Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s logo is seen in the background beside a printed circuit board.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Friday posted another quarter of record revenue driven by demand for AI chips.

For January to March, the world’s largest chipmaker reported revenue of 1.13 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($35.6 billion), exceeding analyst forecasts of 1.12 trillion new Taiwan dollars, according to LSEG’s compiled estimates. That marks a 35% year-on-year increase.

For March alone, TSMC reported a 45.2% year-on-year rise in revenue to 415.2 billion new Taiwan dollars.

The chip giant is benefiting from sustained demand for advanced semiconductors from its key customers like Apple and Nvidia, even as concerns persist about supply chain disruptions from the Middle East conflict and the potential impact it will have on demand.

“We think TSMC will easily exceed its 30% annual growth target,” Sravan Kundojjala, an analyst at SemiAnalysis, told CNBC by email.

“While smartphone and PC end markets took a hit due to memory shortages,” the AI segment of TSMC’s business “pulled the weight,” Kundojjala added.

TSMC manufactures chips for everything from consumer electronics to data centers, and has been a major beneficiary of the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into AI infrastructure.

It is one of a very small number of companies that can manufacture the most cutting-edge chips.

TSMC has also reportedly hiked prices for its most advanced chips, which is a “big factor” behind the first-quarter sales beat, Kundojjala said, adding that he is forecasting TSMC to report gross margins of 64% for the first quarter.

There is an increasing number of players designing their own chips, from hyperscalers like Google to Arm, which used to provide the blueprint for certain semiconductors, coming to market with its own central processing unit (CPU). AI firm Anthropic is also exploring designing its own chip, Reuters reported, while a long tail of startups are bringing new products to market aimed at the area of AI inferencing.

Much of the manufacturing will have to go through TSMC, or its competitors like Samsung and Intel.

TSMC releases monthly revenue figures but offers little commentary or profitability numbers. The company will report its full first-quarter earnings on April 16.

Investors will also be eying earnings from ASML next week, a company seen as a bellwether in the semiconductor space. The Dutch giant makes machines that are critical for companies like TSMC to manufacture the most advanced chips in the world.

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A 2025 Ford Lightning electric vehicle (EV) at a Ford dealership in Antioch, California, US, on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.

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DETROIT — Ford Motor said it will report pretax charges of $600 million in its fourth-quarter results due to adjustments in its employee pension plans and other postretirement benefits.

The Detroit automaker said the special charges, which will affect its net income but not its adjusted results or cash, are split between domestic plans and those outside the U.S.

“The remeasurement loss for U.S. plans was largely driven by actuarial losses compared to plan assumptions,” Ford said in a public filing after markets closed Thursday. “The remeasurement loss for non-U.S. plans was largely driven by changes in key plan measurement assumptions, such as improved life expectancy.”

On an after-tax basis, Ford said the remeasurement loss is expected to decrease its net income by about $500 million based on the tax impact in the jurisdictions where there are remeasurement gains and losses.

Ford said its retirement plans remain fully funded and the charges would not change its expectations for pension contributions in 2026.

The new special charges are in addition to about $19.5 billion in special items the company disclosed last month related to a restructuring of its business priorities and a pullback in its all-electric vehicle investments, most of which Ford said would occur during the fourth quarter.

Automakers commonly exclude “special items” or one-time charges from their adjusted financial results to provide investors with a clearer picture of their core, ongoing business operations.

Ford is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results after markets close on Feb. 10.

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A specific kind of loan that helps owners of commercial buildings pay for big upgrades to save energy or water, add renewable power, or improve resilience is seeing huge growth in a lending environment that has been arguably tough.

This month, Nuveen closed a $465 million C-PACE deal for The Geneva, a landmark office-to-residential conversion in Washington, D.C. The transaction represents the largest C-PACE financing in history. 

C-PACE, which stands for commercial property assessed clean energy, is a type of financing that differs from a traditional bank loan. It operates at the state level, requiring local leaders to pass enabling legislation. The amount of the loan is added to the property’s tax bill and repaid over a long period (often up to 20 or 30 years). This can make energy-saving projects more affordable, because the payments are spread out, typically at fixed rates, and the upgrades can lower operating costs and increase property value.

Between 2009 and the end of 2024, cumulative C-PACE investment reached nearly $10 billion, according to PACENation, a nonprofit that says it advocates for C-PACE financing. 

Growth, however, has really accelerated over the past five years — with C-PACE lending posting double-digit gains — as more states pass policies enacting the program and more owners and lenders adopt the tool for financing projects. Currently 40 states have C-PACE policies with 32 active programs, up from six active programs in 2015.

