Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides complementary metal oxide silicon wafer fabrication processes to manufacture logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, and embedded memory semiconductors. The company also offers customer support and engineering services, as well as manufactures masks. Its products are used in high performance computing, smartphone, Internet of things, automotive, and digital consumer electronics. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.

Key Points
Apple stock is cooling off after a rapid run-up in the second half of last year.
A Gemini-powered Siri upgrade could come in February.
Apple shares are far from cheap.
Less than one month into the new year, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is already down 8.8% year to date at the time of this writing, compared to a 1% gain in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).
That makes Apple the second-worst-performing component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
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Here's what's driving the sell-off, and if the mega-cap tech stock is a buy now.
Context is key
Always take context into account when evaluating a stock's performance within a specific window, such as year to date or a year.
Apple sold off in the first half of 2025 due to tariff-related fears of eroding margins that never came true. The stock then gained 32.5% in the second half of the year. So heading into 2026, the company had added more than $1 trillion in market cap in a matter of months.
The stock is still up big over the last seven months, even when factoring in its pullback so far this year. It's up to investors to decide how much of the gain is warranted.
Apple is making a splash with AI
On Jan. 12, Alphabet and Apple published a joint statement announcing the integration of Google's Gemini models and cloud technology into the next generation of Apple Foundation Models. Reports indicate that a Gemini-powered version of Siri could come as soon as February.
Having a voice-controlled artificial intelligence (AI) assistant is a brilliant move on Apple's part. Manually-controlled AI functionality may be off-putting to some users, but narrating commands to an assistant could make AI more approachable for users who aren't tech savvy. It's also a good way for the company to gradually phase in AI rather than launching big, overwhelming upgrades.
Apple is known for taking its time with product launches, which is something long-term investors can appreciate. Instead, it aims to maximize the overall impact of a product or a product line's life cycle.
And that was certainly the case last year with the iPhone 17, which featured significant improvements in its camera, processing, and design but lacked the AI showstopper that some investors wanted.
Still, the iPhone 17 came out in September 2025, and investors cheered strong demand and a return to meaningful earnings growth, which Apple had been lacking for years.
Fundamentals are improving
As you can see in the following chart, Apple's earnings soared during the pandemic as consumers shifted purchasing from services to products, but then stagnated. Its recent results have given its earnings and operating margins a much-needed jolt.
Apple's product revenue grew 4.1% in fiscal 2025, and services revenue jumped 13.5%.
For the fiscal year, products raked in a highly impressive 36.8% gross margin, but services were even better at 75.4%. And with services now making up 26.2% of total sales, margins could continue to expand.
Overall, Apple's results have been solid. And that's without factoring in the growth potential of what is likely to be a big calendar year for the company with AI-powered software upgrades and an iPhone purpose-built for AI integration, which may also feature its first-ever foldable design.
Higher-end versions of the iPhone 18 are expected to be powered by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's 2-nanometer chips, which will make it by far the most expensive iPhone ever, but will also drastically improve processing and battery life.
Apple's valuation is elevated
With earnings growth and margins improving, the stock may become more appealing to growth investors. But its valuation is expensive, given that analyst estimates have the company growing earnings by only 10.3% in fiscal 2026 and 10.5% in fiscal 2027.
Even after its recent sell-off, Apple has a 30.9 forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) -- which is more expensive than Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms. Even Broadcom, which is growing at a breakneck pace and is also high-margin, has a 31.6 forward P/E. And Nvidia -- which converts over half of its revenue into after-tax net income and is also growing at a breakneck pace -- has a forward P/E under 40.
I would choose every stock in that chart over Apple because they all have strong competitive moats and more attractive valuations relative to their growth potential. Another distinct difference between Apple and other major tech stocks is its business model.
Apple is heavily dependent on consumer spending. In fiscal 2025, it demonstrated remarkable resilience in its core North American market, and strong growth in Europe and Asia (outside of China).
But China sales declined, and it remains to be seen if U.S. consumers will continue paying higher prices for Apple's AI-integrated devices, especially given that the cost of living continues to outpace wage growth. By comparison, big tech companies that rely mainly on business-to-business sales aren't as sensitive to weakness in consumer spending.
Keep Apple on a watch list (for now)
Apple is a decent stock to buy in 2026, but it's not all that compelling. Investors can buy a high-octane growth stock like Broadcom for a similar valuation, or get far more balanced earnings growth from Microsoft, or high margins and solid earnings from Meta at a far less expensive valuation.
The slower a company's earnings growth, the more critical you should be of its valuation. And in Apple's case, it's somewhere between a tech stock and a consumer-facing company.
In terms of consumer-facing companies, I would much rather buy high-yield dividend stocks like Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble, which are passive-income powerhouses at far more attractive valuations than Apple.
That said, investors who believe in Apple's ability to capitalize on AI may still want to consider buying Apple now. And if there is a sell-off in AI stocks or a pullback in hyperscaler spending on AI, I would expect Apple to hold up far better than companies that have been pouring capital into long-term AI investments. Apple has an impeccable balance sheet and consistently generates gobs of free cash flow, which it uses to buy back stock and invest in long-term projects.
In sum, there are worse ideas than buying Apple after its latest pullback, but it's not a screaming buying opportunity by any means.
Should you buy stock in Apple right now?
Before you buy stock in Apple, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Apple wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $461,527!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,155,666!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 197% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 29, 2026.
Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia and Procter & Gamble and has the following options: short February 2026 $150 calls on Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Salesforce, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Apple Is the Second-Worst-Performing Dow Jones Stock So Far in 2026. Is the Sell-Off a Buying Opportunity?

