Investopedia: Go With Uncommon Sense On ASML

Normally it would not take much work to justify buying the stock of a company whose revenue grew 43% in the last quarter and trades at a reasonable valuation. But ASML (Nasdaq:ASML) is a semiconductor equipment company, and this is a sector where investors' heads are always twisted to the future - a future that looks to have significantly fewer orders in the short term. Still, long-term investors who can weather a down period in the cycle should seriously consider adding shares of one of the best-positioned equipment companies in the space. 

A Good Second Quarter, But Nobody Cares  
ASML reported that second quarter revenue rose 43% from the year-ago level and a little over 5% from the first quarter, a level of performance that exceeded the consensus analyst guess. While shipments were basically flat, the company did see an uptick in the average selling price (both on a sequential basis). Better still, margins were solid - the company saw gross margins improve 40 basis points sequentially and the operating margin improved by more than a full point as the company logged close to 10% sequential growth. (For related reading, see Analyzing Operating Margins.)

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