If there is a sector that has resisted the war in the Middle East is what gravitates around theartificial intelligence. And this morning's data from the global giant in the production of high-end chips, Tsmc of Taiwan, is further confirmation of this. In Europe, Asml, The company that produces the machinery needed by TSMC has confirmed the growth in demand by showing an increase in turnover. Meanwhile, on Wall Street Yesterday it was the AI sector that showed signs of effervescence and in particular the one relating to quantum calculation, whose main companies have seen stellar prices.
TSMC's first-quarter earnings rose 58%, exceeding expectations.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing released quarterly results this morning that showed a 58% increase in profits, setting a new record and beating forecasts of an already stellar 50%. Thanks to strong demand for chips from its customers such as giants Apple, Nvidia, AMD, TSMC saw theNet income From January to March, revenue rose to NT$572,5 billion, equivalent to US$18,2 billion. Profit easily beat LSEG's SmartEstimate estimate of NT$543,3 billion, which is based on analyst forecasts. For the current quarter, the company expects revenue to be between USD39 billion and USD40,2 billion. By comparison, revenue for the same period last year was USD30,1 billion, while in the first quarter of 2019, revenue was USD35,9 billion.
Asia's most valuable company soars
The Asia's most valuable company has seen its Taipei-listed shares gain 35% since the beginning of the year and, ahead of the release of its quarterly results, closed up 0,2% at an all-time high of NT$2.085. Its capitalization of the market is now almost double that of South Korean rival Samsung Electronics worth approximately $1,7 trillion. In Europe
Asian society also has revised upwards the predictions of annual revenue and announced a increase in investments this year to meet the growing demand for its products.CEO CC Wei said during a conference call with analysts that TSMC is adopting a cautious approach in planning due to macroeconomic uncertainties arising from the conflict in the Middle East, but added that the question linked to artificial intelligence continues to be “extremely robust”. “Our Confidence in the multi-year AI megatrend remains high and we believe that the semiconductor demand will continue to be fundamental,” he told analysts.
He added that the annual revenue in US dollars is expected to grow by “more than 30%,” up from the previous forecast of “around 30%,” while capital expenditure will come in at the high end of the previous estimate of $52-56 billion.
The advance of increasingly smaller and more efficient wafers
La production capacity remains very limited, Wei added, adding that he wanted it expand in the field of 3 nanometer wafer, (the core component on which AI hardware is built) in Taiwan, the United States and Japan, thus allowing a mass production in larger quantities between 2027 and 2028. Its 3-nanometer production plans in the United States are part of a massive, planned $165 billion investment in building chip factories in the state.Arizona. The first quarter results showed that the revenue from advanced 3-nanometer chips they now represent a quarter of sales The company's wafer revenues increased sharply from just 6% in the third quarter of 2023. However, advanced chips with dimensions equal to or smaller than 7 nanometers accounted for approximately 74% of total wafer revenues in the quarter. In semiconductor technology, smaller nanometer dimensions correspond to more compact transistors, resulting in greater processing power and energy efficiency.
La war in the Middle East threatens to cut off the supply of production materials for semiconductors such as helium and hydrogen, but Tsmc said to have stocks security and to source from different suppliers in different regions.
Don't worry about competition from Musk and Intel
Meanwhile competition is also growing after that Elon Musk announced last month its intention to Tesla to build a “Terafab”, an advanced artificial intelligence chip manufacturing complex in Austin. Intel announced last week that it will join the project. Wei said the company doesn't underestimate its rivals, but added that there are no shortcuts in this industry, given that building a new plant takes two to three years. He emphasized that both companies are currently still TSMC customers. "We are very confident about our technological position," he said.
Even the giant ASML confirms strong demand
Meanwhile in Europe, Asml, the largest supplier in the world chipmaking tools maker has raised its 2026 revenue forecast, buoyed by strong demand linked to the global development of artificial intelligence, indicating better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Among its main customers memory chip manufacturers are included Samsung and SK Hynix in South Korea, Micron and Intel in the United States, in addition to the same Tsmc of Taiwan.
" question “Chip production is outpacing supply,” CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a statement, noting an influx of new orders for ASML in the latest quarter. “Our customers are accelerating their capacity expansion plans for 2026 and beyond.”
The Dutch company, the largest in Europe by capitalization Market analysts said revenue for 2026 will be between €36 billion and €40 billion, up from their previous forecast of €34 billion to €39 billion. Analysts had forecast €37,7 billion, according to LSEG data. Actions They are up more than 2% in Amsterdam to 1.255 euros, after briefly hitting a new all-time high above 1.300 euros. ASML shares have risen 40% since the beginning of the year.
Quantum computing is booming on Wall Street
Yesterday evening on Wall Street in particular there was a stellar leap in the stocks of quantum computing sectorFrom Rigetti Computing (+13%) to D-Wave Quantum (+23%) to Arqit Quantum (+16%). Then there's Broadcom, which closed up 4,2% after Meta extended its custom chip agreement with the company.
