Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (ADR) (NYSE:TSM) shares rose almost 3% on Tuesday despite signs of slower growth being revealed at the world’s leading chipmaker.
TSMC reported a 16.9% year-on-year increase in October sales, its weakest monthly growth since February 2024 but broadly in line with analyst expectations.
A stronger Taiwan dollar also weighed on reported figures, with revenue up 22.6% in US dollar terms to about $12 billion.
Analysts said the moderation reflects earlier order pull-ins and currency effects rather than any cooling in demand for artificial intelligence chips.
Nvidia and other chip designers continue to press for more supply as tech giants, including Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta plan to invest more than $400 billion in AI infrastructure next year, up 21% on 2025.
Down 0.7% on the day, TSMC stock has risen 3.5% over the past month, a time of instability for the wider tech sector.
Year-to-date, TSMC's value has grown 53%.