Nuveen closed $2.1 billion in C-PACE loans across 53 deals in 2025 alone and has originated over $5 billion in total. In September Nuveen closed on its now-second-largest C-PACE transaction to date at $290 million for the Pendry Hotel & Residences in Tampa, Florida. The closing also marked the first C-PACE financed transaction in the city of Tampa.

Nuveen said upgrades financed by its C-PACE lending have saved over 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. 

But it’s not all about the environment, and lenders are quick to admit that, especially as political winds shift away from decarbonization.

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“The underlying need of making properties more resilient, more efficient to operate, really doesn’t go away,” said Alexandra Cooley, CEO and CIO of Nuveen Green Capital, an affiliate of Nuveen. “Actually, the vast majority of the projects that we see — the last I checked it was 97% — are some combination of either energy efficiency, which is cutting costs of operating the property, or climate resiliency. So a very small percentage is actually renewable energy.” 

It is the mechanism, really, that is increasingly attractive to lenders in a higher-for-longer interest rate environment, in which economic policy uncertainty has hit traditional CRE bank lending hard. For institutional clients that want long-term, fixed-rate exposure, it’s appealing because C-PACE loans are secured by a senior tax assessment on a piece of real property. 

“Our borrower is really the property itself, not necessarily the owner of that property at any given moment. So, it’s safer, and it enables our investors, who are long-term investors, to have that duration,” Cooley explained.

Another major player in the space, Peachtree, closed its largest C-PACE deal, a $176.5 million loan for the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, for renovations that were actually completed in 2024. The loan was structured to finance these renovations retroactively, so the owners could reduce their senior loan obligations, another benefit of the C-PACE product. 

“They can be utilized as a rescue capital mechanism, where you just recently opened a new development project, a new development hotel property, a multifamily property, any type of commercial real estate property, and you could technically do a retroactive C-PACE loan to help recapitalize that project and help pay down the bank or the lender that financed the project,” explained Greg Friedman, CEO of Peachtree Group. 

Friedman said he sees C-PACE as an economic development tool at a time when “capital markets for commercial real estate have been broken.” 

“Banks make up 50% of the commercial real estate lending market. Banks tend to be the lender of choice for new construction, new development projects, and they’re just not lending at the same level,” he said. 

C-PACE is very profitable for Peachtree as a business, Friedman said, because the company can aggregate and securitize the loans. 

“We have a lot of insurance companies that will invest into these securitizations,” he added.

While C-PACE lenders are less focused on the “green” aspects of the loan, they are still drawn in by the “resilience.” 

C-PACE loans can be made in order to fund energy efficient upgrades, which saves money overall and makes the building more valuable, but they can also be done for upgrades to the building’s resilience. That includes against flood, fire and even earthquakes. That is also appealing to investors as climate disasters become ever more extreme.

Cooley said she sees three things driving expansion in the space: More states adopting C-PACE programs, market education and awareness, and investor interest. 

“As institutional investors have come in, the cost of capital and the structure of C-PACE has become a lot more compelling for the commercial real estate industry,” she said. 

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Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

DETROIT — General Motors is on pace to be the top U.S.-traded automaker stock of 2025, as shares of GM are having their best year since the Detroit company’s reemergence from bankruptcy in 2009.

GM stock is up over 55% to a record of more than $80 per share, as of Friday’s close, topping the company’s previous annual increase of 48.3% last year. That includes a nearly 13% rise so far in December, adding to five consecutive months of share gains, according to FactSet.

Several factors have been driving the share increase. But GM CEO Mary Barra and other executives have contended for years that the automaker’s stock has been significantly undervalued given its consistent earnings performance.

“Great vehicles, innovative technology, a rewarding customer experience, along with strong financial results, will continue to set GM apart in an increasingly competitive landscape,” Barra said during the company’s last quarterly earnings call in October.

Amid the stock’s run-up, Barra has significantly cut her position in the company. She has exercised options or sold roughly 1.8 million shares this year, valued at more than $73 million, according to public filings confirmed by GM.

As of the last public filing in September, Barra still owned more than 433,500 shares valued at over $35 million, with much of her annual awards granted in options and stock.

GM’s stock performance compares with a 17% yearly increase for Tesla as of Friday’s close, a 34% jump for Ford Motor and a 15% loss for Chrysler parent Stellantis. Other U.S.-traded automakers such as Honda Motor and Toyota Motor have had smaller annual gains.

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GM ‘s most recent quarterly earnings were a major catalyst for Wall Street analyst bullishness that led to reratings and price target increases after the third quarter.

The automaker’s quarterly adjusted earnings per share have topped Wall Street estimates every quarter except the second quarter of 2022 over the past five years, according to average expectations of analysts compiled by FactSet.

