Quick Read
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TSMC (TSM) jumped 6% after a report it is drawing up plans to build stacked DRAM for Nvidia, though nothing is signed or confirmed.
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Nvidia (NVDA) would gain leverage over memory makers from a second supplier, but no new supply would arrive for years.
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Turning vertical DRAM patents into defect-free mass production is the hard part, and Samsung, SK hynix and Micron dominate memory.
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Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing( NYSE:TSM ) rose 6.26% in U.S. trading on November 6, 2026. The move came one day after a 10.78% drop to $353.10.
The catalyst was a report that TSMC recently began drawing up plans to make vertically stacked DRAM at the request of its top customer, NVIDIA( NASDAQ:NVDA ). The report cited two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Neither company has confirmed it, and TSMC does not comment on market speculation.
The rest of the chip group also rebounded. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF( NASDAQ:SMH ) rose 3.52%, NVIDIA gained 2.78% to $186.64, and Micron Technology( NASDAQ:MU ) added 5.12%. TSMC's ADR rose more than the sector, topping out at a 7.7% gain early in the session, but it still finished the week down 7.61%. Taiwan's market had already closed when the report came out.
What TSMC Is Reportedly Weighing
Nothing has been signed or announced. TSMC is reportedly deciding whether to build new fabs or buy and retool an existing site, similar to Micron's $1.8 billion purchase of a Powerchip fab in Taiwan in March.
The effort is reportedly led by Hsu Kuo-chin, a TSMC vice president who runs advanced packaging and previously ran Micron's regional operations. Vertically stacked DRAM puts memory cells on top of one another within a single chip. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) is a different product that stacks whole memory chips.
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TSMC has not said how much it might invest or when production could begin. Its 2026 capital budget is already $60 billion to $64 billion, and a memory fab would add to that. Management did not discuss making memory on its October 15 earnings call.
What NVIDIA and Micron Stand to Gain or Lose
NVIDIA has a clear reason to want another source. Its supply obligations reached $279.0 billion, mostly for the memory that goes into Vera Rubin, and its CFO said: "The magnitude of the price increase has exceeded our prior expectations." A second supplier would give NVIDIA more leverage over memory makers, although no new supply would arrive in time to affect results for years.
Micron's gain on Friday shows no sign that the report hurt memory stocks. Its 22.01% weekly loss came from the earlier selloff. Micron also forecasts $61.5 billion in quarterly revenue and is already co-designing HBM4E with NVIDIA.
Why Patents Are Far From Production
TSMC holds patents on vertical DRAM. The real difficulty is moving from patents to mass production with almost no defects. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron dominate memory, and the business swings between booms and busts.
Memory has also historically made thinner margins than leading-edge logic, while TSMC posted a 66.4% gross margin last quarter. Building new capacity takes a long time. Micron expects first wafers from its new Idaho fab in mid-calendar 2027 and says meaningful supply growth will take a few more quarters after that.
How TSMC's Logic Business Shapes the Outlook
The logic business remains the core of the investment case. TSMC forecasts fourth-quarter revenue of $52.3 billion to $54.3 billion, up from $46.72 billion, and expects full-year 2026 growth of about 44%.
The memory report is a long-term possibility that isn't priced into those numbers. Even after Friday's rebound, the ADR is down 20.54% over one month, so the selloff did more to lower the price than the report did to lift it. The traits that marked the earliest winners of this AI cycle, before the headlines caught up, are the ones we cataloged in a free Next Nvidia playbook.
There are two dates to check. TSMC reports October sales on November 10, and NVIDIA is expected to report earnings on November 17. If the ADR falls back below $353.10, Friday's gain from the report will be gone.
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