TSMC posts 16.9% October gain — its weakest since Feb 2024

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported on Monday a 16.9% revenue increase for October, the weakest monthly growth since February 2024.

This has naturally raised brand new concerns that demand for AI chips might be cooling as analysts still expect 27.4% growth for the current quarter, though the company’s stock is up 37% year-to-date, showing that investors have mostly stayed optimistic … until now.

Just last week, investors dumped tech shares over fears of inflated valuations. Big names on Wall Street flagged a looming correction.

One of them was Michael Burry, whose Scion Asset Management revealed bearish bets against Nvidia, the top name in AI chips. Even with that warning bell, the industry keeps pouring billions into AI infrastructure.

That includes Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, who together are set to invest more than $400 billion in 2026, a 21% jump from this year, to stay ahead in the AI race.

Huang pushes TSMC for more chips in Taiwan

Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, met with TSMC’s chief C.C. Wei during a two-day visit to Taiwan. Huang requested more chip supply, saying his company was “growing month by month, stronger and stronger.”

The trip came as demand outstrips supply and all major chip designers are chasing production slots at TSMC’s plants in Hsinchu.

Wei told analysts last month that capacity remains tight and the company is still working to balance supply and demand.

Nvidia’s competitors, including AMD and Qualcomm, also depend on TSMC for manufacturing. The company also produces custom chips for Apple, including the silicon used in iPhones and other hardware.

Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon told Bloomberg TV that people are still underestimating how huge AI will become.

Nvidia blocked in China, political tensions grow

Huang’s trip to Taiwan also followed some sharp commentary about the U.S.–China AI conflict. He told the Financial Times that “China will win” due to lower energy costs and friendlier regulations, but later clarified that he was simply pointing out China’s strength in the sector.

On Friday in Tainan, he made it clear that Nvidia isn’t trying to restart Blackwell chip sales in China: “There are no active discussions. Currently, we’re not planning to ship anything to China.”

Huang has said before that he’d like to grow business in China, but tensions between the U.S. and Chinese governments have stopped that from happening.

President Donald Trump mentioned in October that he might bring up the Nvidia–China issue during a meeting with Xi Jinping, but he later backtracked and the topic was never raised.

While Washington has allowed Nvidia to sell its H20 chips (a less advanced product) to Chinese buyers, Beijing told domestic firms to avoid foreign chips and stick to local alternatives.

Companies like Huawei and Cambricon are pushing hard to build their own AI processors, with backing from the Communist Party, which doesn’t want to depend on American tech.

Huang warned that U.S. export rules could actually hurt American companies by pushing China to accelerate its development of rival AI chip technologies.

“It’s up to China when they would like Nvidia products to go back to serve the Chinese market,” he said. “I look forward to them changing their policy.”

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