Key Points
Intel stock soared following investments from the U.S. government and Nvidia.
Investors were disappointed with its first-quarter guidance.
The world's leading chip manufacturer, TSMC, continues to deliver strong results and is affordably priced.
After years of lagging the market, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has suddenly found new life.
The stock has more than doubled over the last six months, even after its sharp pullback following disappointing guidance in its fourth-quarter earnings report.
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Intel has rebounded with the help of the U.S. government, which took a 9.9% stake in the stock last August, which was followed by Nvidia investing $5 billion in the chip-maker in September.
Both moves gave Intel much-needed capital to continue investing in its foundry business and to develop new AI products. It also showed confidence in the company's turnaround prospects under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has cut costs, streamlined the business, scaled back on capital expenditures, and is aiming to overhaul the culture, making it less bureaucratic and more like a start-up.
However, the recent pullback on its earnings report shows that the stock may be overbought and that expectations seem to have outrun the current reality of the business. Intel is still struggling to grow and turn a profit. Revenue fell 4% in the fourth quarter to $13.7 billion, and it reported a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) loss of $591 million, though it was profitable on an adjusted basis.
For the first quarter, it expects revenue of $11.7 billion-$12.7 billion, which is a sharp sequential decline, and sees adjusted earnings per share of just break-even.
For investors looking to capitalize on the AI infrastructure boom, there's a more reliable stock to buy here. In fact, it's a chief rival of Intel. I'm talking about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (NYSE: TSM), the world's leading contract manufacturer of semiconductors.
A track record of excellence
TSMC, as the company is often known, isn't a household name like Intel. It doesn't make branded products, and it's based in Taiwan rather than the U.S.
However, the company is one of the most valuable in the world at a market cap of $1.8 trillion, and it's a linchpin in the global economy as it's the primary chip manufacturer for tech titans like Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and others. It manufactures more than half of the contract chips in the world and is estimated to account for 90% of the advanced contract chips.
That gives it a strong competitive advantage, and its results back that up as it's turned in phenomenal growth and profit margins during the AI boom.
In its fourth quarter, revenue rose 25.5% to $33.7 billion, and it reported an operating margin of 54%, or $18.2 billion in operating income.
TSMC now makes 77% of its revenue from advanced chips, which it defines as those that are 7 nanometers (nm) or less. The stock also trades at an attractive valuation at a price-to-earnings ratio of 32, making it only slightly more expensive than the S&P 500. Historically, the stock has traded at a discount because it's based in Taiwan and some investors fear that China could invade the island territory.
TSMC stock has also been a longtime winner on the stock market, up more than 1,000% over the last decade.
Intel vs. TSMC
Intel operates in two primary segments: its products division, which refers to its chip designs, and its foundry division, which is focused on manufacturing. Historically, the company has manufactured chips solely for itself, but it restructured its business in 2021 to open its foundry to outside customers and has signed up some new customers, including Amazon.
Intel has staked the future of the foundry business on advanced processes like 18A (18 angstroms or 1.8nm), which it recently launched. 18A and the upcoming 14A, which is expected to enter production in 2028, have the potential to make Intel a real competitor to TSMC. However, a meaningful challenge from Intel is likely years away, and Intel has been losing billions of dollars a year on the foundry business as it builds out advanced processes in an attempt to establish a third-party manufacturing business.
At this point, Intel stock is more expensive than TSMC, even though its revenue is basically flat and it's losing money on a GAAP basis. TSMC, on the other hand, expects to grow revenue by a compound annual rate of around 25% through 2029, and it's currently keeping more than half of its revenue as operating income.
While Intel's turnaround may be appealing as a story, TSMC is the much safer bet here and should continue to beat the market as long as the AI boom continues.
Should you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now?
Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $461,527!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,155,666!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 197% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 28, 2026.
Jeremy Bowman has positions in Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Forget Intel: This AI Infrastructure Stock is a Better Bet for 2026

