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4 Stocks to Watch on Steady Growth in Semiconductor Sales

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Key Takeaways

  • Global chip sales rose 22.7% year over year in April, marking 11 straight months of double-digit growth.
  • Demand for AI and data center chips continues to drive sales, with memory chips adding further momentum.
  • AEIS leads peers with a 39.1% projected earnings growth and a 10% rise in earnings estimates over 60 days.

Over the past year, semiconductor sales have shown steady growth, primarily fueled by the optimism around artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI. Robust demand from a wide range of industries has significantly boosted revenues for the semiconductor sector in recent quarters.

The steady demand for semiconductors was a major driver of last year’s overall market rally.

Given this scenario, it would be ideal to invest in semiconductor stocks, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM - Free Report) , Texas Instruments (TXN - Free Report) , ASML Holding N.V. (ASML - Free Report) and Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (AEIS - Free Report) . Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Semiconductor Market on the Rise

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported that global chip sales jumped 2.5% sequentially in April, reaching $57 billion, up from $55.6 billion in March. Year over year, semiconductor sales jumped 22.7%. This marks the 11th straight month of year-over-year sales growth above 17%.

John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO, said, “Global semiconductor demand remains high, with first-quarter sales substantially outpacing the first quarter of last year. Year-to-year sales increased by more than 17% for the 11th consecutive month, driven by a year-to-year sales increase of roughly 45% in the Americas.”

Earlier in the year, monthly sales dipped slightly due to concerns over the impact of the budget-friendly Chinese AI platform DeepSeek on U.S. tech firms. However, those worries quickly faded as analysts concluded that the fears were exaggerated.

Positive Outlook for 2025 and Beyond

April’s strong numbers came after an impressive 2024, when global semiconductor sales reached $627.6 billion — a 19.1% jump from $526.8 billion in 2023. The final quarter of 2024 alone saw $170.9 billion in sales, up 17.1% from the same period a year earlier, and 3% higher than the previous quarter.

The steady rise in sales has been driven by robust demand for chips in data centers. Also, the memory chip market is helping boost sales. With ongoing AI investments by tech companies, industry experts expect demand to remain high, with the SIA forecasting continued double-digit growth in 2025.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) previously projected a double-digit growth in 2025, further boosting optimism about the sector’s ongoing expansion.

4 Semiconductor Stocks With Upside

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is the world's largest dedicated integrated circuit foundry. As a foundry, TSM manufactures ICs for its customers based on their proprietary IC designs using its advanced production processes. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s goal is to establish itself as one of the world's leading semiconductor companies by building upon the strengths that have made it the world's leading IC foundry.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 30.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.4% over the past 60 days. TSM presently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments is an original equipment manufacturer of analog, mixed-signal and digital signal-processing integrated circuits. TXN has manufacturing and design facilities, including wafer fabrication and assembly/test operations in North America, Asia and Europe. Texas Instruments management’s strategy has been to build assets that would be fully utilized through their lifetimes and outsource any excess demand in peak situations to outside foundries.

Texas Instruments’ expected earnings growth rate for next year is 6.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.5% over the past 60 days. TXN carries a Zacks Rank #3.

ASML Holding N.V.

ASML Holding N.V. is a world leader in the manufacture of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry. ASML offers an integrated portfolio for manufacturing complex integrated circuits. ASML Holdingdesigns, develops, integrates, markets and services advanced systems used by customers, which are the major global semiconductor manufacturers, to create chips that power a wide array of electronic, communications and information technology products.

ASML Holding’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 30.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 7.1% over the past 60 days. ASML currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. is one of the leading suppliers of power subsystems and process-control technologies to the semiconductor industry. AEIS now focuses primarily on power-conversion solutions, including direct current, pulsed DC, low frequency, high voltage, and radio frequency power supplies, as well as matching networks and remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation to leverage the semiconductor, flat panel display, and industrial markets.

Advanced Energy Industries’ expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 39.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 10% over the past 60 days. AEIS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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