European semiconductor stocks edged higher Friday after two of the biggest companies in the industry — Samsung ElectronicsAnd STMicroelectronics — issued positive fourth quarter updates.

German chipmaker InfineonDutch Manufacturer of Semiconductor Machines ASMLAustrian sensor maker Ams AGAll saw share prices increase by more than 2% during morning trading on European stock exchanges.

STMicro witnessed its share price increase by more than 4 percent after it released higher-than expected fourth quarter results on Friday.

French-Italian chipmaker Chipmaker reported preliminary fourth-quarter revenues of over $3.5 billion. That was higher than the $3.4 billion company had forecast.

STMicro sales in the entire year were $12.76 Billion, an increase of 24.9% over last year.

Samsung estimates that Samsung’s fourth quarter operating profit rose 52% due to strong demand for memory chips and increasing orders for contract chip manufacturing services.

The South Korean tech giant would have its best quarter ever since 2017, if the forecasts are correct.

According to the world’s biggest smartphone maker and manufacturer of memory chips, it expected nearly $11.5 billion profit in its final quarter. It ended December. The company will soon release the full report.

After the pandemic coronavirus that killed 1.2 million people, the demand for chips has increased in recent years. global chip shortage. This led to increased delivery times for a variety of products, including cars and the PlayStation 5.

Some semiconductor companies have seen their shares rise substantially during this chip shortage.

Take, for example: ASMLIt sells high-complex, “lithography” machine-making equipment to large companies such as Samsung. IntelAnd TSMCThe sand has seen it’s share price on Amsterdam’s stock exchange rise 66% over the last year.