Key Points
Texas Instruments stock rose nearly 10% despite missing Q4 revenue and earnings estimates.
Data center orders jumped 70% year over year, turning a small niche business into a major growth story.
TI's domestic manufacturing shields it from the tariff concerns plaguing competitors with Asian supply chains.
Shares of Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) ended Wednesday's trading 9.9% above Tuesday's closing price. The semiconductor veteran reported Q4 2025 results on Tuesday evening, offering an unusual mix of hits and misses.
A mixed earnings report with a silver lining
Let's start with the usual headline figures. TI's revenue rose 10% year over year to $4.42 billion. The analyst consensus called for $4.45 billion, so it was a slight miss. Unadjusted earnings fell 2%, landing at $1.27 per diluted share. Here, Wall Street was looking for $1.29 per share. The bottom line included unexpected charges of $0.06 per share related to goodwill impairment and tax items. Without these one-time items, TI's earnings result would have been more than enough.
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So TI fell short of the usual market-moving targets. But investors were quick to brush off these minor disappointments to focus on several positive surprises instead.
Guidance for the next quarter was consistently above the current Street projections.
A new chip-making facility in Sherman, Texas, is ramping up production ahead of schedule. Among other items, this factory produces voltage regulators for high-powered computers, ultimately serving the lucrative data center market. That's an ideal segment for beating forecasts.
Data center orders rose by a staggering 70% year over year. That wasn't even a reporting segment last year. Still, the data center business is now large enough to deserve its own year-end commentary with detailed financials delivered on the earnings call.
Made in America, sold to data centers
TI sees manufacturing as a competitive advantage.
Its in-house chip-making assets allow the company to churn out generous product volumes at a time when third-party manufacturing giants led by Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) and Samsung (OTC: SSNL.F) are booked solid with artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator and memory-chip orders. And TI's top factories operate in Texas and Utah, not Taiwan and China. As a result, management didn't even mention tariffs in the earnings call.
The Q4 numbers were technically a miss, but the market clearly cared more about where TI is headed than where it just was. That's a vote of confidence in the company's data center pivot and in-house manufacturing strategy.
Should you buy stock in Texas Instruments right now?
Before you buy stock in Texas Instruments, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Texas Instruments wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $461,527!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,155,666!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 197% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 28, 2026.
Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Texas Instruments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

How Texas Instruments Stock Jumped 9.9% Wednesday

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (Symbol: SMH) where we have detected an approximate $509.1 million dollar outflow -- that's a 1.2% decrease week over week (from 108,541,874 to 107,291,874). Among the largest underlying components of SMH, in trading today Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Symbol: TSM) is up about 0.3%, Analog Devices Inc (Symbol: ADI) is up about 3.1%, and Marvell Technology Inc (Symbol: MRVL) is higher by about 1.2%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SMH Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SMH, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SMH's low point in its 52 week range is $170.11 per share, with $418.49 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $413.78. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Also see:
Funds Holding OSB
JOEZ Videos
DNUT Dividend History
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Experiences Big Outflow

