ASML CEO Oversaw Share Surge in Golden Era for Chip Stocks
- Chip-equipment maker has risen tenfold under departing CEO
- Peers have showed similar gains as industry demand has boomed
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ASML Holding NV’s shares have booked a tenfold gain over the decade-long tenure of outgoing Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink, yet in the high-flying world of the semiconductor industry that’s nothing out of the ordinary.
The chip-equipment maker’s shares have soared about 930% since Wennink took the reins back in July 2013, helped by booming demand for smartphone chips that’s driven similar gains in peers like Applied Materials Inc. and KLA Corp. That pales in comparison to some other stocks in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, like Nvidia Corp., which has multiplied more than 130 times over the period.