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As Democrats steadily rise in their potential to take back a Senate majority, Senator Richard Blumenthal is digging into Tether’s U.S. financial partnership.

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team has announced its roster for the 2026–27 season, with Chloe Kim, Jamie Anderson and Red Gerard among the veterans returning.

Nvidia and Oracle stock fell on Thursday afternoon after a report that OpenAI’s annualized revenue as of September was around $20 billion lower than prior estimates.

Before a single AI model is trained, a sprawling supply chain has to deliver. Designers like Nvidia and AMD draft the processors, memory makers supply the bandwidth, and cloud giants build out the infrastructure.

But unlike the rest of the chain, the manufacturing layer has no viable backup, making Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) the one bottleneck the AI boom cannot route around.

Most layers in that chain have a fallback, even if it is slow and costly. The manufacturing layer does not. In my view, TSMC is the one link the AI industry cannot route around, and without it the whole buildout would grind to a halt.

TSMC is a contract chipmaker, or foundry, meaning it builds chips that other companies design. It held 72.5% of the global foundry market in the second quarter, according to TrendForce. Its closest rival had just 5.9%, leaving AI chip designers with few viable alternatives.

That dominance is why Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, mattered. TSMC reported record third-quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion, or about $46.7 billion, up 50% from a year earlier, according to Reuters.

Its customers include Nvidia, AMD and Apple (AAPL).

The real question is whether investors had already paid for that record before it landed. My answer is mostly yes, and the stock’s behavior suggests Wall Street agrees.

Read more: History of TSMC & its stock: Company timeline, facts & milestones

The surprise was gone before the number arrived

TSMC reports sales every month, which takes much of the drama out of its quarterly figures. By Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, July and August revenue had already reached about NT$982 billion, according to Focus Taiwan. That was roughly two-thirds of the quarter, and analysts already saw TSMC on track to meet or beat guidance.

September filled in the rest. Revenue rose 54.6% from a year earlier but slipped 0.6% from August, according to TSMC’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

That small dip is not a warning sign, but it shows the quarter ended on a high plateau rather than a fresh climb.

The stock reacted like a story already told. TSM fell about 2% on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, and slipped again in premarket trading on Thursday, according to Stock Analysis.

Barron’s noted that tech stocks were falling even as TSMC’s sales sent a positive signal for the AI trade.

TSMC reported record third quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion, up 50% from a year earlier, ahead of its full results on Oct. 15.Yuichiro Chino / Getty Images

TSM stock is priced for strength, not perfection

TSM traded as low as $266.82 over the past year. It then hit a record high of $487.47 on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, three days before the revenue report, price history shows. Investors bought the good news well before it arrived.

Even so, the valuation is not stretched. TSM trades at about 20 times forward earnings, while analysts expect earnings per share to grow about 34% in 2027, according to Stock Analysis forecasts. For a company growing that fast, I consider that multiple fair rather than expensive.

Wall Street broadly agrees. Of 21 analysts tracked by Stock Analysis, 20 rate TSM a Buy or Strong Buy, and none say Sell. Their average price target of $555.01 sits about 17.5% above the stock’s latest close.

I think TSM remains a Buy for patient investors. Buying it right before Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, however, is a bet on guidance rather than on this quarter’s sales.

October 15 will test margins, not demand

Demand is proven. What the market has not fully priced is whether TSMC can protect its unusually high margins while ramping its newest 2nm chips. That is the question this quarter’s revenue cannot answer.

TSMC guided for a third-quarter gross margin of 65% to 67%, Seeking Alpha reported.

Its full-year 2025 gross margin was about 59.9%, according to Stock Analysis. New production lines are expensive to start, so holding the higher level through the 2nm ramp would be a genuine achievement.

More TSMC:

TSMC’s next move could ripple far beyond Apple, Nvidia

TSMC’s rivals are losing ground, and the gap is growing

Chip stocks set for $229 billion payday before Nvidia ships a GPU

Analysts expect third-quarter net profit to jump 64% to NT$740.8 billion, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate cited by Seeking Alpha. Profit growing faster than sales is now the base case. A margin miss would now hurt more than any revenue beat could help.

The outlook carries equal weight. Analysts already expect TSMC’s revenue to grow about 35% in 2027, according to Stock Analysis. I think the stock needs management to express confidence in meeting that bar on Oct. 15.

The AI trade now hinges on pricing power

When one supplier controls most of the world’s advanced chipmaking, its sales mostly echo what its customers already told investors. Its margins reveal something rarer: how much of the AI boom’s profit the factory keeps.

That is the shift worth remembering. The AI trade has moved past asking whether demand is real. Its next phase will be decided by pricing power, and no company will show that more clearly than the one making the chips everyone else designs.

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Why we love this deal

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Aorlym 2-in-1 Laptop and Tablet, $120 (was $160) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

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Related: Amazon’s $30 solar power bank makes wall outlets obsolete for phone charging

Details to know

Screen size: The tablet has a 12-inch screen.

Operating system: It runs on Android 16.

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Walmart shoppers say this two-in-one device is “worth every penny.” A customer said the battery lasts for a long time, and it’s a “wonderful tablet for the price.” One reviewer said that they’re not tech-savvy and had no issues navigating the tablet. Another shopper highlighted the size, saying it’s great for their eyes. 