Key Points
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the transformative technology of the 2020s.
These three stocks are all positioned to capitalize on its advance.
All three stocks trade for relatively low forward price-to-earnings ratios.
Every decade or so, a new technology emerges that can completely transform the world. Companies well positioned to capitalize on these introductions and the scaling-up of a new technology can see tremendous growth, even if they're not the first to market. We saw that play out with the internet boom and the proliferation of smartphones over the last 30 years.
This decade's transformative technology is, without a doubt, generative artificial intelligence (AI). The growing capabilities of large language models could affect practically every industry. But three AI stocks in particular stand out as incredible opportunities for long-term investors right now.
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1. Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) may have more to gain from developing excellent generative AI models than any other company. Practically every part of its business could benefit from it, ranging from its advertising to its messaging apps and even its augmented- and virtual-reality headsets.
In the near term, the advertising business is the biggest beneficiary of Meta's AI investments. It's working on an AI agent that can develop and test ad campaigns for its Facebook and Instagram platforms to optimize advertising budgets.
That could bring in more small-business advertisers while reducing overhead costs for marketers, increasing the money available to spend on Meta's ads. And its machine learning algorithms can work in concert to optimize which ads each user sees and when, thereby maximizing the value they deliver to marketers.
Meta's AI efforts have paid off so far. Ad revenue increased 21% through the first nine months of 2025. Over the long run, generative AI could be crucial in increasing engagement, giving creators more tools to produce interesting content and personalize it for each user. It could also create better augmented-reality user interfaces, advancing the computing platform.
It's no wonder Meta is spending so much on building data centers. In its third-quarter earnings release, management told investors it would increase 2026 capital expenditures (capex) by more than $30 billion, up from 2025 levels. That would mean more than $100 billion in capex in 2026.
The growth in spending will weigh on earnings as depreciation expenses hit the income statement. Still, Meta's long-term growth potential remains intact. With a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of just 22, the stock looks like a great buy right now.
2. Salesforce
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) is infusing its leading enterprise software suite with generative AI capabilities. That should enable it to steadily increase users and revenue per user over time. But the bigger opportunity may be in its latest product: Agentforce.
It's the company's platform for developing AI agents that can automate tasks throughout Salesforce's software by using a business' own data. Agentforce has seen strong momentum over the past year, with annual recurring revenue climbing 330% year over year in its most recent quarter.
That said, it's operating off a very small base. When combined with its Data 360 software, which provides a backbone for Agentforce, annual recurring revenue was $1.4 billion as of the end of October, up 114% year over year. Still, that represents a tiny percentage of Salesforce's overall revenue.
But the potential for Agentforce is huge. Management expects that customers who adopt it will increase their spending on Salesforce's software by 200% to 300% over the long run. At its analyst day in October, it provided multiple examples of businesses doubling their spend since adopting Agentforce, which was launched in late 2024.
As Agentforce adoption grows, management expects overall sales growth to reaccelerate, and it should produce strong operating leverage as well. It's already seeing positive signs as remaining performance obligations climbed 12% year over year in its most recent quarter.
The company expects to hit $60 billion in revenue by 2030 with an operating margin around 40%. That's up from about $41 billion this year and a 34% operating margin expected for this year.
Even if Salesforce falls short of those goals, management likely is directionally accurate. And with the stock trading for just 19 times forward earnings, that's good enough to make it a great long-term buy right now.
3. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), known as TSMC, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the booming demand for AI chips. TSMC's leading technology has made it the go-to supplier for anyone looking to develop high-end chip designs.
Other semiconductor foundries don't have the technology or capacity to meet demand for leading-edge GPUs and custom AI accelerators. As a result, TSMC saw sales grow 35.9% in 2025, as its gross margin expanded to 59.9%. That put its total market share of the contract chip manufacturing business at 72% as of the third quarter.
Management expects those strong results to continue into 2026 and beyond. It instituted price hikes across the board for its advanced manufacturing processes (7-nanometer chips and smaller) at the start of the year, with plans for continued price hikes through 2029. Those chips accounted for roughly three-quarters of its revenue last year.
Management plans between $52 billion and $56 billion in capex this year, up from $40.9 billion last year. TSMC is usually conservative in its capex plans, ensuring ample demand before it builds out capacity. The midpoint of that guidance represents a 31% increase in spending.
That's backed up by management's guidance for five-year compound annual revenue growth of 25% between 2024 and 2029. And it's an increase from its prior guidance of 20%. That implies a 22.4% sales increase over the next four years.
With that projected performance and the company exhibiting pricing power on its advanced technology, TSMC should see strong earnings growth in the mid-20% range through the end of the decade. Meanwhile, the stock trades at just 23 times forward earnings estimates, making it another great value given its potential.
Should you buy stock in Meta Platforms right now?
Before you buy stock in Meta Platforms, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Meta Platforms wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $462,174!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,143,099!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 946% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 28, 2026.
Adam Levy has positions in Meta Platforms, Salesforce, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms, Salesforce, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

