Understanding what makes Taiwan Semiconductor tick helps explain why this company is dominating AI processor manufacturing.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM 1.50%), also known as TSMC, is one of the premier manufacturers of advanced processors, many of which are used for artificial intelligence. The company’s strong position in this space and its growth over the past few years have resulted in its stock price soaring nearly 200% over the past three years.
Recent research from The Motley Fool sheds some light on how TSMC’s manufacturing technology is a step ahead, how it makes the majority of its revenue, and where most of its customers are located. Importantly, all of these factors work together to set TSMC apart from the competition and make its stock a smart one to own for years to come.
1. The company is a leader in advanced chip manufacturing
TSMC manufactures some of the world’s most advanced processors, and the breakdown of the company’s revenue shows just how much comes from its different manufacturing capabilities. Chip companies use the term chip node to describe how many transistors will fit onto a semiconductor, with the unit of chip measurement being nanometers (nm). Generally speaking, the smaller, the more advanced the processor.
Here’s a snapshot of Taiwan Semiconductor’s top five revenue generators, by chip size:
|
Quarter |
3nm |
5nm |
7nm |
16/20nm |
28nm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Q2 2025 |
24% |
36% |
14% |
7% |
7% |
Data source: Taiwan Semiconductor.
This revenue composition is important to highlight because it shows that a whopping 60% of the company’s semiconductor sales are from the smallest and most advanced processors (3nm and 5nm) on the market.
No other company compares to TSMC’s manufacturing prowess, and it’s likely to continue outpacing the competition. TSMC has already sign 15 deals with tech companies for 2nm semiconductor manufacturing, leaving rivals, including Samsung, far behind.
2. Its advanced processors are driving its growth
Just as important as the technology behind TSMC’s revenue is what technologies those processors power. If we go back five years, smartphones were the driving revenue force for TSMC. Now, it’s high-performance computing (think AI data centers).
The company has dominated the manufacturing of advanced processors so well, in fact, that TSMC makes an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced processors.
Here is the company’s revenue distribution over the past four quarters:
|
Quarter |
High-Performance Computing |
Smartphone |
Internet of Things |
Automotive |
Digital Consumer Electronics |
Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Q2 2025 |
60% |
27% |
5% |
5% |
1% |
2% |
|
Q1 2025 |
59% |
28% |
5% |
5% |
1% |
2% |
|
Q4 2024 |
53% |
35% |
5% |
4% |
1% |
2% |
|
Q3 2024 |
51% |
34% |
7% |
5% |
1% |
2% |
Data source: Taiwan Semiconductor.
TSMC’s making the majority of its revenue from high-performance computing is important because it shows that the company successfully adapted with the times, moving from its previously dominant smartphone segment to sales from chips to AI data centers.
More growth could be on the way, too, considering that semiconductor leader Nvidia believes technology companies could spend up to $4 trillion on AI data center infrastructure over the next five years.
3. U.S. tech giants drive demand
Taiwan Semiconductor is based in, you guessed it, Taiwan, but the vast majority of its sales come from selling processors to North American companies. About five years ago, North America accounted for just over half of TSMC’s sales, but that’s jumped to 75% currently. China and the Asia-Pacific region tie for second place with just 9% each.
Why does this matter? Some of the most advanced artificial intelligence companies, including Nvidia, OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet, are based in North America. Taiwan Semiconductor’s shift toward sales in this geographic area is a reflection of the company successfully attracting the world’s leading AI companies to have their chips made by TSMC.
Is Taiwan Semiconductor a buy?
With TSMC making an estimated 90% of the world’s most advanced processors, the company outpacing its manufacturing competition, and artificial intelligence companies poised to spend trillions of dollars to build out and upgrade data centers, TSMC is well positioned to be a great AI stock for years to come.
Just keep in mind that the stellar gains TSMC stock has experienced over the past several years have been a result of the early AI boom, which means future returns may not be quite as impressive.
Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft, and short November 2025 $21 puts on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
