Semiconductor Boom Drives 90% Growth, Despite Geopolitical Risks

The semiconductor industry is experiencing an extraordinary growth cycle, driven primarily by memory and AI infrastructure. Global sales are expected to grow 89.9% in 2026 to $1.51 trillion, according to WSTS.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) and Texas Instruments (TXN) are top picks for investors looking to capitalize on this trend. NVDA's GPUs, networking products, and accelerated-computing platforms are benefiting from expanding AI workloads, while TXN offers exposure to the broader semiconductor cycle through its analog and embedded-processing products.

However, there are potential challenges in the near term, including geopolitical instability, U.S. tariffs, supply-chain adjustments, export restrictions, and elevated memory prices. These factors could disrupt trade and drive up costs for end-products using semiconductors.