- World’s largest chipmaker sees 34.4% revenue jump in Q4
- December sales alone up nearly 60%
- Stock more than doubled in past 12 months
There are plenty of sceptics who think the wheels will come off the AI bandwagon this year, but that’s not what TSMC (TSM:NYSE) is seeing. The world’s largest chip manufacturer posted forecast-thumping Q4 2024 revenue that implies the AI boom is still running at top speed.
Revenue surged by 34.4% year-on-year, reaching T$868.42 billion (Taiwanese dollars, or $26.36 billion), surpassing market expectations. The AI boom has not only offset the decline in pandemic-related demand for consumer electronics but has also positioned TSMC as a critical player in the global tech ecosystem.
TSMC’s remarkable performance underscores the transformative effect of AI on the semiconductor industry. In December alone, TSMC reported a revenue rise of 57.8% year-on-year (to T$278.16 billion), demonstrating the immense scale of this demand.
‘This is effectively confirmation that money is still being thrown at AI left, right and centre’, says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
AI EVERYTHING
TSMC, which supplies clients including Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ), Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD:NASDAQ), has earned leadership in advanced process nodes that solidifies its competitive edge, ensuring it can cater to next-generation AI workloads.
Companies across every sector imaginable have spent the past year or two looking at how AI can make their lives easier and orders for technology to support and facilitate AI-powered systems and services have been coming thick and fast.
It explains why, despite of a flat reaction to the results, that TSMC stock has been in such high demand. In 2024 the stock more than doubled to close the calendar year at $197.49, for its New York-listed ADRs (American Depository Receipts), and they are already 5% up in 2025 at $207.12.
‘Just as Nvidia’s quarterly figures are a barometer of AI activity, TSMC’s sales and earnings are also crucial markers for the tech revolution’, says AJ Bell’s Mould. ‘Therefore, the latest blockbuster quarter from TSMC could give the reassurance about the AI trend that investors want and need.’
DISCLAIMER: Financial services company AJ Bell referenced in this article owns Shares magazine. The author of this article (Steven Frazer) and the editor (James Crux) own shares in AJ Bell.
