Shares of TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) rose early Thursday after the world’s biggest contract chipmaker posted a forecast-smashing 35% jump in fourth quarter profit thanks to the AI boom.
The company also predicted robust growth in 2026 and said it plans to increase investment, hinting that more US factories are in the works.
Riding high on what it calls the “AI mega trend”, TSMC said its customers were “providing strong signals” and reaching out directly to request capacity, per Reuters.
AP reported:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a major supplier to companies including Nvidia and Apple, reported a net profit of 506 billion new Taiwan dollars ($16 billion) for the October-December quarter, a 35% surge from a year earlier, better than analysts’ estimates.
TSMC said Thursday that its revenue in the last quarter increased 21% from a year earlier to more than 1.046 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($33 billion).
TSMC said it plans to boost its capital expenditure budget to $52 billion-$56 billion for 2026, up from about $40 billion last year. The company’s shares have climbed more than 8% since the beginning of the year, reflecting its strong position in the AI-driven market.
… “We expect our business to be supported by continuous strong demand for our leading edge process technologies,” Wendell Huang, TSMC’s chief financial officer, said in a conference call. He said spending would be “significantly higher” in the next three years.