TSMC posts record quarter

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing said on April 10 that first-quarter revenue rose 35.1% from a year earlier to a record NT$1.134 trillion, or about $35.6 billion. (pr.tsmc.com) The company, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said March revenue alone reached NT$415.19 billion, up 45.2% from March 2025 and 30.7% from February 2026. (pr.tsmc.com) Reuters reported the quarter topped an LSEG analyst consensus of about NT$1.12 trillion, extending a run in which demand for artificial-intelligence processors has outweighed softer electronics demand in products like tablets. (reuters.com) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing does not design most chips itself; it manufactures processors designed by customers such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, and its sales are a readout on how much those customers are ordering. Reuters said the latest figures pointed to continued spending on artificial-intelligence applications. (reuters.com) That matters because the artificial-intelligence buildout has shifted from software hype to hardware orders. CNBC said the revenue jump was driven by demand for artificial-intelligence chips, which require TSMC’s most advanced manufacturing lines. (cnbc.com) The company has also become a bottleneck in chip packaging, the step that connects several pieces of silicon into a single high-performance product. Reuters reported in January that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing planned to spend $100 billion to expand advanced manufacturing capacity in the United States over four years. (reuters.com) Investors now have a second date to watch. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has scheduled its first-quarter 2026 earnings conference for April 16, when it is expected to update guidance for the current quarter and full year. (investor.tsmc.com) For now, the clearest signal is the sales line: a record quarter, a record March, and no visible break in the artificial-intelligence chip order cycle through the end of the first quarter. (pr.tsmc.com)