Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported a new monthly record of NT$367.47 billion (US$11.85 billion) in consolidated sales for last month thanks to global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Last month’s figure represented 16.9 percent annual growth, the slowest pace since February last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 11 percent.
Cumulative sales in the first 10 months of the year grew 33.8 percent year-on-year to NT$3.13 trillion, a record for the same period in the company’s history.
Photo: AFP
However, the slowing growth in monthly sales last month highlights uncertainty over the sustainability of the AI boom even as industry behemoths including Nvidia Corp pursue more chip orders.
Investors were jolted last week by a sudden slump in Asia’s technology shares, which served as a stark reminder that the world-beating rally in AI and semiconductor stocks might be nearing a short-term crest. Wall Street chief executives have warned of an overdue market correction, with Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management LLC disclosing a bearish view on Nvidia.
However, industry executives remain buoyant about AI-driven growth, and one bad month of sales growth is not likely to rattle investors given the soaring spending plans announced by some of the world’s most valuable companies.
Meta Platforms Inc, Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp are collectively spending more than US$400 billion to fund an AI buildout next year, a 21 percent hike from this year, to secure leadership in the race in emerging tech.
Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said on Saturday his business is “growing month by month, stronger and stronger.”
Huang met TSMC chairman and CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and asked for more chip supplies during his two-day whirlwind trip to Taiwan last week at a time when major chip designers are chasing limited supplies from the Hsinchu-based company.
TSMC is also the go-to chipmaker for the Santa Clara, California-based firm’s competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Qualcomm Inc, as well as Apple Inc, supplying silicon for iPhones and other electronics.
Huang’s optimism is shared by his rivals. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told Bloomberg TV last week that the world is underestimating how big AI is going to get.
Last month, Wei told analysts that TSMC’s capacity was still very tight, and the company is working hard to narrow the gap between demand and supplies.
The company previously guided fourth-quarter sales of NT$32.2 billion to NT$33.4 billion, representing a 0.9 percent sequential decline to a 22 percent annual increase. Analysts expect sales to increase 16 percent year-on-year this quarter.
Still, TSMC’s shares rose 1.03 percent to close at NT$1,475 yesterday, having gained about 37 percent since the beginning of this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
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