Nvidia, Arm, Micron, TSMC: how four of the biggest semiconductor stocks have performed this year
Nvidia, Arm, Micron and TSMC are the semiconductor stocks making big strides amid the booming AI industry.
As the first quarter of 2024 draws to a close, the mega cap semiconductor stocks continue to capture investors pretty sight for investor eyes.
Nvidia, Arm, Micron and TSMC are making big strides in an industry poised for more growth, driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the booming technology sector hungry for microchips.
Here is how four of the biggest semiconductor stocks have performed so far this year:
1. Nvidia
Market cap: $2.24t (£1.77t)
Nvidia stock has surged over 82 per cent year to date. Since March 2023, the stock has soared more than 240 per cent, fuelled by the AI boom. Demand for Nvidia’s GPU chips, which power AI models, has rocketed as big tech companies and entire nations rush to get a head-start on the technology.
In February, Nvidia smashed records by achieving the largest single-session market capitalisation increase for a publicly listed company, reaching a record $277bn.
2. Arm
Market cap: $129.15bn
Shares in the Cambridge-based chip designer have climbed over 67 per cent since the start of the year. It took to New York’s public markets last September, bypassing London’s dwindling IPO scene.
In February, Arm reported sales exceeding $800m (£633m) for its third quarter, ahead of analysts’ consensus at $761m, sending shares up almost 40 per cent over the following days.
3. Micron Technology
Market cap: $132bn
Micron has seen its stock jump nearly 40 per cent year to date, with significant gains in recent weeks after it swung back to profit in its most recent quarter.
The Idaho-based company recorded 58 per cent year on year sales growth to $5.8bn, as it rebounded from weak global demand for mobile phones and consumer electronic devices that use its memory chips.
4. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
Market cap: $709bn
Despite ongoing tensions in the Taiwanese straits, TSMC has risen around 31 per cent since the start of 2024. The company specialises in manufacturing computer chips for other countries and is expecting to rake in revenue from its latest technology called “3nm node” this year.
This technology is being snapped up by AMD, Apple and Intel for their new processors, and is already used in the latest iPhones and some MacBook computers.
Rival semiconductor stocks AMD, Broadcom and Qualcomm have seen increases of 22 per cent , 18 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, year to date. Texas Instruments is up less than two per cent since the start of the year, while Intel has slipped into the red, falling almost 13 per cent due to a weak forecast.
The fastest growing chip stock
But one company is experiencing faster growth than all of the industry heavyweights. With a market cap of $153m (£121m), Silicon Valley-based stock Pixelworks Inc has risen over 103 per cent since the beginning of the year.
Pixelworks manufactures video and pixel processing semiconductors, often used often in mobile gaming. This helped its mobile division hit a record $30m (£23.8m) in revenue in February – a 200 per cent year on year increase. It is aiming for a further 50 per cent growth in 2024.
In January, Pixelworks struck a deal with Walt Disney to bring some films that use its Truecut Motion technology to home entertainment devices, improving the visual quality for audiences.
