Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s quarterly sales topped estimates, reinforcing investor hopes that the torrid pace of AI hardware spending will extend into 2025.

The world’s largest contract chipmaker reported a 39 per cent rise in October-December revenue to US$26.3 billion.

The world's largest chip manufacturer reported fourth-quarter revenue of 868.5 billion New Taiwan dollars ($26.3 billion), according to CNBC calculations, up 38.8% year-on-year. That beat Refinitiv consensus estimates of 850.1 billion New Taiwan dollars.

TSMC’s market value nearly doubled last year, and it now trades in the US at a valuation close to US$1.1 trillion. However, some investors worry about when the AI boom would peter out. While TSMC’s revenue beat, it was just 1.6 percent higher than the average projection and fell short of the most bullish analyst expectations.

It is crucial that TSMC serves as the leader in charge of the AI revolution. The company makes some of the world's most advanced microchips, which power products from Silicon Valley giants like Apple's (AAPL,

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's (NYSE:TSM) revenue for December 2024 surged 57.8% year-over-year to about NT$278.16B, amid a growing demand for AI applications. TSM — which produces chips for some of the world's largest tech companies including Apple (AAPL),