Is ASML Holding (ASML) Worth Buying on the China H20 Chip Sale Ban?
Semiconductor manufacturers are at the forefront of the technological battle, especially in the context of China's rapid tech developments. One would have thought President Trump would take it easy on the chipmakers owing to their critical position in the US and global tech infrastructure.
However, investors are now finding out that semi stocks aren't immune to tariffs, with the latest round of tariffs expected to cost manufacturers around $1 billion. This cost will be incurred through lost sales, increased regulatory compliance, and elevated supply chain costs.
Uncertainty regarding the exact details of the tariffs continues to cause chaos in the market. Chip stocks are sliding as the leading chipmaker, led by Jensen Huang, finds its H20 chips banned from export to China. As the leading chipmaker tries to steer its way out of the crisis, other companies that rely on this giant for business are also trying to figure out what to do.
We decided to take a look at such stocks and see if they offer value. Remember that the H20 chips were made specifically for China, and a ban on selling them is only a temporary headwind, not something that threatens the company's moat.
To come up with the list of semiconductor stocks worth buying on the China H20 chip sale ban, we considered stocks that are an integral part of the semiconductor supply chain and ranked them by hedge fund interest in their stocks.
A technician in a clean room working on a semiconductor device, illuminated by the machines.
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86
ASML Holding N.V. is a lithography solutions provider for the production, upgrading, development, marketing, servicing, and sales of advanced semiconductor equipment systems. The company provides metrology, inspection, and lithography systems.
The stock is taking a hit after the US government placed restrictions on the export of Jensen Huang-led company's H20 chips to China. The first quarter bookings also missed estimates, adding to the pessimism surrounding the stock as well as the broader industry.
On the bright side, the 2025 net sales outlook remained unchanged, suggesting the company has a plan to deal with the export restrictions it frequently faces. The total revenue for 2025 is expected to land somewhere between 30 billion euros and 35 billion euros.
This is what the CEO of the company had to say about the ongoing uncertainty:
'There's this new uncertainty around tariffs. And like many experts, many businesses are explaining this is, of course, something that we don't know how to quantify yet. But this is adding definitely uncertainty on the long term.'
It is worth noting that the management sees stability in expected revenue despite cautioning that revenue from China will go down moving forward.
Overall, ASML ranks 4th on our list of semiconductor stocks tumbling on China H20 chip sale ban. While we acknowledge the potential of ASML as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ASML but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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