By Chin Hui Leong
Publication Date: 2026-01-27 23:30:00
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSMC) just announced capital expenditure of US$52 billion to US$56 billion for 2026, an increase of between 27% and 37% compared to 2025.
That’s great news for ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML), the Dutch company that sells the lithography machines TSMC needs for advanced chip production.
But here’s the thing: the investment doesn’t stop there.
Every dollar TSMC spends on fab equipment eventually flows through to cloud providers like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and application companies like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META).
With all three companies reporting earnings tonight, investors have a rare opportunity to trace the AI money trail from silicon to software.
In any gold rush, it pays to sell the shovels.
ASML is the only company in the world that makes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines — the US$400-million systems required to manufacture the most advanced chips.
Without ASML, there is no AI…
