Taiwan's biggest companies just had a banner year, and artificial intelligence is the engine behind it.
The country's top 5,000 firms posted record profits in 2025, according to a report carried by MSN, with the surging demand for AI chips driving the gains. Sitting at the top of the pile is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, which remains the most profitable of the bunch.
The numbers underline how central TSMC has become. The company reported a 58% jump in profit, according to Yahoo Finance, though it paired that result with a warning about the potential impacts of war involving Iran — a reminder that even a dominant chipmaker is exposed to global instability.
Wall Street remains optimistic. Bank of America stayed bullish on TSMC and lifted its price target on the stock, according to Yahoo Finance, which also described the company as one of the safer picks for beginner investors heading into 2026.
TSMC has been making its case directly to the industry as well, showcasing its manufacturing capabilities at its 2026 Technology Symposium, Yahoo Finance reported.
The through-line across all of these items is demand for the specialized chips that power AI systems. As companies race to build and run AI tools, the firms that actually manufacture the underlying hardware — concentrated heavily in Taiwan — are reaping outsized rewards.
Why it matters: Taiwan's record profits show that the AI gold rush is paying off most for the companies supplying the picks and shovels, making the island's chip industry an even more critical pillar of the global technology economy.