TSMC Hammers April Sales Results on AI Chip Demand

American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) traded near their all-time high Friday as the chipmaker’s sales skyrocketed last month on soaring demand for semiconductors used for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

The largest contract chip manufacturer reported April sales jumped 59.6% from a year ago to approximately 236 billion New Taiwan dollars ($7.3 billion), and were up 20.9% from March. In April, TSMC predicted current-quarter sales would be in the range of $19.6 billion to $20.4 billion.

For the year through April, revenue totaled TWD828.7 billion, a rise of 26.2% from 2023.

TSMC supplies more that half the world’s chips, including for tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA). Earlier this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo addressed concerns about a potential invasion of Taiwan by China. She told a House hearing that China seizing TSMC would be “absolutely devastating” to the U.S. economy. Raimondo pointed out that the U.S. buys 92% of its leading-edge semiconductors from TSMC.

Last month, the Commerce Department announced a CHIPS and Science Act grant of $6.6 billion and up to $5 billion in low-cost government loans to TSMC to build a second manufacturing plant in Arizona. The company then added that it would boost its planned investment to more than $65 billion and construct a third plant in the state.

TSMC ADRs rose 5% to $149.96 as of 11:11 a.m. ET Friday. They have risen 44% this year, reaching an all-time high of $158.40 on March 8.