A Once-in-a-Decade Investment Opportunity: The 3 Best AI Stocks to Buy Right Now

Key Points
The release of Microsoft's Maia 200 chip is a long-awaited milestone for the company in the AI chip race.
Microsoft's Azure and cloud services revenues are growing rapidly.
The stock is down over 2% to start 2026.
Here's an AI stock that'll crush the market in 2026, and no, it's not Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is going to have the best year among the AI leaders. Why is that? Because on Jan. 26, the software company revealed its long-awaited Maia 200 chip.
This is Microsoft's second-generation in-house chip that's used for artificial intelligence (AI) inference. Inference is the "doing" stage of AI, where trained AI models move into solving real problems.
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Microsoft's Maia 200 is ready to compete
Microsoft lagged behind its competitors in designing its own AI chips. This release marks an important milestone in the AI race between the tech industry's giants. The Maia 200 chip is built on Taiwan Semiconductor's 3-nanometer process.
Maia 200 will directly compete with Nvidia's inference GPUs as well as Amazon's Trainium and Alphabet's Google TPU. Microsoft says Maia 200 has 30% better performance than its competitors for the same price. This bang-for-the-buck advantage is significant as price sensitivity grows in the sector. Microsoft's AI team will be the first to use Maia 200, but wider availability is expected to roll out in the near future.
Microsoft's deployment of Maia 200 reduces its reliance on third parties. As the company rolls out the chip to a wider audience, it will also generate new revenue, including its availability for rent for Azure cloud customers. Maia 200's predecessor was not available to rent.
Microsoft's stock is down a little over 2% to start 2026. The software company's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is currently under 30. Microsoft surpassed $3.5 trillion in market cap in 2025, and by that metric is the fourth-largest company in the world. Still, a successful launch of Maia 200 could mean serious growth for Microsoft as it sends a significant counterpunch to Nvidia's dominance.
Expect to see results in late 2026
I anticipate Maia 200's impact to really pick up steam as we head into the latter part of 2026. Azure and Microsoft's cloud businesses will continue to grow substantially throughout the year. Microsoft reported a 40% increase in Azure and other cloud services revenue in its first quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings report.
As Microsoft moves Maia 200 from in-house to general availability, I expect this chip to make a real mark in the AI chip race and help accelerate Microsoft's growth in Azure and cloud services. Will it overtake Nvidia? That's probably not likely, but it could do some serious damage and help Microsoft stay atop the leaderboard.
You heard it here: Microsoft will be the AI stock of the year.
Should you buy stock in Microsoft right now?
Before you buy stock in Microsoft, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Microsoft wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $462,174!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,143,099!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 946% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 28, 2026.
Catie Hogan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Will Crush the Market in 2026

