Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue climbed 39.2 percent year-on-year in the first two months, quickening from last year in a sign of resilient demand for the Nvidia Corp chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) development.
The world’s largest chipmaker reported combined revenue for the first two months of NT$553.3 billion (US$16.81 billion). That compares with 34 percent growth for the whole of last year.
Last month alone, TSMC reported revenue of NT$260.01 billion, up 43.1 percent from a year earlier, but down 11.3 percent from a month earlier. Last month’s figure represented the company’s highest-ever sales for February.
Photo: Rebecca Noble, Bloomberg
Analysts said TSMC could still see its revenue increase to NT$266.7 billion or higher this month to achieve its first-quarter sales goal, which the company projected between NT$820 billion and NT$846.24 billion.
As the manufacturer of most of the AI chips in the world, TSMC’s sales are a barometer for the sector. Wall Street and Silicon Valley are now debating the sustainability of an AI frenzy that made Nvidia the world’s most valuable company, especially after China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) appeared to demonstrate a more frugal approach.
Last week, Broadcom Inc became the latest big tech firm to offer reassurance that spending on AI computing remains healthy. Before that, Taiwanese bellwether Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) posted a 24.63 percent rise in revenue during the first two months of this year, also accelerating from last year.
A major uncertainty TSMC faces this year is whether US President Donald Trump would slap tariffs on chip imports. TSMC might have benefited from front-loading or stockpiling ahead of that potential move.
Last week, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) joined Trump in the White House to outline an additional US$100 billion investment.
The move was widely viewed as intended to stave off tariffs, although it raised concerns that advanced technology could be moving away from Taiwan.
Additional reporting by CNA
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
RSS