A paradigm shift has been under way in the world of technology over the past few years, driven by advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, the world's five most valuable companies by market cap, worth more than $2 trillion each, are arguably at the forefront of AI innovation.
AI chipmaker Nvidia recently became the first company to surpass a $4 trillion market cap, as its graphics processing units (GPUs) are the gold standard for AI workloads, propelling its valuation to $4.5 trillion. Microsoft's growing suite of cloud-based AI tools has fueled its growth spurt, clocking in at $3.9 trillion. Apple has a captive audience of more than 1 billion iPhones amid an Apple Intelligence upgrade, driving its value to $3.4 trillion. Rounding out the top five are cloud and AI leaders Alphabet and Amazon, sporting market caps of $2.5 trillion and $2.4 trillion, respectively, as of this writing.
With a current market cap of roughly $1.3 billion, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 1.06%), often referred to as TSMC, is, I predict, on the fast track to become a member of the $2 trillion club by 2028. The adoption of AI continues to gain momentum, driving up demand for its most advanced chips in the process. As the world's largest and most renowned semiconductor foundry, TSMC seems ordained to join this elite collection of businesses.
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A chip off the old block
After years of working in the shadows, TMSC has recently found itself in the limelight. The company describes itself as the "world's first dedicated semiconductor foundry," occupying a pivotal position in a tech world that increasingly relies on lightning-fast chips for AI and high-performance computing (HPC). And make no mistake, no chipmaker is held in as high a regard as TSMC. The company includes Nvidia, Arm Holdings (ARM 1.52%), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD -0.77%), and Apple among its biggest customers.
The tech landscape has shifted since the dawn of AI. TSMC once depended on smartphone chips for the lion's share of its revenue, but HPC, including the specialized processors used for AI, has become the company's biggest breadwinner, recently accounting for 60% of sales.
TSMC's growth is accelerating. Revenue grew 44% year over year to $30 billion in U.S. dollars (USD) in the second quarter, while earnings per American depositary receipt of $2.47 soared 67%. The company is expecting this surging growth to continue. Management's forecast is calling for third-quarter revenue of $32.4 billion in USD at the midpoint of its guidance, representing growth of about 38%.
The path to $2 trillion
TSMC sits in an enviable position as the world pivots to AI. Since the biggest names in technology use its industry-leading processors, it stands to benefit from the accelerating adoption of generative AI -- which has spread like wildfire over the past few years. Furthermore, TSMC's accelerating revenue provides evidence that it's well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity and will soon be catapulted into the company of multi-trillionaires.
According to Wall Street, TSMC is on track to generate revenue of roughly $122 billion in 2025, giving it a forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of about 10.4. Assuming its P/S remains constant, TSM would have to generate revenue of $192 billion annually to support a $2 trillion market cap.
Even more intriguing is that Wall Street is forecasting revenue growth of 16% and 19% in 2026 and 2027, respectively -- and TSMC has consistently outpaced expections. If the company clears those low-double-digit hurdles, it would probably achieve a $2 trillion market cap sometime in early 2029. However, given the company's history of outperformance -- and the accelerating opportunity -- I predict it will happen even sooner.
Estimates regarding the expanding adoption of AI vary wildly. One of the more conservative estimates posits that generative AI could add between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion to the global economy annually over the next decade, according to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Even the more conservative estimates have been climbing as new use cases for AI are uncovered.
Finally, at 28 times trailing-12-month earnings, TSMC is attractively valued, offering an economical way to invest in the once-in-a-generation opportunity afforded by AI.
