TSMC ups outlook, expands nodes
Taiwan’s TSMC said demand from AI lifted first-quarter profit and it raised its revenue outlook while planning more capital spending to add capacity, including scaling 3nm and reporting 2nm in mass production. The company warned geopolitical risks could affect conditions even as it expects continued strong growth and signalled above-30% full‑year expansion in some guidance notes. (reuters.com) (digitimes.com 1) (digitimes.com 2)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. raised its 2026 sales outlook on April 16 after first-quarter profit jumped 58% on demand for artificial intelligence chips. (investor.tsmc.com) (wsau.com) The company reported first-quarter revenue of $35.9 billion, gross margin of 66.2%, and operating margin of 58.1%, all above its prior guidance range. It told investors second-quarter revenue should reach $39.0 billion to $40.2 billion. (investor.tsmc.com) Chief Executive C.C. Wei said full-year 2026 revenue in U.S. dollar terms should grow by more than 30%, up from a previous forecast of close to 30%. He also said capital spending would land at the high end of TSMC’s earlier $52 billion to $56 billion range. (wsau.com) TSMC is the contract manufacturer that turns chip designs from companies such as Nvidia into finished silicon, and the smallest production nodes are its most advanced lines. In the first quarter, chips made on the 3-nanometer process accounted for 25% of company sales, up from 6% in the third quarter of 2023. (wsau.com) Wei said production capacity remains tight, and TSMC is expanding 3-nanometer wafer capacity in Taiwan, the United States, and Japan for larger-scale output in 2027 and 2028. Reuters reported those 3-nanometer plans in the United States are part of TSMC’s broader $165 billion Arizona investment. (wsau.com) TSMC’s investor site published the April 16 earnings materials and conference call schedule, and third-party coverage of that call said the company also reported 2-nanometer technology had entered mass production. DigiTimes said Chairman C.C. Wei kept Taiwan as the main base for leading-edge production while scaling newer nodes. (investor.tsmc.com) (digitimes.com) The company paired that expansion with a warning on geopolitics. Wei said TSMC was planning prudently because the Middle East conflict could disrupt supplies of gases including helium and hydrogen, though the company said it had safety stock and multiple suppliers in different regions. (wsau.com) Investors have treated TSMC as a direct readout on the artificial intelligence buildout because it supplies many of the chips used in data centers. Before the earnings release, its Taipei-listed shares had risen 35% in 2026 and closed at a record T$2,085, giving the company a market value of about $1.7 trillion, according to Reuters. (wsau.com) The next test is whether TSMC can keep adding advanced capacity fast enough to match the orders behind its new forecast. For now, the company is telling investors that artificial intelligence demand is still running ahead of supply. (wsau.com)
