ASML Holding vs Pfizer: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
ASML Holding reported ~$36.9B of revenue in FY2025 and ~$10.9B of net income. Pfizer reported $62.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $7.8B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
ASML Holding
- Latest revenue
- ~$36.9B (FY2025)
- Net income
- ~$10.9B
- Net margin
- 29.4%
- Revenue growth
- +18.9% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Pfizer
- Latest revenue
- $62.6B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $7.8B
- Net margin
- 12.4%
- Revenue growth
- +1.9% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Financial summary
ASML Holding
ASML's financial profile reflects a sole-source position in a concentrated market. In 2025 total net sales rose 15.6 percent to ~$37 billion (32.7 billion euros), gross profit was ~$19.5 billion (17.3 billion euros) for a gross margin of 52.8 percent, income from operations was ~$12.8 billion (11.3 billion euros), and net income was ~$10.8 billion (9.6 billion euros), a net margin of 29.4 percent, on basic earnings per share of 24.73 euros. R&D spending was ~$5.31 billion (4.7 billion euros), or 14.4 percent of sales, and selling, general and administrative costs were ~$1.47 billion (1.3 billion euros). Operating cash flow was ~$14.4 billion (12.7 billion euros) and free cash flow ~$12.4 billion (11.0 billion euros), helped by customer down payments received before systems are delivered. ASML returned ~$9.61 billion (8.5 billion euros) to shareholders in 2025, including ~$6.67 billion (5.9 billion euros) of share buybacks, and proposed an annualized dividend of 7.50 euros per share against 6.40 euros for 2024. It held ~$15 billion (13.3 billion euros) of cash and short-term investments at year end. The main financial exposures are the concentration of sales in a few customers and the export control regime covering China, which was 29.1 percent of 2025 sales.
Pfizer
Pfizer revenue rose from $41.7 billion in 2020 to $81.3 billion in 2021 and $101.2 billion in 2022 on Comirnaty and Paxlovid, then fell to $59.6 billion in 2023 as COVID demand collapsed. It recovered to $63.6 billion in 2024 and was $62.6 billion in 2025, with net income of $7.8 billion. In Q2 2026 revenue was $15.0 billion, up 1% operationally, or 5% excluding COVID products, and Pfizer raised the midpoint of its 2026 revenue guidance to $60.5 billion to $62.5 billion with adjusted EPS guidance of $2.80 to $3.00. The roughly $31 billion of debt raised for Seagen in 2023 and an ongoing cost-reduction program shape capital allocation alongside a dividend yield near 6%.
Revenue and profit by year
ASML Holding
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$36.9B | ~$10.9B | 29.4% | +15.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$31.9B | ~$8.6B | 26.8% | +2.6% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$31.1B | ~$8.9B | 28.4% | +30.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | ~$23.9B | ~$6.4B | 26.6% | +13.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | ~$21B | ~$6.6B | 31.6% | +33.1% | Source |
| FY2020 | ~$15.8B | ~$4B | 25.4% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2019 | ~$13.4B | ~$2.9B | 21.9% | +8.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | ~$12.4B | ~$2.9B | 23.7% | +22.1% | Source |
| FY2017 | ~$10.1B | ~$2.3B | 23.1% | +30.4% | Source |
| FY2016 | ~$7.8B | ~$1.8B | 22.7% | — | Source |
Pfizer
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $62.6B | $7.8B | 12.4% | -1.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $63.6B | $8B | 12.6% | +6.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $59.6B | $2.1B | 3.6% | -41.1% | Source |
| FY2022 | $101.2B | $31.4B | 31.0% | +24.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $81.3B | $22B | 27.0% | +95.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $41.7B | $9.2B | 22.0% | +1.8% | Source |
| FY2019 | $40.9B | $16B | 39.2% | +0.2% | Source |
| FY2018 | $40.8B | $11.2B | 27.3% | -22.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $52.5B | $21.3B | 40.6% | -0.5% | Source |
| FY2016 | $52.8B | $7.2B | 13.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
ASML Holding
- DUV lithography system sales~37%
Deep ultraviolet system sales were ~$13.6 billion (12,047.0 million euros) in 2025, or 36.9 percent of total net sales. The bulk is ArF immersion on the TWINSCAN NXT platform, 131 units for ~$11.7 billion (10,311.4 million euros), with dry ArF, KrF and i-line systems on the XT platform adding 148 units for ~$1.96 billion (1,735.6 million euros). DUV serves both advanced nodes in combination with multiple patterning and mature-node production for automotive, power and analog chips. China is the largest destination for mainstream DUV, and ASML said its China DUV business in 2025 was stronger than it had expected while mainstream demand elsewhere stayed weak.
- EUV lithography system sales~36%
Extreme ultraviolet system sales were ~$13.1 billion (11,602.7 million euros) in 2025, or 35.5 percent of total net sales, made up of 44 NXE systems for ~$11.8 billion (10,445.8 million euros) and four High-NA EXE systems for ~$1.31 billion (1,156.9 million euros). EUV is the segment where ASML has no competitor. Growth in 2025 came from the higher-productivity NXE:3800E in advanced logic and, increasingly, DRAM, where lower cost per exposure widened adoption. EUV also accounted for ~$28.8 billion (25.5 billion euros) of the ~$43.8 billion (38.8 billion euro) backlog at the end of 2025.
