Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co The December quarter posted earnings that topped analysts’ estimates, as the company got a boost from the AI ​​boom.

The world’s largest chip maker reported fourth-quarter revenue of 868.5 billion New Taiwan dollars ($26.3 billion), up 38.8 percent year-over-year, according to CNBC calculations.

That beat the Refinitiv consensus estimate of 850.1 billion New Taiwan dollars.

For 2024, TSMC’s revenue totaled 2.9 trillion New Taiwan dollars, its highest annual sales since going public in 1994.

TSMC manufactures semiconductors for some of the world’s largest companies, including apple And Nvidia.

TSMC is seen as the most innovative chipmaker in the world, given its ability to produce leading-edge semiconductors. The company has been helped by strong demand for AI chips, particularly from Nvidia, as well as ever-improving smartphone semiconductors.

“TSMC has benefited substantially from strong demand for AI,” Brady Wang, associate director of Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.

“Capacity utilization” for TSMC’s 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer processes — the most advanced chips — “has consistently exceeded 100%,” Wang said.

AI graphics processing units (GPUs), such as those designed by Nvidia, and other artificial intelligence chips are driving this demand, Wang said.

TSMC’s Taiwan-listed shares have risen 88% over the past 12 months.

TSMC’s latest sales figures may also give investors hope that demand for artificial intelligence chips and services may continue into 2025.

Foxconnwhich assembles Apple’s iPhones, reported this. Highest fourth quarter revenue ever This week, as he saw strong demand for AI servers.

Meanwhile, Microsoft This month said it $80 billion is planned to be spent. On building data centers that can handle artificial intelligence workloads from June in its fiscal year.

CNBC’s Jordan Navitt contributed to this report.