TSMC adds $100 billion to Arizona investment as AI chip demand drives record $22 billion profit

TSMC expects 'strong, multi-year' demand for AI chips as it ramps up Arizona investment

TAIPEI, July 20 (Reuters) - TSMC (2330.TW), opens new tab is seeing strong, multi-year demand for its AI chips as it invests a further $100 billion to expand its Arizona facilities, but it needs to address several challenges, such as a shortage of construction workers there, a top executive said. Speaking after blockbuster second-quarter results on Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company is "very happy" with progress in Arizona, which is why it decided to ramp up investment to $265 billion. "We will continue to invest," he said in an interview, adding that the company was very grateful for U.S. government support. "We continue to see customers' strong demand -- multi-year structural demand." The world's main producer of advanced AI chips and a major Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab supplier, TSMC's aggressive capital spending and soaring profit margins have made it a barometer of demand in the global semiconductor industry. The pledge to expand in Arizona is a win for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pushed for more chipmaking at home. Trump has repeatedly accused Taiwan of ⁠stealing American semiconductor business. He has said that by the time he leaves office, the U.S. will have 50% of the world's semiconductor manufacturing capacity. ARIZONA FABS TSMC's first Arizona fabrication plant -- or fab -- is operational and achieving yields "as good as" the flagship fab in Taiwan, Huang said. The second fab will shortly begin moving in equipment, while construction of a third fab is under way and preparatory work has started on a fourth fab and the site's first advanced packaging facility, Huang said. In total, current and planned projects will bring TSMC's Arizona footprint to 12 fabrication and advanced packaging facilities plus an R&D centre. He did not provide a timeline for the latest investment. However, "there are physical constraints -- the number of construction workers available, the infrastructures available," Huang said. "We'll work closely with the government to solve these issues." At the same time, TSMC continues to invest at home, where it is building 13 leading-edge and advanced packaging fabs over the next several years. "Land is a scarce resource in Taiwan," Huang said. "Therefore, whenever there are available lands, we will use them for the most leading-edge technologies." "When you ramp ⁠the most leading-edge technologies, you need very close collaboration between the R&D and operation functions," he added. "It has to be in Taiwan. And after it stabilizes, then we can consider transferring overseas." BOND ISSUANCE Asked if the company would consider raising money by selling new shares in the U.S., Huang said it would "not rule out issuing new bonds" if market conditions are favourable. Despite its aggressive expansion plans, TSMC faces headwinds from geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, with the U.S. seeking to control advanced chip exports to China. Reuters reported last year that TSMC could face a penalty of $1 billion or more to ⁠settle a U.S. export control investigation over a chip it made that ended up inside a Huawei AI processor. Huang referred questions about the status of the case and any potential penalty to the U.S. government, but said TSMC's internal export control system was constantly being reviewed. "I have to say there is (only) so much we can do in terms of complying with all the rules and regulations, but ⁠when the customers sell to customers, they sell to customers," he said. "At some point in time, you lose the visibility. That's the reality." Investors worries about the sustainability of the AI boom amid massive infrastructure spending has re-emerged recently. TSMC's Taipei-listed shares fell 7.3% on Friday despite the company's record results. Even so, its shares remain up nearly 50% this year. While TSMC ⁠has long been by far the market leader in making the world's most advanced chips, competitors are seeking to narrow the gap, including Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab, which has benefited from a recovery in the memory chip market, and Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab, which enjoys backing by the U.S. government. Huang said the company remains confident in its business model. "We do not intend to leave anything on the table," he said. "Our competitors are good, but we are even better." Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kevin Buckland Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Ben Blanchard Thomson Reuters Ben joined Reuters as a company news reporter in Shanghai in 2003 before moving to Beijing in 2005 to cover Chinese politics and diplomacy. In 2019 Ben was appointed the Taiwan bureau chief covering everything from elections and entertainment to semiconductors.

