On Thursday, Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, stated that recent signals from Nvidia Corp and its key chip supplier suggest artificial intelligence growth is accelerating into 2026 rather than slowing.
Munster posted on X that key indicators point to stronger-than-expected AI fundamentals this year. He forecast Nvidia revenue growth of more than 65% year over year in 2026, which is well above Wall Street's consensus estimate of roughly 50%.
"Bottom line: AI infrastructure growth in 2026 is likely to exceed expectations," Munster wrote on the platform, describing the current signals as "2-for-2" in favor of continued momentum.
He pointed to management commentary from Nvidia at CES, where executives appeared confident that demand for AI infrastructure could outpace current analyst models. The tone from Nvidia leadership suggested potential upside to consensus growth forecasts, reinforcing the view that enterprise and data center AI spending remains robust.
Munster also cited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s latest guidance as a key confirmation signal. TSMC projected first-quarter 2026 revenue in the range of $34.6 billion to $35.8 billion, comfortably above Wall Street expectations of about $33.2 billion.
TSMC shares gained 4.44% during Thursday's regular session and an additional 0.47% in after-hours trading. Nvidia was up 2.10% during the regular session and increased by 0.39% in after-hours trading.
"Nvidia is up on the read-through," Munster said, adding that the results imply TSMC revenue could grow about 40% year over year in the March 2026 quarter.
TSMC delivered a decisive fourth-quarter beat, exceeding expectations on margins, earnings, and outlook. Gross margin climbed to 62.3%, topping the 60.6% consensus estimate, while earnings per share rose to $3.09, well ahead of forecasts of $2.90.
Revenue reached a record $33.1 billion, slightly above Wall Street's $33 billion projection.
CEO CC Wei said that "AI is real," supported by the fact that the company's High-Performance Computing segment now represents 55% of total revenue.