Wall Street analysts overall have cited GM’s cash generation, earnings resilience and track record in delivering shareholder returns, including stock buybacks, as reasons for their optimism. The automaker also is expected to greatly benefit from regulation changes under the Trump administration, despite ongoing tariffs.

UBS recently increased its 12-month price target on GM stock by 14% to $97 per share, while naming the company its top autos pick heading into 2026. Morgan Stanley earlier this month also upgraded GM to overweight, with a $90 per share price target.

“In our view, General Motors leads the D3 in the North America and Global market with steady unit sales growth, [average transaction price] growth, disciplined incentive spend, and inventory management. This has resulted in better [earnings before interest and taxes] margin and return metrics than peers,” Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco said in a Dec. 7 investor note.

GM stock has cumulatively been in the black on a weekly basis since June. The largest weekly gain of 19.3% occurred when the automaker reported its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 21. Those results beat Wall Street’s expectations and the company raised its annual guidance, adding that next year’s earnings are expected to be better than 2025’s.

GM stock’s has also seen a boost from some external factors. The Trump administration has loosened U.S. fuel economy and emissions standards, removed related penalties that were imposed under the Biden administration, and renegotiated its trade deal with South Korea, a major manufacturing hub for GM. Meanwhile, the industry has been seeing a slowdown in less profitable EV sales.

“GM is effectively a regional (NA) [automaker] and we believe they are well positioned to benefit from the relaxed US regulatory environment (emissions and fuel economy),” UBS analyst Joseph Spak said in a Dec. 15 investor note raising the per share price.

GM CFO Paul Jacobson earlier this month said the company will continue stock buybacks.

“As long as the stock remains as undervalued as it is, the priority is to buy back shares. And I think you’ll continue to see that from us going forward,” he said during a UBS investor conference.

GM is rated overweight with an $80.86 target price, according to analyst averages compiled by FactSet.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Correction: Lucid shares are down for the year. An earlier version misstated their move.

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Apple’s latest iPhone models are shown on display at its Regent Street, London store on the launch day of the iPhone 17.

Arjun Kharpal | CNBC

Apple will hit a record level of iPhone shipments this year driven by its latest models and a resurgence in its key market of China, research firm IDC has forecast.

The company will ship 247.4 million iPhones in 2025, up just over 6% year-on-year, IDC forecast in a report on Tuesday. That’s more than the 236 million it sold in 2021, when the iPhone 13 was released.

Apple’s predicted surge is “thanks to the phenomenal success of its latest iPhone 17 series,” Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC, said in a statement, adding that in China, “massive demand for iPhone 17 has significantly accelerated Apple’s performance.”

Shipments are a term used by analysts to refer to the number of devices sent by a vendor to its sales channels like e-commerce partners or stores. They do not directly equate to sales but indicate the demand expected by a company for their products.

When it launched in September, investors saw the iPhone 17 series as a key set of devices for Apple, which was facing increased competition in China and questions about its artificial intelligence strategy, as Android rivals were powering on.

Apple’s shipments are expected to jump 17% year-on-year in China in the fourth quarter, IDC said, leading the research firm to forecast 3% growth in the market this year versus a previous projection of a 1% decline.

In China, local players like Huawei have been taking away market share from Apple.

IDC’s report follows on from Counterpoint Research last week which forecast Apple to ship more smartphones than Samsung in 2025 for the first time in 14 years.

Bloomberg reported last month that Apple could delay the release of the base model of its next device, the iPhone 18, until 2027, which would break its regular cycle of releasing all of its phones in fall each year. IDC said this could mean Apple’s shipments may drop by 4.2% next year.

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A travelers check flight information at LAX as the shutdown passes the one-month mark, leaving essential workers unpaid in Los Angeles, California, on November 5, 2025.

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U.S. airlines are predicting another record Thanksgiving holiday travel period and are upbeat now that the travel-snarling government shutdown has ended.

Airlines will carry more than 31 million people between Friday, Nov. 21, and Monday, Dec. 1, Airlines for America, a lobbying group representing the largest U.S. carriers, predicted Thursday. The busiest days are expected to be the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with about 3.4 million people flying, followed by the Monday after Thanksgiving, with around 3.1 passengers.

Airline executives have expressed relief after the longest-ever government shutdown ended Nov. 12. Shortages of air traffic controllers, who were required to work without their regular pay, delayed and canceled flights, disrupting travel plans for some 6 million people, A4A said.

The industry is now pushing lawmakers to pass legislation to ensure that air traffic controllers are paid in the case of another shutdown, with executives complaining in recent weeks about air travel becoming a political bargaining chip. The latest bill funds the government only through January, so industry members are hoping to avoid a repeat of the closure just before winter break and spring break seasons begin.

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Bank of America estimated the big network airlines could see an operating income hit of $150 million to $200 million and smaller carriers would see an impact of $100 million because of the shutdown, but airlines haven’t yet come out with revised estimates.

