Zacks Equity Research announced that its Analyst Blog recently featured Analog Devices, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Texas Instruments and NVIDIA Corp. among semiconductor stocks positioned to capitalize on growing demand. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales totaled $517.7 billion in the third quarter, a surge of 24.1% from the second quarter. Year over year, semiconductor sales hit $172.6 billion in September, up 146.8%, while month over month sales jumped 7.9% from the August total of $159.7 billion. The solid jump in September and the third quarter comes after semiconductor sales surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time through August. Michael Robbins, SIA president and CEO, said the global chip market grew substantially throughout the third quarter, with worldwide sales increasing by more than 20% quarter-to-quarter for the third consecutive quarter. The article noted that AI-related chip stocks have been suffering lately as investors moved out of riskier assets on concerns over stretched valuations of AI stocks and questions about the sustainability of the sector's rapid expansion, but said the fears are temporary as the semiconductor industry has played a major role in supporting broader stock market gains in recent years. Semiconductor sales have now recorded year-over-year growth in each of the first nine months of the year, and heavy spending by major technology companies has renewed confidence in AI's long-term prospects.