TSMC beats forecasts
TSMC reported record quarterly earnings and raised its 2026 revenue forecast as AI-chip demand pushed advanced-node volumes higher. The company said 3nm now accounts for a much larger share of revenue and is scaling 3nm wafer output across Taiwan, the U.S. and Japan while warning the 2nm ramp and advanced packaging like CoWoS remain critical bottlenecks for capacity growth. (qz.com) (markets.financialcontent.com)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing on April 16 posted record first-quarter profit and lifted its 2026 growth outlook as artificial-intelligence chip orders kept climbing. (investor.tsmc.com) The company reported first-quarter revenue of NT$1.134 trillion, or $35.9 billion, up 35.1% from a year earlier, with net income rising 58.3% to NT$572.48 billion. Gross margin reached 66.2%, above the company’s prior guidance range of 63.0% to 65.0%. (investor.tsmc.com) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing told investors it now expects full-year 2026 revenue to grow by more than 30% in U.S. dollar terms, and it guided second-quarter revenue to $39.0 billion to $40.2 billion. Analysts tracked by London Stock Exchange Group had expected first-quarter revenue of NT$1.127 trillion and net income of NT$543.32 billion. (cnbc.com) A semiconductor foundry is a factory that makes chips designed by other companies, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is the biggest one in the world. Its customers include Apple for phones and Nvidia for artificial-intelligence processors used in data centers. (tsmc.com, cnbc.com) The current surge is concentrated in the smallest, most advanced chips, which pack more computing power into less space. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing said chips made on 7-nanometer-and-below processes accounted for 75% of wafer revenue in the quarter, with 3-nanometer alone contributing 39%. (investor.tsmc.com, cnbc.com) That mix matters because artificial-intelligence chips from Nvidia and other designers rely on those leading-edge processes, and few manufacturers can supply them at scale. Chief Executive C.C. Wei said on the earnings call that “AI-related demand continues to be extremely robust.” (cnbc.com, finance.yahoo.com) The company is also spending heavily to add capacity. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has said it is building out manufacturing in Taiwan, Arizona and Japan, while keeping Taiwan as the main base for its most advanced production. (tsmc.com, digitimes.com) Investors are watching whether that expansion can keep pace with demand for the next generation of chips. Management said the ramp of 2-nanometer production and advanced packaging, including chip-stacking technology used to connect high-performance processors to memory, will shape how much new capacity reaches customers. (finance.yahoo.com, digitimes.com) For now, the numbers show customers are still lining up. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has now logged four straight quarters of record profit, and its April 16 guidance points to another step up in the quarter ending June 2026. (cnbc.com, investor.tsmc.com)
