TSMC Q4 profit beats expectations on robust AI demand

Investing.com– Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, also known as TSMC, clocked a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter profit on Thursday, as it continued to benefit from strong artificial intelligence-fueled demand for its advanced chips.  

TSMC’s (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM) net income surged 57% to T$374.68 billion ($11.60 billion) in the three months to Dec 31, the company said in a statement. The figure was higher than Bloomberg estimates of T$369.84 billion.

Earnings per share were $2.24 for the quarter. 

This came on a revenue of T$868.46 billion, up nearly 39% from the same period last year. The jump was driven chiefly by increasing sales and market share of TSMC’s advanced 3-nanometer chips. 

The company is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, and has benefited greatly from a surge in AI-fueled demand for advanced chips over the past two years. 

The company ranks tech giants such as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) among its biggest customers, and has benefited greatly from increased capital spending on AI infrastructure, particularly on data centers used to power AI programs.

But the company could face some earnings pressure in the coming years, especially as the U.S. recently outlined even more restrictions on the export of advanced chip and AI technology into China.

TSMC had come under increased scrutiny in late-2024 after a report showed that a shipment of its advanced chips had ended up with Chinese tech giant Huawei, which is blacklisted by the U.S.