By Stefon Walters, The Motley Fool
Publication Date: 2026-09-25 20:20:00
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has been one of the market’s most popular stocks over the past few years. With a market capitalization of over $5.45 trillion, it’s the world’s most valuable public company, aided by its 21% gains so far this year (as of Sept. 23).
Despite Nvidia’s impressive returns this year, it doesn’t compare to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) (TSMC), which is up over 46%. The semiconductor giant has a lucrative relationship with Nvidia, and right now, its business is capitalizing more than ever.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a “Double Down” signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same “Total Conviction” signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
TSMC is critical to the tech ecosystem
TSMC is the world’s largest semiconductor foundry. Its foundry business model means that instead of making chips for general sale, it makes chips for companies’ specific products.
For example, Nvidia’s GPUs have become critical to the current AI boom (which is largely why the company has become so valuable); however, Nvidia doesn’t actually make them. It designs them, and TSMC manufactures and brings them to life.
Manufacturing chips is hard and expensive, and it requires a lot of expertise. That’s why companies instead rely on TSMC — which has been doing it since 1987. TSMC is the…