Artificial intelligence (AI) chip players Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) gained on Thursday in tandem with the AI frenzy, with contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (NYSE:TSM) upbeat quarterly earnings being the latest to reinforce investor optimism over the sector.
The Taiwanese chipmaker reported third-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, driven by strong global demand for its advanced processor technologies, which are critical to AI applications.
The chipmaker generated $33.1 billion in net sales, a 30.3% year-over-year increase, surpassing the consensus estimate of $31.5 billion.
Net income reached $15.1 billion, or $2.92 per share, up 39% Y/Y, beating the $2.59 consensus. Advanced technologies (7-nm and below) accounted for 74% of wafer revenue, with High-Performance Computing and smartphones contributing 57% and 30% of net revenue, respectively.
Taiwan Semiconductor expanded its gross margin by 170 basis points to 59.5%, exceeding its guidance, which signifies its pricing power.
CEO C.C. Wei highlighted that AI demand is even stronger than anticipated, with customers signaling increased capacity requirements.
For the fourth quarter of 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor expects revenue between $32.2 billion and $33.4 billion, with gross margins of 59%–61%.
The week saw several positive catalysts across the semiconductor sector, including ASML's (NASDAQ:ASML) upbeat quarterly earnings and collaborations between AI chipmakers, including Big Tech giants.
Advanced Micro Devices’ (NASDAQ:AMD) deal with OpenAI for advanced graphics processing units and Broadcom's deployment of custom AI silicon bear testimony to their initiatives to unlock value from the AI frenzy.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Arm (NASDAQ:ARM) collaborated to boost AI efficiency across all compute layers, from on-device intelligence to large-scale data centers.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled its new M5 chip, featuring high-performance central processing units, advanced graphics processing units with Neural Accelerators, and a faster Neural Engine, taking on Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) latest AI-oriented chips. The company also launched M5-powered products this week, including the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro.
NVIDIA’s stock is up over 36% year-to-date. Broadcom is up over 56%.
Price Actions: NVDA shares were trading higher by 1.89% to $183.15 at last check on Thursday. AVGO is up 3.24.
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