Some travelers appeared to be waiting until the shutdown ended before booking their travel.

United Airlines said bookings between Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 were up 16% compared with the prior weekend, when air travel disruptions spiked.

The carrier also said bookings for international trips are at a record for the holiday period, up 10% over last year, with Cancun, Mexico, and major European hubs in London and Frankfurt, Germany, as top destinations.

Overall, United forecast it will fly 6.6 million customers between Nov. 20 and Dec. 2., up more than 4% from last year.

The largest U.S. carriers’ international capacity is up about 5% between Nov. 26 and Nov. 30 compared with a similar period last year, according to aviation-data firm Cirium, while domestic capacity is about 2% higher.

American Airlines said it plans to run 80,759 flights from Nov. 20 through Dec. 2., more than any airline.

“The Thanksgiving holiday period is one of the most condensed and most important for our customers — the stakes are high, and the American team is ready to deliver,” American’s Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said in a news release.

Not all airlines have beefed up their schedules, however. Budget carrier Spirit Airlines, in its second bankruptcy in less than a year, has slashed capacity and furloughed hundreds of pilots to cut costs as it seeks to find more solid financial footing.

Spirit’s domestic flying capacity is down close to 40% from a year earlier, Cirium data shows.

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A visitor looks at a model of SK hynix’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology during the 2025 World IT Show in Seoul on April 24, 2025.

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South Korea’s SK Hynix on Wednesday posted record quarterly revenue and profit, boosted by a strong demand for its high bandwidth memory used in generative AI chipsets.

The company is looking to expand production capacity in 2026, with its planned supply of memory products for 2026 already sold out.

Here are SK Hynix’s third-quarter results versus LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

• Revenue: 24.45 trillion won ($17.13 billion) vs. 24.73 trillion won
• Operating profit: 11.38 trillion won vs. 11.39 trillion won

Revenue rose about 39% in the September quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, while operating profit surged 62%, year on year.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue was up 10%, while operating profit grew 24%. In its earnings release, the company noted that the quarterly operating profit had surpassed 10 trillion won for the first time.

Following the report, SK Hynix shares in South Korea popped 3.5%, boosting its stock rally to 210% this year.

SK Hynix makes memory chips that are used to store data and can be found in everything from servers to consumer devices such as smartphones and laptops.

The company has benefited from a boom in artificial intelligence as a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory or HBM chips used to power AI data center servers. 

“As demand across the memory segment has soared due to customers’ expanding investments in AI infrastructure, SK Hynix once again surpassed the record-high performance of the previous quarter due to increased sales of high value-added products,” SK Hynix said in a statement. 

HBM falls into the broader category of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM — a type of semiconductor memory used to store data and program code that can be found in PCs, workstations and servers.

The company said it will begin supplying its next-generation HBM4 chips in the current quarter, following negotiations with unspecified customers. The chips represent the sixth generation of HBM technology.

HBM leader

SK Hynix has set itself apart in the DRAM market by getting an early lead in HBM and establishing itself as the main supplier to the world’s leading AI chip designer, Nvidia. 

However, its main competitors, U.S.-based Micron and South Korean-based tech giant Samsung, have been working to catch up in the space.

Micron has already supplied Nvidia with some of its HBM technology, while Samsung recently passed Nvidia’s qualification tests for an advanced HBM product, according to a local report last month.

“With the innovation of AI technology, the memory market has shifted to a new paradigm and demand has begun to spread to all product areas,” SK Hynix Chief Financial Officer Kim Woohyun said in the earnings release.

“We will continue to strengthen our AI memory leadership by responding to customer demand through market-leading products and differentiated technological capabilities,” he added.

The HBM market is expected to continue to boom over the next few years to around $43 billion by 2027, giving strong earnings leverage to memory manufacturers such as SK Hynix, MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.

“[F]or SK Hynix to continue generating profits, it’ll be important for the company to maintain and enhance its competitive edge,” he added.

A report from Counterpoint Research earlier this month showed that SK Hynix held a leading 38% share of the DRAM market by revenue in the second quarter of the year, increasing its shares after having overtaken Samsung in the first quarter. 

The report added that the global HBM  market grew 178% year over year in the second quarter, and SK Hynix dominated the space with a 64% share. Samsung will report its earnings on Thursday.

Ray Wang, research director for semiconductors, supply chain and emerging technology at Futurum Group, told CNBC that he expects SK Hynix to maintain its dominant leadership in the HBM market through next year, thanks to its technological edge.

“The company is likely to sustain around 60% global HBM market share, underpinned by its position as the primary supplier to key customers such as Nvidia, Google and other leading customers,” he added.

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