TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM, 2330.TW), a major maker of advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications, said on Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 40% on a surge in demand. expected to be reported.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker, whose customers include Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA), has been a rapid beneficiary of AI.
TSMC is expected to report net profit of NT$298.2 billion ($9.27 billion) for the quarter ending Sept. 30, according to LSEG SmartEstimate from 22 analysts. SmartEstimates places more emphasis on consistently accurate analyst forecasts.
This estimate compares with net profit of NT$211 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TSMC reported last week that its third-quarter sales surged in Taiwanese dollars, comfortably beating market expectations. The company announces its earnings forecast in US dollars at its financial results conference.
“Most of TSMC’s major customers, including Apple, Nvidia, AMD (AMD), Qualcomm (QCOM), and MediaTek (2454.TW), have launched new products that rely heavily on TSMC’s advanced process technology.” said company chairman Li Fangguo. President of Capital Management.
“TSMC’s third-quarter profit will be significantly higher than expected,” Lee added.
At its quarterly results conference on Thursday at 0600 GMT (6 p.m. Japan time), TSMC is scheduled to update its outlook for the current quarter and the full year, including capital investment as it rushes to expand production.
TSMC is spending billions of dollars building new factories overseas, including $65 billion for three factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, but says the bulk of its manufacturing will remain in Taiwan.
At its last earnings conference in July, TSMC raised its full-year revenue forecast and adjusted its capital investment plan for this year to $30 billion to $32 billion from the previous forecast of $28 billion to $32 billion.
The AI boom has helped boost the stock price of Asia’s most valuable companies, with TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares soaring 77% so far this year, compared with a 28% gain for the broader market.
Headquartered in Hsinchu, TSMC, colloquially referred to as the “sacred mountain that protects the nation” for its important role in Taiwan’s export-oriented economy, faces little competition.
Intel (INTC), a 50-year-old company that once dominated the semiconductor industry, is facing one of its worst days, with losses mounting at the contract manufacturing division it is building to compete with TSMC.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Faith Hung; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
