ASML Holding vs FedEx: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: ASML Holding and FedEx side by side

1. 1971FedEx

   Federal Express Founded

   Frederick W. Smith incorporates Federal Express Corporation, planning to build an overnight air-delivery network around a central Memphis hub.

2. 1973FedEx

   Commercial Operations Begin

   Federal Express begins commercial service from Memphis using a hub-and-spoke overnight model, surviving early near-bankruptcy on fuel costs.

3. 1978FedEx

   FedEx Goes Public

   The company completes its initial public offering to finance network expansion.

4. 1984ASML Holding

   Founded as ASM Lithography in Eindhoven

   ASM Lithography starts operations on April 1, 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and ASM International, with the mandate to commercialize the PAS 2000 wafer stepper developed inside Philips.

5. 1986ASML Holding

   PAS 2500 stepper and the Carl Zeiss partnership

   ASML brings the PAS 2500 stepper to market with a new wafer alignment system developed by first chief scientist Steef Wittekoek, and establishes the optics partnership with Carl Zeiss that still supplies every ASML lithography system.

6. 1988ASML Holding

   ASM International withdraws and Philips funds a rescue

   With few customers and heavy cash consumption, ASM International decides to stop funding the joint venture while Philips launches a company-wide cost-cutting program.

7. 1991ASML Holding

   PAS 5500 platform turns the company around

   ASML launches the PAS 5500 platform, whose productivity and resolution win the first large orders from Intel and IBM under chief executive Willem Maris and take the company to profitability. PAS 5500 systems are still running in customer fabs decades later.

8. 1995ASML Holding

   IPO in Amsterdam and on Nasdaq

   ASML becomes a fully independent public company with a dual listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Philips sells half of its shares at the IPO and divests the remainder over the following years.

9. 1998FedEx

   Caliber System Acquisition

   FedEx acquires Caliber System for about $2.4 billion, adding the assets that become FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight.

10. 2001ASML Holding

    TWINSCAN platform launched and Silicon Valley Group acquired

    ASML introduces the TWINSCAN dual-stage architecture, which exposes one wafer while the next is measured and aligned, lifting throughput and overlay accuracy above competing systems.

11. 2003ASML Holding

    First immersion lithography system

    The TWINSCAN AT:1150i debuts as ASML's first immersion machine, projecting 193 nanometer light through a layer of ultrapure water between the lens and the wafer to raise resolution.

12. 2004FedEx

    Acquired Kinko's

    FedEx acquired Kinko's for $2.4 billion. FedEx bought Kinko's for about $2.4 billion and rebranded the stores as FedEx Office.

13. 2010ASML Holding

    First EUV prototype shipped

    ASML ships the TWINSCAN NXE:3100, its first extreme ultraviolet lithography tool, to the research facility of an Asian chipmaker.

14. 2012ASML Holding

    Customer Co-Investment Program with Intel, TSMC and Samsung

    Intel, TSMC and Samsung acquire newly issued ASML shares equal to an aggregate 23 percent minority stake for ~$4.35 billion (3.85 billion euros) in cash, and separately commit ~$1.56 billion (1.38 billion euros) of R&D funding over five years dedicated to EUV…

15. 2013ASML Holding

    Cymer acquisition completed and second-generation EUV shipped

    ASML completes the acquisition of Cymer, the San Diego supplier of the light sources used in its lithography systems, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at ~$2.2 billion (1.95 billion euros) when it was agreed in October 2012.

16. 2016FedEx

    TNT Express Acquisition

    FedEx acquires TNT Express for about $4.4 billion to expand its European and international express network.

17. 2017ASML Holding

    EUV enters high-volume manufacturing

    ASML begins shipping the production-ready TWINSCAN NXE:3400B after customers started ordering the NXE:3400 generation in batches in 2016, roughly two decades after EUV research began.

18. 2019ASML Holding

    Dutch government stops EUV exports to China

    The Netherlands does not renew ASML's export licence for EUV systems to China, the start of a widening export control regime.

19. 2022FedEx

    Raj Subramaniam Becomes CEO

    Raj Subramaniam succeeds founder Frederick W. Smith as CEO, becoming only the second CEO in FedEx history, and launches the DRIVE and Network 2.0 transformation programs.

20. 2023ASML Holding

    First High-NA EUV system shipped

    ASML ships the first of its next-generation EUV systems with a numerical aperture of 0.55, the TWINSCAN EXE:5000, to Intel in Hillsboro, Oregon.

21. 2024ASML Holding

    Christophe Fouquet becomes chief executive

    Peter Wennink and Martin van den Brink step down as presidents of ASML on April 24, 2024 and Christophe Fouquet becomes president, chief executive officer and chair of the Board of Management.

22. 2025ASML Holding

    Record year, first EXE:5200B and Mistral AI investment

    ASML reports total net sales of ~$37 billion (32.7 billion euros), up 15.6 percent, net income of ~$10.8 billion (9.6 billion euros), a gross margin of 52.8 percent and 535 systems sold, and closes the year with a backlog of ~$43.8 billion (38.8 billion euros)…

23. 2025FedEx

    Founder Fred Smith Dies

    Frederick W. Smith dies on June 21, 2025. Longtime director R. Brad Martin becomes chairman and later executive chairman.

24. 2026FedEx

    FedEx Freight Spin-Off Completed

    On June 1, 2026 FedEx completes the spin-off of FedEx Freight Holding Company, which begins trading on the NYSE as FDXF.

25. 2026FedEx

    FY2026 Revenue Reaches $94.7B

    FedEx reports $94.720 billion in FY2026 revenue, $4.433 billion in net income, and capex of 4.0% of revenue, a record low ratio.

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