Air Liquide releases its 2025 annual financial report

On February 20, Air Liquide Group (France) released its 2025 annual financial report. In 2025, the Group’s revenue reached €26.94 billion (US$31.68 billion), representing a 2.0% year-on-year increase on a comparable basis, while the reported figure declined slightly by 0.4% year-on-year. This marginal decline was primarily attributable to a 3.2% negative impact from foreign exchange fluctuations—of which the depreciation of the U.S. dollar accounted for nearly half—partially offset by a 0.8% favorable impact from energy costs. The Group’s operating profit margin exceeded 20%; recurring net profit surpassed €3.5 billion; and cash flow generation exceeded €6.8 billion. François Jacko, Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide Group, commented on the 2025 performance: “Leveraging our team’s strong cohesion, market-aligned business model, and steady transformation pace, we delivered outstanding results in 2025.” Sales grew across all regions and business segments: Americas Region: Revenue from Gases & Services amounted to €10.351 billion, up 3.9% year-on-year on a comparable basis. Europe, Africa & Middle East Region: Revenue from Gases & Services totaled €10.616 billion, up 0.6% year-on-year on a comparable basis.

In-depth report on the semiconductor chip industry

Front-end materials are high-value but exhibit low domestic substitution rates. According to SEMI, the global semiconductor materials market reached US$86 billion in 2025, growing 7% year-on-year. Of this, wafer fabrication materials accounted for US$56.2 billion—or 65% of the total. In terms of value, the three key AI-related semiconductor materials are silicon wafers, specialty electronic gases, and photoresists. Silicon wafers serve as the foundational substrate for chips—the most widely used and highest-value basic material in semiconductor manufacturing. Eight-inch wafers are central to mature process nodes, while twelve-inch wafers cover both mainstream mature and advanced nodes, making them critical for mid-to-high-end applications. Photoresists are the core light-sensitive materials used in photolithography, directly determining chip feature resolution. Their working principle involves undergoing photochemical reactions upon exposure to light, enabling precise replication of intricate circuit patterns onto silicon wafers via photomasks—thus laying the groundwork for subsequent processes such as etching and ion implantation. Specialty gases are employed in etching, deposition, and cleaning steps. They represent a significant portion of material costs and demand extremely high purity levels: the industry standard ranges from 6N to 9N (i.e., 99.9999% to 99.9999999% purity), with advanced-node etching and doping gases typically requiring ultra-high-purity 9N-grade gases. The top five global silicon wafer manufacturers—Shin-Etsu Chemical, SUMCO, GlobalWafers, Siltronic, and SK Siltron—collectively hold over 80% market share. Domestic substitution is accelerating across wafer sizes: (i) For wafers 6 inches and smaller, domestic production covers over 60% of demand—essentially achieving self-sufficiency; (ii) For 8-inch wafers, domestic substitution has risen to approximately 55%, meeting most mature-node requirements, though high-end epitaxial and polished wafers remain in short supply; (iii) For 12-inch wafers, domestic substitution stands at roughly 25%, leaving over 70% of capacity unmet; local manufacturers are rapidly expanding production, and domestic substitution is projected to exceed 30% by end-2026. Globally, leading photoresist suppliers include Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK), JSR, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Fujifilm—accounting for over 80% of the overall market and over 95% of the high-end segment. The potential for domestic substitution remains substantial: (i) g-line photoresists have achieved over 90% domestic substitution, and i-line photoresists about 60%, with large-scale domestic replacement already underway; (ii) KrF photoresists—mid-tier products—have a domestic substitution rate below 15%; (iii) High-end ArF dry/wet and EUV photoresists currently lack any large-scale domestic production capacity. Major players in the global specialty gases market include U.S.-based Air Products, Germany’s Linde Group, France’s Air Liquide, and Japan’s Taiyo Nippon Sanso—collectively commanding around 80% of global market share. Overall domestic substitution for electronic specialty gases remains under 30%: basic electronic gases are now domestically produced; mid-tier etching gases are undergoing accelerated substitution; yet high-end doping gases and specialty gases for advanced nodes remain heavily import-dependent—representing a critical frontier for domestic substitution. Semiconductor materials thus offer enormous potential for domestic replacement. 7. Semiconductor Equipment: Breakthrough from Zero to One in Domestic Substitution Semiconductor equipment constitutes a strategically vital upstream segment; only through independent development of high-end semiconductor equipment can AI supply chain security be assured. Three core front-end (wafer fabrication) equipment categories—thin-film deposition, lithography, and etching—exhibit the highest technological barriers and greatest potential for domestic substitution. Semiconductor equipment is broadly divided into front-end (wafer fabrication) and back-end (assembly and test) categories. Among front-end equipment, thin-film deposition, lithography, and etching systems present the steepest technical hurdles—and therefore the largest opportunities for domestic substitution. First, thin-film deposition equipment deposits functional materials onto substrates, directly influencing the fidelity of circuit pattern transfer. Globally, this market is dominated by Applied Materials, Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, and ASML.

Air Liquide to Invest €170M for Japanese Semiconductor Expansion

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Air Liquide plans to invest over €170 million to build production units supplying ultra-high-purity gases to a major semiconductor manufacturer in Japan. The project ensures reliable delivery of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and hydrogen for advanced chip production.

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