U.S. stocks rallied on Monday, buoyed by gains in the technology sector and optimism surrounding chipmakers. Semiconductor stocks soared after Foxconn, a key NVIDIA NVDA server partner, reported record fourth-quarter revenues and a robust sales forecast, reinforcing optimism on AI-driven growth.
NVIDIA shares climbed about 3.4%, bolstered by the Foxconn announcement and CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote at the CES tech conference, where updates on the Blackwell chip were revealed (read: Palantir vs. NVIDIA ETFs: Better AI Plays for 2025?).
Keynotes outlined the company's AI ambitions for both consumer and enterprise users in the year ahead. Huang introduced several new software technologies designed to train humanoid robots and power a wide range of AI applications.
Meanwhile, Micron Technology MU stock surged almost 10.5%, leading gains in the semiconductor sector. AMD shares rose over 3%, benefiting from the sector-wide rally. Qualcomm QCOM and Broadcom AVGO climbed approximately 1.5% each. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. TSM also hit a record high (read: Play TSMC's Best Year Since 1999 With These ETFs).
ASML gained nearly 7% on Jan. 6, 2024. ASMI rose about 6%. Germany’s Infineon and STMicroelectronics both advanced around 7%. Other Asian chipmakers like South Korea's SK Hynix jumped 10%, and Samsung rose 4%.
Foxconn’s Record Revenues
Foxconn, known internationally as Hon Hai Precision Industry, announced record-breaking fourth-quarter revenues of 2.1 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($63.9 billion), a 15% year-over-year increase. The growth was driven by demand for cloud and networking products, including AI servers designed by Nvidia, despite slight declines in consumer electronics like smartphones.
Broader AI Optimism Boosts Tech Sector
Chip stocks also received a lift from Microsoft’s announcement of an $80 billion investment in data centers for AI workloads in 2025. This underscores the strong demand for GPUs (graphics processing units) from Nvidia and other suppliers to power advanced AI models.
Inside the Industry Prospects
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced in late 2024 that global semiconductor sales hit $53.1 billion in August 2024, marking a year-over-year increase of 20.6% and a sequential rise of 3.5%.
If this was not enough, in the decade following CHIPS enactment (2022 to 2032), the United States is projected to more than triple its semiconductor manufacturing capacity — the highest rate of growth in the world during that period — according to a May 2024 SIA-Boston Consulting Group report.
The report also forecasts that the United States will increase its share of advanced (less than 10nm) chip manufacturing to 28% of global capacity by 2032 and capture 28% of total global capital expenditures (capex) from 2024 to 2032. If there had been no CHIPS Act, the report estimates that the United States would have secured only 9% of global capex by 2032.
Chip ETFs in Focus
Against this backdrop, investors can play semiconductor exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for exposure to the entire industry and not just the AI boom. These ETFs include VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH, Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF SOXQ, Invesco Semiconductors ETF PSI, Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF SHOC and Columbia Semiconductor and Technology ETF SEMI, which have lower company-specific concentration risks and have surged 53.3%, 32.8%, 31.4%, 28.9% and 28.6%, respectively, in the past year.
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QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Free Stock Analysis Report
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI): ETF Research Reports
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): ETF Research Reports
Columbia Semiconductor and Technology ETF (SEMI): ETF Research Reports
Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXQ): ETF Research Reports
Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF (SHOC): ETF Research Reports
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