Key Points
Nvidia is the market leader in general-purpose graphics processing units (GPUs).
Taiwan Semiconductor is the largest chip foundry in the world, partnering with semiconductor leaders like Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom.
Micron Technology could be on the cusp of breaking out as memory and storage chips become a necessity for powering artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
Over the last few years, technology investors have witnessed unprecedented sums poured into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Oracle, and OpenAI are collectively spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build data centers and equip these facilities with clusters of AI chips and networking gear.
I'll reveal my top three semiconductor stocks to buy in 2026 as investment along the chip value chain continues to accelerate. For investors with available capital, a $50,000 investment spread across these three stocks could become a multibagger in the long run.
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1. Nvidia
While it may be the most obvious choice, it's just too hard to pass on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Nvidia's lineup of graphics processing units (GPUs) and CUDA software stack have become the default platform on which generative AI is built and trained.
According to research from Gartner, revenue from AI processing semiconductors exceeded $200 billion last year. That said, Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) is forecasting the AI GPU market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% through 2033 -- ultimately reaching a total addressable market (TAM) of $486 billion. What's even more encouraging is that BI suggests Nvidia could maintain up to 75% market share through 2030.
While this is good news for Nvidia's GPU empire, the company is already laying the groundwork for new business lines as well.
For example, Nvidia is complementing its training expertise with new inference capabilities -- striking a $20 billion partnership with inference specialist Groq. As this relationship matures, Nvidia could surprise investors and potentially expand its leadership position in the AI chip landscape as developers rely on the company for a full-stack infrastructure approach.
Despite its tight grip on the AI data center market, Nvidia stock is trading at its cheapest levels in over a year based on forward price-to-earnings (P/E) trends. This could suggest that investors are beginning to view Nvidia as a maturing business -- one threatened by rising competition from Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom.
While the competitive landscape is intensifying, new chip architectures are entering a market that is still expanding. In other words, the AI chip opportunity has room for multiple winners.
I think Nvidia stock is a no-brainer at its current valuation. Investors with a long-run time horizon should consider Nvidia a buy-and-hold position throughout the AI infrastructure chapter.
2. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
A natural complement to a position in Nvidia is an allocation in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). The reason is simple: Chip designers like Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and many more outsource their manufacturing needs to Taiwan Semi.
While the company faces some competition in the foundry market from Intel and Samsung, TSMC is the largest chip manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue -- holding nearly 70% market share. At a high level, TSMC's role in the AI chip industry in one of a pick-and-shovel business.
But what makes Taiwan Semi so unique is that the company's foundry is used to manufacture different types of chips -- from general-purpose GPUs to custom silicon solutions. This puts the company in a position to sustain its growth profile no matter whose chips are in demand.
Against this backdrop, the company appears well-positioned to capture a meaningful portion of the expanding AI chip market. As hyperscalers double down on AI capital expenditures (capex), TSMC can use these infrastructure tailwinds as a proxy for future business.
With revenue and profit margins soaring, Taiwan Semi's leadership has made it clear that the company will continue investing in additional manufacturing facilities and expand its geographic footprint over the coming years -- suggesting further upside from the ongoing chip supercycle is on the horizon.
3. Micron Technology
The proliferation of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI services has created a bottleneck as it relates to AI workloads. To ensure data flows efficiently across GPU clusters, companies are now required to invest heavily in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and storage solutions.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) has been a clear beneficiary of this trend. For the company's fiscal first quarter of 2026 (period ended Nov. 27), Micron's revenue in its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) division soared 69% year over year, while NAND sales rose by 22%.
While this is impressive, the real story around Micron is its profitability profile versus its valuation. Over the last year, Micron has generated earnings per share (EPS) of roughly $10. But for this year, Wall Street is calling for EPS to triple. These unit economics suggest that Micron is able to command lucrative pricing power in light of memory and storage becoming a necessity in the broader chip stack.
While its outlook is strong, it would appear that growth investors have not yet woken up to the sleeping giant that is Micron. The company is still valued at a rather modest forward P/E of 11, steeply discounted to other leaders in the chip realm.
I think 2026 could be Micron's breakout year. Now looks like an interesting time to consider scooping up shares of Micron at a reasonable price.
Should you buy stock in Nvidia right now?
Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $462,174!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,143,099!*
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*Stock Advisor returns as of January 28, 2026.
Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Gartner. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

The Top 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Stocks to Buy With $50,000 in 2026

