TSMC's third-quarter revenue surges to record, beating market forecast

TSMC Reports Record Third-Quarter Revenue as AI Demand Drives Growth

TSMC’s Financial Performance and Market Impact

Record Third-Quarter Revenue Surpasses Expectations

TAIPEI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported on Thursday record third-quarter revenue of T$1.49 trillion ($46.71 billion), beating the market forecast and rising 50% from the year-earlier period due to surging demand for AI applications.

Revenue in the July-September quarter of this year came in at T$1.49 trillion, according to Reuters calculations, compared with T$989.92 billion in the year-ago period. An LSEG SmartEstimate, drawn from 19 analysts, had predicted third-quarter revenue of T$1.46 trillion.

Key Clients and Revenue Forecasts

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is a major supplier to companies, including Nvidia and Apple.

In July, on its last earnings call, the company predicted third-quarter revenue of between $44.6 billion and $45.8 billion. The company gives its forecast only in US dollars and not in Taiwan dollars.   

Monthly Revenue Highlights

For September alone, TSMC reported that revenue rose 54.6% year-on-year to T$511.86 billion.

Industry Context and Competitor Performance

Samsung Electronics earlier on Thursday projected its quarterly operating profit would top 100 trillion won, a world first for a technology company, estimating a nearly nine-fold jump in third-quarter earnings as booming demand for AI chips drove strong memory sales.

Market Capitalisation and Guidance

TSMC, Asia's most valuable publicly listed company with a market capitalisation of $2.1 trillion, did not provide any details or forward guidance in its brief revenue statement.

It is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings next Thursday, where it will also update its outlook and plans for the current quarter and the rest of the year.

Profit Estimates and Share Performance

TSMC is expected to report a 64% on-year rise in third- quarter net profit to T$740.8 billion, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate. 

TSMC's Taipei-listed shares closed down 1.35% on Thursday ahead of the release of the revenue data. The broader market closed down 1%.

The shares have risen 64.52% so far this year, in line with the broader market.

Exchange Rate and Reporting Credits

($1 = 31.9020 Taiwan dollars)

(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman)