07 Jan 2025

Top 10 Semiconductor Stocks to Watch in 2025

Semiconductors are one of the pillars of the modern economy, and the AI arms race has made some chip manufacturers extremely profitable. Get to know the biggest U.S. chip manufacturing stocks and which companies are worth watching.

Discover these semiconductor companies to invest in

Company Name	Ticker	Share Price	1Y Return	Market Capitalisation
Nvidia	NVDA	US$149.43	+185.99%	US$3.66t
Broadcom Inc	AVGO	US$236.41	+119.94%	US$1.11t
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing	TSM	US$220.01	+115.19%	US$893.68b
ASML Holding NV	ASML	US$768.51	+6.61%	US$282.20b
Advanced Micro Devices	AMD	US$129.55	-11.38%	US$210.23b
Texas Instruments Inc.	TXN	US$192.18	+14.03%	US$175.31b
Qualcomm	QCOM	US$159.85	+14.98%	US$177.59b
Micron Technology	MU	US$99.26	+16.85%	US$110.59b
Analog Devices Inc	ADI	US$218.00	+15.36%	US$108.19b
Intel	INTC	US$19.87	-58.99%	US$85.70b

Data as of 6 January 2025. Source: Stake, Google.

*The list of semiconductor stocks mentioned is ranked by market capitalisation. When deciding what companies to feature, we analyse the company's financials, recent news, advancement in their timeline, and whether or not they are actively traded on Stake.

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Decide which is the best semiconductor stock to watch in 2025

1. Nvidia ($NVDA)

198,565 Stake customers watching
216,671 orders executed on Stake

Nvidia is a US-based technology company that designs high-performance chips for AI and data centre use. The company is the market leader in terms of AI chips, commanding an 80% market share thanks to cutting-edge GPUs and its proprietary CUDA parallel computing platform.[1]

Nvidia operates as a ‘fabless’ chip company, meaning that it outsources the manufacturing of its own chips to other companies (such as $TSM). Despite a recent pull-back in share price, Nvidia was briefly the world’s most valuable company earlier this year. Over the past five years, Nvidia’s net income has climbed by 92.1% annualised.

🆚 Compare stock performance of NVDA vs AMD→

✅ Related: Nvidia has also taken the top spot on our quantum computing stocks list

2. Broadcom Inc ($AVGO)

5,561 Stake customers watching
7,600 orders executed on Stake

Broadcom is another US-based fabless chip company, specialising in proprietary networking and connectivity computer chips. While Broadcom has historically been a pure-play semiconductor company, it began a push into software in 2018 with a string of aggressive acquisitions.

Today, Broadcom earns about 60% of its revenue from chip products, with the rest stemming largely from infrastructure-related software. Over the past five years, the company’s net income has risen 16.7% on an annualised basis. Broadcom’s future growth strategy rests largely on the development of custom AI chips known as XPUs, which might rival GPUs' dominance.[2]

3. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ($TSM)

15,276 Stake customers watching
46,515 orders executed on Stake

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (commonly known as TSMC) is the world’s leading chip manufacturing company, with a 60%+ share of the global semiconductor foundry market in recent years. In fact, TSMC manufactures chips for many of the companies on this list, including Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, and Broadcom.

Recently, the U.S. government finalised $6.6 billion worth of funding for TSMC to build chip plants on American soil. The company is based in Taiwan but is listed on the NYSE. Over the past five years, TSMC’s net income has grown by 24.9% annualised.

💡 Related: Check out the Under the Spotlight on TSMC

4. ASML Holding NV ($ASML)

6,887 Stake customers watching
16,961 orders executed on Stake

While ASML does not manufacture computer chips itself, the company is an absolutely essential supplier to the semiconductor industry. Today, ASML operates a near-monopoly over the world’s extreme ultraviolet lithography market, a technology necessary to produce the most advanced computer chips.[3]

ASML’s main customers are the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturing companies, with TSMC, Intel, and Samsung accounting for about 80% of revenue. While ASML does have some competitors (including Nikon and Canon), the company’s dominance looks here to stay for the time being. Over the past five years, net income has climbed 25% annualised.

5. Advanced Micro Devices ($AMD)

32,655 Stake customers watching
132,317 orders executed on Stake

Similar to arch-competitor Nvidia, AMD is a fabless chip company whose products are widely used in the AI industry. While AMD currently has around 11% of the AI chip market, analysts expect this share to grow as the company continues to catch up to Nvidia.[4]

In addition to organic growth, AMD has also been executing an aggressive acquisition strategy to accelerate their AI push. Recently, the company bought cloud computing firm ZT Systems in a record $4.9 billion deal. Over the past five years, AMD’s net income has grown by 54.3% annualised.

6. Texas Instruments Inc. ($TXN)

1,675 Stake customers watching
2,241 orders executed on Stake

Texas Instruments is a fairly unique company in the semiconductor space. Unlike its rivals that design and manufacture digital chips for use in computers, tablets, and phones, Texas Instruments is an analogue chip company.

Analogue chips are less generalisable than their digital counterparts but are better able to accomplish specific tasks. They are widely found in industrial machines, medical devices, and vehicles. Over the past five years, Texas Instruments’ net income has dipped by about 0.9% per year.

7. Qualcomm ($QCOM)

8,305 Stake customers watching
20,869 orders executed on Stake

Qualcomm is a chip designer that primarily focuses on the mobile technology market, particularly 5G products. Like Nvidia, Qualcomm is a fabless designer. The company also derives significant revenue from licensing its large patent library.

Recently, Qualcomm won a notable legal victory against rival chip designer Arm ($ARM) over a licensing dispute.[5] The win will enable Qualcomm to continue expanding into the computer processing market, a key part of its growth strategy beyond mobile technology. Over the past five years, Qualcomm’s net income has climbed by 18% annualised.

🆚 Compare stock performance of QCOM vs AVGO→

8. Micron Technology ($MU)

6,776 Stake customers watching
22,587 orders executed on Stake

Micron is a US-based semiconductor designer and manufacturer that specialises in memory devices, including random-access memory (RAM) and solid-state drives. While Micron has achieved a sizable RAM market share, the company has been slow to roll out the type of high-bandwidth memory chips (HBM) crucial to AI systems.

Today, Micron has just a single-digit HBM market share, overshadowed by competitors like Samsung.[6] That could be set to change as Micron catches up to the pack. Over the past five years, Micron’s net income has risen by 2% per year.

9. Analog Devices Inc ($ADI)

506 Stake customers watching
773 orders executed on Stake

Like chief competitor Texas Instruments, Analog Devices focuses mostly on analogue chips, rather than the digital devices that predominate in the computing landscape. Still, Analog’s product suite does include an array of mixed and digital signal devices, as well as analogue to digital converters.

Analog primarily earns revenue from industrial and automotive solutions, although communications and consumer end uses are growing.[7] Over the past five years, Analog’s net income has appreciated modestly, climbing 3.7% annualised.

10. Intel ($INTC)

16,751 Stake customers watching
44,650 orders executed on Stake

Intel is a fairly unique offering amongst semiconductor rivals. First, Intel focuses primarily on a type of chip called CPUs, which are less well-suited to AI applications than GPUs (where Nvidia and AMD specialise). Second, Intel is both a chip designer and manufacturer, with a foundry division that performs much of the company’s manufacturing.

As a result, Intel has been largely left behind by the AI arms race, which has powered fabless GPU designers to new heights. Intel’s sales have declined by 5% annualised over the past five years. Still, a turnaround could be in the cards, especially after the company’s longtime CEO resigned in December 2024.[8]

How to invest in semiconductor stocks?

The main way to invest in semiconductor companies is through shares listed on the Nasdaq and NYSE stock exchanges, using an online investment platform. Follow our step by step guide below:

1. Find a stock investing platform

To buy semiconductor stocks on the U.S. stock market, you'll need to sign up to an investing platform with access to Wall St. There are several share investing platforms available, of which Stake is one.

2. Fund your account

Open an account by completing an application with your personal and financial details. Fund your account with a bank transfer, PayTo, debit card or even Apple/Google Pay.

3. Search for the company

Find the company by name or ticker symbol. It is advised to conduct your own research to ensure you are purchasing the right investment product for your individual circumstances.

4. Set a market or limit order and buy the shares

Buy on any trading day using a market order, or a limit order to delay your purchase of the asset until it reaches your desired price. You may wish to look into dollar cost averaging to spread out your risk, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals.

5. Monitor your investment

Once you own the shares, you should monitor their performance. Check your portfolio regularly to ensure your investment is aligning with your financial goals.

What small-cap semiconductor stocks are worth watching?

Here are three small-cap semiconductor stocks to keep your eye on:

Rambus ($RMBS) is a semiconductor and intellectual property company that designs and licenses technologies to the electronics industry. Their technologies include memory and interface technologies, security and cryptography technologies, and chip and system architecture.
ON Semiconductor Corp. ($ON) designs and manufactures a range of semiconductor components, including power management, analog, and sensors. These components are used in a variety of industries, including automotive, industrial, and communications.
Lattice Semiconductor Corp ($LSCC) designs and manufactures programmable logic devices, including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs). These devices are used in a variety of applications, including communications, computing, and industrial automation.

What are the top performing semiconductor ETFs?

The three best performing semiconductor ETFs of the past five years are the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF ($SMH), the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX), and the Invesco Semiconductors ETF ($PSI), returning respectively 28.74%, 21.84% and 21.33% to investors during the period.

The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF ($SMH) invests in companies that primarily produce semiconductors and semiconductor equipment. This ETF is heavily weighted towards large-cap companies, with the top ten holdings accounting for the majority of the portfolio. One standout feature of SMH is its focus on large-cap companies, which may provide more stability and a more established track record than smaller market cap companies.

The iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX) invests in U.S. companies that produce semiconductors, semiconductor equipment, and semiconductor materials. This ETF includes both large-cap and mid-cap companies and provides exposure to companies across the semiconductor technology sector itself, including memory, microprocessors, and graphic processors. One standout feature of SOXX is its focus on U.S. companies, which may be beneficial for investors who prefer to invest in American companies.

The Invesco Semiconductors ETF ($PSI) invests in an index of 30 U.S. semiconductor companies, particularly focused on those that manufacture chips. The ETF is mostly focused on large-cap holdings, although PSI does hold small caps as well. The fund’s largest holdings are Broadcom, Nvidia, and Lam Research.

💡Related: Gain exposure to technology and other sectors with the top Nasdaq ETFs→

Semiconductor stocks FAQs

Are semiconductor stocks a good investment?

Semiconductor stocks have some advantages for investors, including the high growth potential of the industry. Semiconductor demand is increasing, driven by the growing need for chips in technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and 5G. Many semiconductor companies have strong financials, including high revenue growth and profits, which can be attractive to investors. Additionally, the industry is diverse, which can provide investors with a diversified portfolio.

However, there are also several disadvantages to investing in semiconductor stocks. The semiconductor industry is cyclical and heavily dependent on global economic conditions. During economic downturns, demand for semiconductors can decrease, resulting in decreased revenue and profitability for companies.

Which country has the most chip manufacturers?

The U.S. is the country with the highest number of chip manufacturers. Despite being the birthplace of the semiconductor industry, however, it is not the country responsible for most of global production. The title of the biggest chip manufacturer belongs to Taiwan, mostly due to the dominance of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ($TSM). TSMC is the biggest player in the sector worldwide, followed by Korean manufacturer Samsung.

Who makes semiconductors in Australia?

There are several companies that manufacture semiconductors in Australia, though the country's semiconductor industry is relatively small compared to other major semiconductor-producing countries.

One of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in Australia is Silanna Group, which is headquartered in Sydney and specialises in developing and producing power management solutions and integrated circuits for a wide range of applications. Another significant player in the Australian semiconductor sector is BluGlass ($BLG), which focuses on semiconductor technology related to photonics, with applications in defence and industrial applications.

Other semiconductor companies operating in Australia include Weebit Nano ($WBT), Archer Materials ($AXE), and Lateral Sands. However, it's worth noting that many Australian semiconductor companies also operate in other parts of the world and may not exclusively focus on manufacturing in Australia.

Disclaimer

This does not constitute financial product advice nor a recommendation to invest in the securities listed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. When you invest, your capital is at risk. You should consider your own investment objectives, financial situation, particular needs. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may receive back less than your original investment. As always, do your own research and consider seeking appropriate financial advice before investing.

Any advice provided by Stake is of general nature only and does not take into account your specific circumstances. Trading and volume data from the Stake investing platform for reference purposes only, the investment choices of others may not be appropriate for your needs and is not a reliable indicator of performance.

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