Why TSMC’s (TSM) Advanced Nodes Keep It Central to the AI Chip Cycle

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is one of the best AI enabler stocks to buy now.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) sits close to the center of the AI supply chain because the industry’s largest chip designers still need advanced manufacturing capacity before AI demand can become shipped silicon. That showed up clearly in the company’s April 16 first-quarter report, where revenue rose 40.6% year over year in U.S. dollar terms to $35.90 billion (NT$1.13 trillion), while net income increased 58.3% to NT$572.48 billion. Gross margin reached 66.2%, showing that the current cycle is not just adding volume, but supporting strong pricing and utilization.

The mix was the stronger signal. TSMC said 3nm chips accounted for 25% of wafer revenue, while 5nm and 7nm represented another 49%, bringing advanced technologies to 74% of wafer revenue. That matters for an AI-enabler list because cutting-edge AI processors depend on exactly these nodes. Reuters reported the same day that CEO C.C. Wei said AI-related demand remained “extremely robust,” while TSMC lifted its full-year revenue outlook and planned capital spending toward the high end of its $52 billion to $56 billion range.

Why TSMC’s (TSM) Advanced Nodes Keep It Central to the AI Chip Cycle

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The result is a simple but powerful investment angle: AI spending may shift between chip designers, cloud platforms, and model developers, but the need for scarce leading-edge wafer capacity keeps flowing through TSMC.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is a dedicated semiconductor foundry that manufactures advanced chips for customers across AI, high-performance computing, smartphones, automotive, IoT, and other end markets.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of TSM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TSM and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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