Chipmaker TSMC's profits surge 77% on AI boom

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's profits surged 77 per cent in the second quarter as the world's leading supplier of chips to Nvidia and Apple reaped the benefits of the AI boom. Net income of NT$706.5bn (US$22bn) blew past analysts' estimates of NT$630bn, according to S&P Visible Alpha consensus figures, with net sales up 36 per cent to NT$1.27tn. In the latest sign of how the AI boom is reshaping the semiconductor supply chain, TSMC said high-performance computing -- a segment that includes Nvidia's chips for AI data centres -- made up 66 per cent of its revenue in the quarter. Smartphones, which until a few years ago were its largest source of sales, were down to 22 per cent. The strong figures come a day after ASML, the Dutch chip manufacturing equipment maker that is one of TSMC's key suppliers, upgraded its forecasts for the year as chipmakers and their customers race to catch up with AI demand.

TSMC is accelerating Arizona factory buildout to capitalize on AI 'megatrend,' CFO says

It sees a manageable impact from Middle East conflicts due to its diversified sourcing and safety stocks. TSMC is racing to accelerate capacity at its Arizona factory as the company continues to see a "multi-year demand mega trend" from its customers, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang told CNBC. TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is scaling up its mega investment in Arizona by committing an additional $100 billion to aggressively expand its U.S. chipmaking footprint amid a surging multi-year structural demand for AI. The fresh commitment raises TSMC's total investment pipeline in Arizona to $265 billion, underscoring a massive AI-driven capacity buildout that also fueled an upward revision to the company's full-year capital expenditure to between $60 billion and $64 billion. Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNBC's Emily Tan, TSMC's Huang said the fresh investment comes on the back of robust customer demand in the U.S. market and strong government support. "We're seeing this strong-structure, multi-year demand, and we do not plan to leave any food on the table for anybody else," Huang told CNBC. "As long as the megatrend is right, then we're able to continue to deliver the profitable growth to our shareholders," he said. In order to meet surging customer demand, TSMC is aggressively optimizing its leading-edge capacities, including a fast conversion of its 5-nanometer capacity to the advanced 3-nanometer node to support customers, Huang said. The nanometer figure refers to the size of each individual transistor on a chip. The smaller the transistor, the more of them can be packed onto a single semiconductor. Typically, a reduction in nanometer size can yield more powerful and efficient chips. When it comes to TSMC's U.S. expansion, phase one, using 4-nanometer technology, is already up and running, the CFO told CNBC. "It's going to be bigger and bigger in the next few quarters," Huang said, framing the 2-nanometer technology as the company's newest revenue driver heading into the third quarter, following its initial revenue generation in the second quarter. U.S. fab construction costs are four to five times higher than in Taiwan, however, Huang said that while the initial dilution will widen as the scale of overseas operations grows, the expansion will ultimately further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem. "It will be both the front-end wafer fabs and back end advanced packaging fabs," Huang said regarding the deployment of the fresh $100 billion investment. TSMC shares ended the day up over 1% after it posted earnings, however shares slumped 7% on Friday. The stock is up around 48% year-to-date. Responding to the company's share price performance, Huang said TSMC does not have any control over the financial markets. "What we can do is really to focus on fundamentals of our business," he said, adding that while the sector faces hefty price increases in components, the company sees minimal impact due to its strategic focus on the high-end market. Aside from market factors, TSMC is also managing its regulatory footprint. On China, Huang said that TSMC continues to comply with all export controls while serving its Chinese customers, who contribute about 8% of total revenue. The chipmaker is expanding its focus toward future expansion drivers. Regarding the prospects of physical AI, he added that the company's recent joint venture with Sony for image sensors is part of its strategic commitment to supporting long-term customer growth in specialty technologies. -- CNBC's Arjun Kharpal helped contribute to this story. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

TSMC Q2 profit jumps 77% to record, far surpasses expectations

TAIPEI, July 16 (Reuters) - TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, posted a 77% jump in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating market forecasts and hitting a ⁠record, riding the wave of surging global demand for its artificial intelligence processors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW), opens new tab, whose customers include Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, saw April-June ⁠net profit rise to T$706.6 billion ($21.99 billion). The profit handily beat a T$632.6 billion LSEG ⁠SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who ⁠are more consistently accurate. ($1 = 32.1340 Taiwan dollars) Reporting ⁠by Wen-Yee Lee, Faith Hung and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Shri Navaratnam Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

