📊 PRO: This Week in Visuals
TSM, UNH, BLK
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Today at a glance:
⚙️ TSMC: AI Boom Accelerates
💼 UnitedHealth: Medical Costs Pressure
📈 BlackRock: Record Inflows
1. ⚙️ TSMC: AI Boom Accelerates
TSMC delivered a record-breaking Q4, with revenue up 37% Y/Y to $26.9 billion ($0.9 billion beat) and net profit surging 57% to $11.6 billion. High-Performance Computing (HPC) now makes up 53% of total revenue, up from 43% last year, driven by AI chip demand. 3nm technology contributed 26% of wafer revenue, up from 20% last quarter, while 5nm reached 34%, reinforcing TSMC’s dominance in advanced chipmaking.
Looking ahead, management expects AI-related revenue to double in 2025 after more than tripling in 2024. Revenue from AI accelerators was in the mid-teens percentage of total revenue. The company raised its capex forecast to $38 to $42 billion (compared to $30 billion in FY24), signaling aggressive investment in future capacity.
Despite headwinds from US export controls, TSMC sees manageable risks and is securing permits for affected clients. Meanwhile, its Arizona fab has entered high-volume production, ensuring continued supply for leaders like NVIDIA, Apple, and AMD.