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.