Record Profits at Samsung and TSMC Say the AI Trade is Intact

Record profits at Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) are being used as evidence that AI infrastructure spending is still sustainable despite a questionable macro backdrop and soaring energy prices. The article cites Samsung’s most profitable quarter ever by any company, with revenue/earnings tied to $80.2 billion, driven by AI data centers’ demand for memory. TSMC reported record Q3 revenue of $46.7 billion, up 50% year over year, and is described as producing over 60% of global contract chips and more than 90% of advanced chips. SpaceX also plans to raise $40 billion in debt to buy NVIDIA chips for AI compute expansion.