TSMC hits yet another record as profit surges 39%, beating estimates on AI chip demand surge

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on Thursday reported a 39.1% increase in third-quarter profit from last year, hitting a fresh record as demand for artificial intelligence chips stayed strong.

Here are the company’s results versus LSEG SmartEstimates:

• Revenue: NT$989.92 billion new Taiwan dollars, vs. NT$977.46 billion expected
• Net income: NT$452.3 billion, vs. NT$417.69 billion 

TSMC’s revenue in the September quarter rose 30.3% from a year ago to NT$989.92 billion, beating estimates.

TSMC’s high-performance computing division, which encompasses artificial intelligence and 5G applications, drove third-quarter sales.

As Asia’s largest technology company by market capitalization, TSMC has benefited from the artificial-intelligence megatrend as it manufactures advanced AI processors for clients, including Nvidia and Apple.

TSMC said advanced chips, with sizes 7-nanometer or smaller, accounted for 74% of TSMC’s total wafer revenue in the quarter. 

In semiconductor technology, smaller nanometer sizes signify more compact transistor designs, which lead to greater processing power and efficiency.