Key Points
With its PC market share eroding, Intel needed a win.
Panther Lake delivers, with great efficiency and incredible graphics performance.
Supply constraints may limit market share gains this year.
The first batch of third-party reviews for laptops powered by Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) Panther Lake chips has arrived, and the consensus is that Intel has pulled a rabbit out of its hat. Panther Lake largely delivers on the company's promises, successfully pairing performance and efficiency while delivering unprecedented integrated graphics performance.
Two years ago, with Intel desperately behind TSMC in manufacturing, such a feat would have seemed impossible. But thanks in part to Intel's 18A manufacturing process, Panther Lake looks like a much-needed home run.
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The undisputed king of integrated graphics
One of the most notable features of the top-tier Panther Lake CPUs is the incredible graphics performance Intel promised when it unveiled the chips earlier this year. According to reviews, the company has delivered.
The Core Ultra x9 388H chip tested by PCWorld reviewers includes Intel's Arc B390 integrated graphics. In a synthetic graphics benchmark that doesn't benefit from AI frame generation or upscaling, Intel's new chip blew the competition out of the water. The Panther Lake laptop easily beats systems with Intel's last-gen chips as well as currently available laptops with AMD and Qualcomm chips. It's not even close.
In real-world gaming tests, the reviewer was able to ramp up the settings and play many games at acceptable frame rates without any of the aforementioned software features turned on. Once Intel's AI frame generation and upscaling tech are in the mix, Panther Lake really shines. The Panther Lake laptop amazingly holds its own against discrete graphics from Nvidia in cases where these features are supported.
With Panther Lake, Intel has transformed laptops with integrated graphics from passable to a viable alternative to pricier gaming laptops with discrete graphics chips.
A big win for battery life
The laptop PCWorld tested features a large battery, which is one reason it delivered astounding battery life. Reviewers measured a battery life of 22 hours in a test that looped a 4K video. In a real-world test that simulates office work, the battery lasted nearly 14 hours. This was "basically the best results we've ever seen," according to the reviewers.
Outside of the large battery, the Intel 18A process used for Panther Lake's compute tile also contributes to strong battery life. Besides the jump to a more advanced process delivering improved efficiency, Intel 18A is the first in the industry to include backside power delivery. This technology moves power circuitry to the backside of the chip, reducing interference and unlocking performance and/or efficiency gains.
The one caveat is that performance suffers a bit when running on battery for the laptop tested by PCWorld. However, the gap in performance was much smaller than that of Intel's last-generation chips.
A strong start to 2026, but supply could be a problem
Panther Lake is the win that Intel needed in the PC market, especially with both AMD and Qualcomm set to launch new chips soon. However, market share gains for Intel may be somewhat challenging to achieve for two reasons.
First, the Intel 18A process is still ramping, and yields have room to improve. It's not clear how quickly Intel can scale up production. "While yields are in line with our internal plans, they are still below what I want them to be," said Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan during the company's latest earnings call.
Second, Intel is actively shifting manufacturing capacity to server CPUs to take advantage of booming demand from the AI infrastructure build-out. The company doesn't yet have any server CPUs using the Intel 18A process, but that will change later this year with the launch of Clearwater Forest and Diamond Rapids. If Intel prioritizes those high-priced server CPUs, Panther Lake supply could be constrained.
AMD and Qualcomm, which use TSMC for manufacturing, are facing their own supply constraints as demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity outstrips supply, so Intel won't be alone. There's also the issue of memory chip prices, which are soaring thanks to AI demand. IDC expects the PC market to contract by as much as 8.9% in 2026 due to rising prices.
Panther Lake looks like a fantastic product from Intel. However, given the headwinds facing the PC industry and Intel's supply challenges, time will tell whether Panther Lake can drive market share gains this year.
Should you buy stock in Intel right now?
Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $462,174!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,143,099!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 946% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 27, 2026.
Timothy Green has positions in Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

What Intel Just Accomplished with Panther Lake Seemed Impossible 2 Years Ago

Key Points
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has a near-monopoly on manufacturing advanced AI chips.
The company had its first $100 billion revenue year.
Its stock is trading lower than some of its closest competitors.
One of the more important artificial intelligence (AI) stocks on the market isn't one that the public interacts with. However, it arguably plays the most important role in the AI supply chain. It's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) (TSMC), the world's largest semiconductor (chip) foundry.
Although companies like Nvidia and AMD design chips for their hardware, TSMC is the one that actually manufactures them, turning blueprints into reality. Without TSMC, the AI supply chain would suffer. And although it continues to post impressive growth, it's still trading at a discount in my view.
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What makes TSMC stand out?
When it comes to efficiency, scale, precision, and yield (the percentage of chips that work as planned), TSMC's capabilities are a step above its competitors.
Companies that need chips manufactured need dependability, or it could throw off their business. TSMC is the most dependable company in the business, so it's the go-to choice.
Its business used to primarily be making chips for smartphones, but now, amid the AI gold rush, it has found a lucrative lane in making advanced AI chips for data centers. Its market share for them is well into the upper 90% range.
TSMC's best year yet
TSMC generated $122.4 billion in revenue in 2025, up nearly 36% from 2024. This marked the first $100 billion year in TSMC's history, crossing the mark with plenty of room to spare.
Just as impressive is TSMC's margin growth over the past year. Its gross margin increased from 56.1% to 59.9% in 2025, and its operating margin increased from 45.7% to 50.8%. In the fourth quarter, its gross margin and operating margin were 62.3% and 54%, respectively.
A huge revenue jump alongside noticeable margin expansion is a sign of TSMC's operational execution over the past year. It also gives insight into the pricing power TSMC commands, operating a virtual monopoly on advanced AI chips. When you're basically the only game in town, you can charge a premium for your services.
TSMC looks like a good value
Even though TSMC's stock is up around 69% since the start of 2025 (as of Jan. 22), it trades at only 25 times its projected earnings over the next year. This is much cheaper than semiconductor companies like Broadcom, Intel, and Nvidia.
Considering TSMC's market dominance, pricing power, and growth opportunities, its current valuation seems like a deal for long-term investors. It's trading a bit higher than its average over the past few years, but the business is also in a much better position now than it was for much of that time.
TSMC is a stock that I'd feel comfortable holding for the long haul.
Should you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now?
Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $464,439!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,150,455!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 949% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 195% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 26, 2026.
Stefon Walters has positions in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Is Trading at a Massive Discount Despite Red-Hot Growth

