Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. $TSM, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a critical supplier to Nvidia Corp. $NVDA and Apple Inc. $AAPL, reported a 40% year-over-year revenue increase in May, reaching NT$320.5 billion (USD 10.7 billion). The surge reflects heightened chip stockpiling activity as global clients react to escalating geopolitical and trade risks, particularly in the context of U.S.-China technological competition. While May’s figure marks a substantial annual increase, month-over-month revenue declined by 8.3%, signaling potential inventory normalization after April’s stronger performance, when revenues surged 48% year-over-year. Despite the sequential dip, TSMC’s aggregate Q2 outlook remains aligned with consensus expectations of ~39% growth, driven by resilient demand in the high-performance computing segment.

Broadcom Inc., a prominent chip supplier for tech giants like Apple Inc., witnessed a significant uptick in its stock price towards the end of trading following an optimistic forecast from the company. Investors showed renewed confidence as it became evident that spending on artificial intelligence (AI) computing remains high, a critical factor influencing market sentiment.