TSMC posts record quarter
TSMC reported record first-quarter revenue in the mid‑$30 billions as demand for AI and advanced compute chips remains strong. ( ). Analysts pointed to semiconductor packaging and testing firms like Amkor as beneficiaries, and China’s Hwatsing said it shipped its 1,000th CMP system as domestic equipment makers scale up. ( )
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. posted record first-quarter revenue on April 10, with sales rising 35.1% from a year earlier as artificial intelligence chip demand stayed strong. (pr.tsmc.com) The contract chipmaker said January-through-March revenue reached NT$1.134 trillion, or about $35.6 billion, after March sales climbed to NT$415.19 billion. March revenue rose 30.7% from February and 45.2% from a year earlier. (pr.tsmc.com) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has not yet released full first-quarter earnings. Its investor site says the earnings conference is scheduled for April 16, 2026, and the company entered a quiet period from April 6 through April 15. (investor.tsmc.com) The company sits at the center of the artificial intelligence buildout because it makes chips designed by customers such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. In its January earnings materials, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it served 534 customers and manufactured 12,682 products in 2025. (investor.tsmc.com) The bottleneck is no longer only chip fabrication. Advanced packaging — the step that stacks and connects chip components so they can move data faster and use less power — has become a second choke point for artificial intelligence hardware. (investor.tsmc.com) That is why analysts have turned to Amkor Technology, which packages and tests semiconductors after they are made. CNBC reported April 11 that Amkor shares were up 47% since the start of 2026 as investors looked for ways to profit from the packaging side of the artificial intelligence boom. (cnbc.com) Amkor has been making the same case in its own filings. In February, Chief Executive Kevin Engel said 2025 brought record advanced packaging and computing revenue, and the company’s annual report said semiconductor growth was being driven primarily by advanced packaging in high-performance computing, automotive, internet-of-things and mobile markets. (markets.ft.com, stocklight.com) China’s domestic equipment makers are trying to capture more of that spending. DigiTimes reported that Hwatsing, also known as Huahai Qingke, shipped its 1,000th chemical mechanical planarization system, a polishing tool used to smooth chip wafers during manufacturing. (digitimes.com, gmt8press.com) The revenue print does not answer the next question, which is how long this pace can hold. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will give investors a fuller read on margins, capital spending and packaging capacity when it reports first-quarter earnings on April 16. (investor.tsmc.com)
