Jim Cramer’s Lightning Round: 8 Stocks in Focus

6. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86

Highlighting ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) stock’s recent 9% decline, a caller inquired about the company and in reply, Cramer said:

“Remember they’re a Dutch company and the president is, the president of the United States will not help a Dutch company do business in China, and that business in China is what’s really necessary and he just will not let that happen. By the way, that’s not new. Previous president felt the same way. So there are real issues with our trade partners in ASML because they own one of the most crucial parts of the entire semiconductor food chain.”

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) designs and makes advanced semiconductor equipment including lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. The company helps chipmakers produce various semiconductor technologies and offers customer support and system upgrades. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is a Dutch company that designs and manufactures photolithography equipment for semiconductor manufacturing. While ASML is the leader across all types of lithography, most importantly, it is the only manufacturer of extreme ultra-violet lithography tools, which are critical for the manufacturing of leading-edge chips. Shares fell 16.6% during the fourth quarter (finishing the year down 7.7%) on reduced guidance for 2025 as well as growing investor concerns about the potential impact of U.S. government restrictions on Chinese demand and the possibility of peaking lithography intensity. Despite near-term noise, we believe that the growing demand for chips in general and AI chips in particular will continue to support long-term growth for the wafer fab equipment industry with ASML’s competitive positioning remaining unassailable. While lithography as a percentage of capital expenditure may decrease from current levels, the chip layer count requiring lithography will continue to increase, in our view, as chips continue to become more complex. As a monopoly on critical lithography tools supporting an industry with growing demand fueled by the proliferation of AI, we see strong long-term upside for ASML.”