On Thursday, TSMC, the world's largest chip foundry, reported strong financial results, showing a 35% year-on-year increase in net profit for the fourth quarter, exceeding market expectations. The company expects its capital expenditure to reach a record high of $56 billion in 2026, representing a 37% increase from 2025. This news triggered a chain reaction in the US stock market, with chip stocks rising across the board and driving ASML's market value to surpass $500 billion. TSMC stated that the strong and genuine demand for AI is the primary driver of the company's performance growth. The company plans to alleviate the supply shortage of AI chips through significant investment in capacity expansion, but it anticipates that the shortfall will remain difficult to resolve in the short term.
