Markets

Seven Losses in a Row for Chip Stocks — Then TSMC Reported a Record Quarter

The VanEck semiconductor ETF fell 3.98% on October 14, its seventh straight decline and 10.9% below its October 5 close. ASML's strong outlook did not stop the slide; TSMC's record profit arrived overnight.

Oct 15, 2026

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) closed at $564.74 on October 14, down 3.98%. That is seven declines in a row, a 10.9% drop from $633.90 on October 5, and its lowest close since September 17. Almost every large chip stock fell: AMD 5.73% to $570.82, a day after rising 1.90%; Nvidia 3.16% to $221.30; Taiwan Semiconductor's US shares 3.40% to $430.00; and Micron 4.10% to $914.13, its fifth straight loss and its lowest close since August 24.

ASML's results were the strangest part of the day. The Dutch maker of chip-making machines reported third-quarter sales of €11.7 billion and net income of €5.0 billion, and guided to fourth-quarter sales of €14.2 billion to €15.2 billion. Chief executive Christophe Fouquet said the company now expects that its planned supply for 2027 and 2028 "will not fully meet the demand of our customers", and that some customers want to place orders for 2029 and 2030. Its US-listed shares still fell 3.94% to $1,650.

One exception: GlobalFoundries rose 4.80% to $48.94 after being chosen as technology provider and operator for a US-Japan semiconductor initiative with up to $21 billion of funding.

Overnight, TSMC — the company that manufactures most of the world's advanced chips — reported net income of NT$763.1 billion for the third quarter, up 68.7% from a year earlier, its sixth record quarter in a row and above the NT$746.34 billion consensus. Revenue was about NT$1.49 trillion and its operating margin of 58.7% came in above the top of its 56%-58% guidance. High-performance computing, the category that includes AI chips, made up 68% of revenue; chips made on its 3-nanometre process were 33%.

ASML now says demand will outrun its supply for two more years, and TSMC has just posted a sixth straight record quarter. The question for the next session is whether that is enough to break a selling streak driven less by results than by valuations, higher rates and worries about how AI spending is financed.