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If you needed more proof that artificial intelligence isn't just hype, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. just delivered it. The chipmaking giant reported second-quarter sales of NT$933.8 billionor $31.9 billioncrushing expectations and topping its own guidance range from April.

The reason? AI chips. Lots of them.

TSMC's factories are humming thanks to strong demand from the biggest names in techthink Nvidia (NVDA, Financials), which just touched a $4 trillion valuation, and Apple (AAPL, Financials), which remains a fixture in the global AI conversation. Together, they're keeping TSMC's advanced nodes in high demand.

To put it into perspective, analysts had expected sales of about NT$927.8 billion. Not only did TSMC beat that, but it also sailed past the NT$28.429.2 billion range it had forecast earlier this year.

This isn't just a tech company beating earningsit's a barometer of the AI economy itself. As everything from smartphones to data centers lean more heavily on AI, the companies that build the brains of those machines are seeing windfall after windfall.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, will unveil full earnings detailsincluding net profit and guidanceon July 17. Investors will be tuning in closely, especially given the stock's momentum and its outsized role in the global semiconductor supply chain.

With AI demand not cooling down anytime soon, TSMC seems to be in the sweet spotand it's showing in the numbers.