TSMC posts record quarter
- Taiwan Semiconductor reported a strong first quarter with record profit and revenue, and raised its full-year outlook. - The company said Q1 revenue was about $35.9 billion and increased 2026 capex guidance to $56 billion. - Analysts and investors reacted by lifting price targets and noting visible capacity commitments that separate demand from near-term delivery risk ( ).
Taiwan Semiconductor raised its 2026 outlook after posting record first-quarter revenue and profit on April 16. (investor.tsmc.com) The company reported first-quarter revenue of NT$1.134 trillion, or $35.90 billion, and net income of NT$572.48 billion for the three months ended March 31. Diluted earnings per share were NT$22.08, or $3.49 per ADR. (investor.tsmc.com) Revenue rose 35.1% from a year earlier in New Taiwan dollars, while net income climbed 58.3%. Gross margin reached 66.2%, operating margin 58.1%, and TSMC guided second-quarter revenue to $39.0 billion to $40.2 billion. (investor.tsmc.com, investor.tsmc.com) TSMC is the contract manufacturer that builds chips designed by companies including Nvidia and Apple, so its results are a readout on demand across artificial intelligence servers, smartphones and other electronics. The company said advanced technologies at 7-nanometer and below made up 74% of wafer revenue in the quarter. (investor.tsmc.com) The mix shows how much of TSMC’s business now sits in the most advanced part of chipmaking, where customers are racing for supply. In the quarter, 3-nanometer chips accounted for 25% of wafer revenue, 5-nanometer for 36%, and 7-nanometer for 13%. (investor.tsmc.com) That supply is still tight. Broadcom said on March 24 that TSMC was hitting production-capacity limits and that the bottleneck was constraining parts of the supply chain in 2026. (marketscreener.com) TSMC said it was raising annual revenue growth guidance to more than 30% and stepping up capital spending this year to meet demand for advanced AI chips. Reuters reported the company increased its 2026 capital-spending plan to the top end of its prior $52 billion to $56 billion range. (usnews.com, investor.tsmc.com) Analysts moved quickly after the report. Barclays raised its price target and said demand looked stronger because customers had already locked in capacity, a sign investors were separating long-term orders from short-term delivery risk. (investing.com) The next test is whether TSMC can turn that backlog into more output without losing margin as it expands. For now, the April 16 report showed customers are still lining up for the company’s most advanced manufacturing lines. (investor.tsmc.com, marketscreener.com)
