Tech stocks gained in intraday trading Friday, with the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector Index up 0.5% as of 2:45 p.m. ET. The broader S&P 500 was little changed, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.1%.
TSMC (TSM) American depositary receipts (ADRs) jumped on the semiconductor maker’s strong April sales numbers, while SoundHound AI (SOUN) shares took off as the provider of artificial intelligence (AI) voice recognition products posted better-than-expected results and raised its outlook. A soft outlook from Akamai Technologies (AKAM) sent shares of the software infrastructure firm tumbling.
TSMC Boasts Blowout April Sales on AI Chip Demand
TSMC’s ADRs advanced close to 5% as the largest contract chipmaker reported April sales soared nearly 60% year-over-year to $7.3 billion last month. They were also up 20.9% from March. The firm, which boasts Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) as clients, has benefited from booming demand for AI chips.
SoundHound AI Surges as Q1 Revenue Beats Estimates
Also getting a boost from AI product demand was SoundHound AI, which reported first-quarter revenue that beat expectations, and increased its full-year sales guidance. SoundHound AI said its seeing a rise in subscriptions because voice AI is quickly becoming a must-have tool for customer service. Shares surged 8% to $5.14.
A Slowdown in Its Legacy Content-Delivery Business Hurts Akamai Technologies
First-quarter earnings for Akamai Technologies beat analysts’ projections, but sales were below forecasts and it lowered its outlook, sending shares sliding over 10% to $91.25. The company’s legacy content-delivery business was impacted by slower-than-expected growth in media and gaming markets, offsetting strength in its security-software and cloud-computing businesses. Several analysts also dropped their price targets on the stock.