Shop more deals

Callsky 12-Inch Tablet, $164 (was $280) at Walmart

Zonko 12-Inch 2-in-1 Laptop and Tablet, $185 (was $300) at Walmart

Pockam 12-Inch 2-in-1 Laptop and Tablet, $120 (was $150) at Walmart

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Key Takeaways

One-third of Americans with significant unsecured debt pulled money out of their retirement accounts for debt payments, per a 2026 Freedom Debt Relief survey.
The move costs you in two ways: Early withdrawal fees and missed investment gains that can decrease the size of your nest egg when you retire.
Advisors say withdrawing from a retirement account should be a last resort. Instead, try cutting spending, reducing your contributions (but still save enough to get the employer match) or refinancing your debts.

When you’re carrying significant debt, paying it down can monopolize your financial plan. But that doesn’t mean it should automatically come at the expense of other financial goals, like securing a comfortable retirement.
Yet that’s the reality for many Americans. One-third of respondents to a recent survey from Freedom Debt Relief and Money.com say they have pulled money from a retirement account to pay down debt in the last year. That’s roughly the same amount of people who have used a budget app to try to reduce their debt, and more than the 25% who have enrolled in a debt management plan offered by a credit counseling agency. In fact, withdrawing from retirement accounts like 401(k)s and individual retirement plans (IRAs) was among the most common debt reduction strategies named by the 1,800 survey respondents, who all had at least $10,000 in unsecured debt.
Paying off debt can provide some instant gratification. And for some, withdrawing from your retirement fund may truly be the best financial option. But the survey suggests that many people may be putting their long-term financial security at risk before considering other options.
The key is “finding the right balance between successful borrowing and prudent investing,” says David Demming Sr., a financial advisor and president of Demming Financial Services. “You need to find a happy medium.”

The risk of withdrawing from retirement savings to pay off debt
Marisa Bradbury, a financial advisor and managing director at Sigma Investment Counselors, says she would caution anyone about pulling money out of a retirement account to pay off debt.
“You may be getting rid of the debt today, but you’re giving up years of potential growth on that money,” Bradbury says.
That’s because the money you stash in your retirement savings accounts today is being invested into assets like stocks and bonds that are expected to grow significantly. And while you may think you can limit the harm by strategically timing your withdrawals, that’s exceptionally hard to do. Missing just 10 of the S&P 500 index’s best days between 2006 and 2025 would have cut the returns on a $10,000 investment by more than half, according to a report from J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s. Someone who kept their money fully invested would watch their balance grow to $80,619 at the end of those two decades, while someone who missed the market’s 10 best days would only have a $35,866 balance.
You’ll also face income taxes and a 10% penalty when you withdraw money before age 59 ½ from retirement accounts, depending on the type of account. Between the immediate costs in taxes and fees, plus the long-term costs in missing out on compounding growth on your investments, retirement account withdrawals end up being a very expensive way to pay off debt.
“The biggest concern is paying off the debt with retirement money and then ending up right back in debt because the underlying spending issue never changed,” Bradbury says.
What to do instead of withdrawing from retirement accounts
If you’re considering withdrawing from a 401(k) or IRA, Bradbury recommends first doing an honest assessment of whether you can cut your spending any more than you already have. This is where a budgeting app may come in handy, but you can also review your most recent bank statements to see where your money goes each month. Cutting or downgrading at least one subscription service, committing to only dining out once or twice or per month and negotiating with service providers can help.
Another option is to reduce your 401(k) contributions temporarily and redirect that money to debt bills. But make sure you’re not missing out on free money if your company offers a matching contribution, Demming says. Even if someone has $10,000 in unsecured debt, he would recommend they contribute enough to get the full employer match in their 401(k), then focus on paying down the credit card debt.
You can also try to refinance the debt at a lower rate, Bradbury says. One way to do this is with a zero-interest balance transfer credit card, which allows you to put all your money toward paying down principle. Just be sure to see how long the credit card comes with no interest; it’s typically less than 18 months.
Another option is consolidating your debt with a personal loan, which can combine multiple debts into a single monthly payment with a clear repayment timeline. If you qualify for more favorable terms, consolidation may also help reduce borrowing costs or make monthly payments more manageable. Be sure to carefully review the interest rate, APR, repayment term and any applicable fees when comparing options.
If you’re considering pulling from your 401(k) because you’re struggling to make your minimum payments — or you’ve already fallen behind — you may want to consider credit counseling or debt settlement. With the first, a counselor will help you make a budget and payment plan that typically includes a reduced interest rate. With debt settlement, you’ll work with a company that can negotiate with creditors to resolve eligible debts for less than the full amount owed. With either option, it’s important to fully understand the terms of your agreement, how long the process will take and any potential downsides.
There are some situations in which withdrawing money from retirement savings can make sense, like if someone is in a true financial emergency with no viable alternatives, Bradbury says.
“Sometimes it’s the least bad option, but I’d recommend exhausting the other choices first,” she adds.
And if you do end up deciding that a retirement account withdrawal is your “least bad option,” you can limit the harm by simultaneously creating an action plan to try to catch back up on your long-term savings. For instance, once you pay off your debt, you can commit to increasing your retirement account contributions.

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