- Service and field option sales~25%
Net service and field option sales were ~$9.26 billion (8,193.0 million euros) in 2025, or 25.1 percent of total net sales, up 26.2 percent on 2024. This is maintenance, spare parts, remote support, refurbishment and performance upgrades sold into the installed base, and ASML reports it as a single category rather than splitting service from field options. Growth came from a larger installed base, higher tool use at some customers and a large volume of NXE:3800E field upgrades, which shifted part of what would have been new system revenue into installed base revenue.
- Metrology and inspection systems~3%
Metrology and inspection systems were ~$932 million (824.6 million euros) in 2025, or 2.5 percent of total net sales, across 208 units, up from 165 units and ~$729 million (645.5 million euros) in 2024. The category covers YieldStar optical metrology and HMI e-beam inspection. It is small in revenue terms but it supplies the measurement data that ASML's computational lithography software uses to tune scanner settings, which is why ASML sells it as part of a holistic lithography package rather than as standalone equipment.
Pfizer
- Patented medicines
Core revenue
Prescription drugs protected by exclusivity and clinical differentiation.
- Vaccines
Major revenue contributor
Adult, pediatric, pneumococcal, RSV, and COVID-related vaccines.
- Oncology
Strategic growth driver
Cancer medicines, antibody-drug conjugates, and Seagen-related assets.
- Hospital and anti-infective products
Meaningful contributor
Sterile injectables, anti-infectives, and hospital therapies.
- Collaborations and alliances
Supplemental
Co-promoted products and partnered scientific platforms.
Business model and strategy
ASML Holding
How it makes money
ASML designs and assembles lithography systems, sells them to a small number of chipmakers, and then earns recurring revenue maintaining and upgrading the installed base. In 2025, net system sales were ~$27.7 billion (24.5 billion euros), or 74.9 percent of total net sales, and net service and field option sales were ~$9.27 billion (8.2 billion euros), or 25.1 percent.
Growth strategy
Growth depends on how fast chipmakers add advanced capacity and on how quickly ASML can build systems. In EUV, the workhorse is the TWINSCAN NXE:3800E, whose higher productivity drove 2025 EUV sales and a large volume of field upgrades on installed systems; ASML recognized 44 NXE systems for ~$11.8 billion (10.4 billion euros) in 2025.
Competitive advantage
ASML's competitive advantage is the difficulty of building an EUV machine at all. The system fires a high-power laser at molten tin droplets roughly 50,000 times a second to create a plasma that emits 13.5 nanometer light, which cannot pass through glass or air and so must be steered by mirrors polished to near-atomic smoothness inside a vacuum.
Pfizer
How it makes money
Pfizer makes money by selling patented prescription medicines and vaccines to wholesalers, hospitals, governments and pharmacies, with the United States as its largest market. Revenue is concentrated in large franchises such as Eliquis (co-commercialized with Bristol Myers Squibb), the Prevnar pneumococcal vaccines, the Vyndaqel tafamidis family, Ibrance, Xtandi and the Seagen antibody-drug conjugates.
Growth strategy
Pfizer's growth plan has three parts. Oncology: the $43 billion Seagen deal (closed December 2023) added Padcev, Adcetris, Tukysa and Tivdak, and Pfizer licensed 3SBio's PD-1xVEGF bispecific in 2025 and signed a 12-program cancer collaboration with Innovent Biologics in May 2026 ($650 million upfront, up to $10.5 billion total).
Competitive advantage
Pfizer's advantage is scale in late-stage development, regulatory filings, manufacturing and commercialization. The BioNTech partnership showed it: BioNTech supplied the mRNA science, while Pfizer ran the global Phase 3 trial with more than 40,000 participants, built ultra-cold distribution and manufactured billions of Comirnaty doses.
Questions about ASML Holding vs Pfizer
Which company has higher revenue — ASML Holding NV or Pfizer Inc.?
ASML Holding NV reported ~$36.9B (FY2025), while Pfizer Inc. reported $62.6B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Pfizer Inc. is the larger business, with ASML Holding NV reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of ASML Holding NV vs Pfizer Inc.?
ASML Holding NV's market capitalisation stands at $696.4B, while Pfizer Inc.'s is $160.3B. ASML Holding NV carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Pfizer Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — ASML Holding NV or Pfizer Inc.?
ASML Holding NV generates $835k / employee in revenue per employee, while Pfizer Inc. generates $834k / employee. ASML Holding NV shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do ASML Holding NV and Pfizer Inc. make money?
ASML Holding NV and Pfizer Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. ASML Holding NV: ASML designs and assembles lithography systems, sells them to a small number of chipmakers, and then earns recurring revenue maintaining and upgrading the installed base. Pfizer Inc.: Pfizer makes money by selling patented prescription medicines and vaccines to wholesalers, hospitals, governments and pharmacies, with the United States as its largest market.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — ASML Holding NV or Pfizer Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, ASML Holding NV trades at 18.9x P/S and Pfizer Inc. at 2.6x P/S. ASML Holding NV commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Pfizer Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is ASML Holding NV bigger than Pfizer Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Pfizer Inc. ($62.6B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to ASML Holding NV (~$36.9B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the ASML Holding vs Pfizer overview