank of America analyst Didier Scemama wrote in a report to clients: "These announcements are consistent with our projections for the adoption pace of High-NA EUV equipment (5 units this year, 6 units next year, and reaching 20 units by 2030)." He noted, "Although these orders do not change our financial forecasts, they significantly boost market confidence in the coordinated advancement of the supply chain around a unified High-NA roadmap. The mass production practices of Intel Corporation indicate that customers can currently apply this technology under the existing photomask standards; the joint initiative among Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR, ASML Holding NV ADR, and Samsung paves a longer-term path for fully unlocking the production efficiency advantages of High-NA." "This is particularly important for the increasingly large AI accelerators and GPU sizes, as it allows related designs to avoid yield risks associated with stitching processes during manufacturing," Scemama further stated. "The initiative aims to establish a 12-inch photomask pilot line by 2031 and achieve production readiness by 2033."