European AI chip stocks rose on Thursday following record earnings by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM).
Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML (ASML) surged as much as 7% in Amsterdam and over 4% premarket on Nasdaq. BE Semiconductor Industries (BESIY) also gained +6.2%, French-Italian STMicroelectronics (STM) was up +1.2%, and NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) rose +1.5%. Neubiberg-based Infineon Technologies (IFNNY) (IFNNF) was an outlier, down marginally.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), a major supplier to companies including Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL), reported a net profit of NT$506B (US$16B) for the October-December quarter, a 35% surge from a year earlier, better than analysts’ estimates. Revenue of $33.73B rose +25.5% Y/Y, exceeding Wall Street estimates by $1B.
TSMC also said it plans to boost its capital expenditure budget to $52B-$56B for 2026, up from about $40B last year.