Key Points
The Intel 18A process is now churning out Panther Lake chips, but the company hasn't yet secured a major external customer.
With Intel 14A, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has made clear that customer commitments must come first.
If Intel fails to lock in customers, the future of the foundry business becomes murky.
Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) foundry strategy until recently could be summed up as "if you build it, they will come." The company poured capital into manufacturing facilities and raced to bring new manufacturing processes into production. The Intel 18A process, the culmination of the company's original foundry roadmap, is now churning out Panther Lake CPUs for Intel's PC products group.
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What Intel 18A is not doing right now is producing meaningful volumes of chips for external customers. Intel has signed a handful of deals over the past couple of years, including a pact with Microsoft in 2024 to manufacture an unnamed custom chip on the Intel 18A process, and an agreement to make AI fabric chips on the same process for Amazon. The scope and timing of those deals are unknown. What is known is that essentially all of Intel's foundry revenue remains internal.
A rumor that Apple is likely to use a variant of Intel 18A for some of its M-series chips seems like a good bet, but revenue from such a deal would likely be at least a year away. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan made clear earlier this year that the era of "blank checks" was over. For Intel 14A, Intel's next-generation manufacturing process, customers would need to come first.
This new strategy sets the stage for a high-stakes year. Intel must win large foundry customers for the Intel 14A process to sustain the foundry business in the long run.
Holding back on Intel 14A
Intel is facing a supply shortage. The company is working to improve yields across existing manufacturing processes and ramp up tool purchases to boost production. The Intel 7 process, a few generations old, still accounts for a significant share of overall capacity, and the new Intel 18A process is currently ramping up.
Despite the shortage, Intel is being disciplined with Intel 14A. "What we're holding back on is 14A because 14A is really linked to foundry customers," said CFO Dave Zinsner during the fourth quarter earnings call. "...it does not make sense to build out significant capacity there until we know that we have the customers that will accept that demand."
Given Intel's ongoing struggles to secure customers for Intel 18A, this discipline makes sense. It also means that if Intel doesn't win customers for Intel 14A, the future of the company's manufacturing operations is up in the air.
The good news is that Intel appears confident that customer wins are on the way this year. The company plans to release version 0.5 of the process design kit for Intel 14A in the first quarter, a key step in engaging with potential customers. The current plan is to begin risk production by the end of 2027, with volume production starting in 2028. That schedule, though, depends on customer demand.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan expects firm commitments to start rolling in later this year. "Engagements with potential external customers on Intel 14A are active. We believe customers will begin to make firm supplier decisions starting in the second half of this year and extending into the first half of 2027," said Tan during the earnings call.
Intel has 2026 to make it work
The fate of Intel's foundry business will likely be decided over the next year. A single large customer, either a hyperscaler designing custom chips or a fabless company like Apple with significant volume needs, would go a long way toward validating Intel's foundry business.
The industry backdrop couldn't be more favorable for Intel. Foundry leader TSMC is struggling to keep up with demand amid the AI boom, creating ample opportunities for Intel to win business from customers unable to secure enough capacity. The Intel 18A process has a starring role this month as Intel's Panther Lake laptop CPUs debut. A successful launch would provide strong evidence for potential customers that Intel's foundry business is worth considering.
For Intel, proving that it can win customers before ramping up production of a process node is critical. If the company can rack up some major customer wins in the back half of the year, not only will it set the stage for foundry revenue to soar in 2027 and beyond, but it will also light a fire under the stock.
Should you buy stock in Intel right now?
Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $464,439!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,150,455!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 949% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 195% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 26, 2026.
Timothy Green has positions in Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Intel, Microsoft, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.

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