Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported quarterly sales that exceeded analyst expectations, reinforcing optimism that the robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware will persist into 2025. The company, a key supplier for tech giants like Apple and Nvidia, announced a 39% increase in revenue for the October-December period, reaching NT$868.5 billion (approximately $26.3 billion). This figure surpassed the average analyst estimate of NT$854.7 billion, highlighting TSMC's pivotal role in the ongoing AI development race. The strong performance is attributed to the continued expansion and upgrading of data centers by major tech companies such as Alphabet and Microsoft, which are investing heavily in AI infrastructure.
The impressive revenue growth for TSMC, which capped a 34% increase for the entire year of 2024, suggests that the company is well-positioned to benefit from the global push towards AI advancements. Despite some investor concerns about the sustainability of the AI boom, TSMC's market value has nearly doubled over the past year, reaching close to $1.1 trillion. Analysts are closely watching TSMC's strategic moves, including its advanced-packaging capacity and the ramp-up of its US Arizona fab, which are critical to meeting the chipmaking needs of its major clients.
TSMC's stock closed at $208.37 on January 10th, marking a 0.6% increase from the previous day's close of $207.12. However, the stock saw a slight decline of 0.23% in after-hours trading, bringing the price to $207.9.