TSMC's second-quarter profit seen hitting record on AI boom

TAIPEI, July 16 (Reuters) - TSMC, the world's largest manufacturer of advanced AI chips, is expected to notch a fifth consecutive quarter of record earnings on Thursday, with a 59% surge in net profit for April-June, driven by booming global demand for AI infrastructure. Analysts said demand for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (TSMC) (2330.TW), opens new tab 3-nanometre and 2-nanometre process technologies for AI chips, as well as for its advanced chip ⁠packaging technology, CoWoS, remains strong. That has catapulted Asia's most valuable company, a key supplier to Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, to new heights. Its market capitalisation is now nearly double that of South Korean rival Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab at around $1.95 trillion. TSMC is expected to report net profit of T$632.6 billion ($19.65 billion) for the second quarter, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate compiled from 18 analysts. SmartEstimates place greater weight on forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. An earnings call at which it will provide third-quarter and ⁠updated full-year guidance is scheduled for 0600 GMT. Any result above T$572.5 billion would mark the company's highest-ever quarterly net income and its 10th consecutive quarter of profit growth. On Monday, the company announced a 36% rise in second-quarter revenue, ahead of market forecasts and a record ⁠high. Analysts broadly expect TSMC to raise its full-year revenue growth outlook and will be watching whether it also increases capital spending, a key indicator of management's confidence in the durability of ⁠AI demand. On its last earnings call in April, the company said 2026 capital expenditure, opens new tab would be at the high end of its earlier guidance of $52 billion to $56 billion. TSMC ⁠is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona. TSMC's Taipei-listed shares have gained 57.4% so far this year, in line with the broader market (.TWII), opens new tab. Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Ben Blanchard Thomson Reuters Ben joined Reuters as a company news reporter in Shanghai in 2003 before moving to Beijing in 2005 to cover Chinese politics and diplomacy. In 2019 Ben was appointed the Taiwan bureau chief covering everything from elections and entertainment to semiconductors.

Taiwan chipmaker TSMC to invest another $100bn in Arizona fabs

Taipei (AFP) - Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC will invest an additional $100 billion in the US state of Arizona, the company said Thursday, as it reported a record quarterly net profit on the back of massive demand for AI hardware. TSMC, the biggest contract maker of microchips used in everything from Apple phones to Nvidia processors, has been a major beneficiary of the global AI race. Governments and tech giants are pouring huge sums into building data centres that can train and run AI tools such as chatbots, image generators and agents that can execute tasks. This has turbocharged business for chipmakers such as TSMC, creating shortages and sending prices soaring. "The AI megatrend continues to drive the need for more and more computation," chairman CC Wei told an earnings call. "We now expect our full-year 2026 revenue growth to be slightly above 40 percent year-over-year in US dollar terms." TSMC's net profit for April to June surged 77.4 percent year-on-year to NT$706.6 billion (US$22 billion), smashing analyst estimates of NT$624.4 billion. The result also beat its previous quarterly record of NT$572.48 billion in the first three months of 2026. Quarterly revenue rose 36 percent to NT$1.3 trillion. TSMC will spend an additional $100 billion building "four or more" fabs in Arizona, taking the company's total investment plans in the United States to $265 billion. "This is to build several or more semiconductor logic wafer fabs for 2-nanometer and below technologies as well as advanced packaging fabs," Wei said. Chief financial officer Wendell Huang said TSMC will increase its 2026 capital expenditure budget to between $60 and $64 billion "as we continue to invest heavily to support our customers' growth". Ahead of the results, Counterpoint Research senior analyst William Li said TSMC's surge in revenue showed "AI infrastructure investment remains exceptionally strong despite macro uncertainty." "Demand for AI GPUs, AI ASICs and advanced packaging continues to exceed expectations," Li told AFP. Li said: "EUV (extreme ultra-violet lithography tools) supply constraints and overseas fab investments may limit capacity expansion and weigh on margins in the near term." Concerns about overstretched valuations in the tech sector have fuelled fears of a market bubble, along with questions over when the eye-watering sums being spent on AI will reap returns. But Omdia principal analyst Simon Chen said those fears were "overstated". "The demand we see is structural, backed by massive, tangible capital expenditures from hyperscalers," Chen said.

TSMC Q2 revenue jumps 36% from a year earlier, beating market expectations

TAIPEI, July 13 (Reuters) - TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported on Monday second-quarter revenue of 1.27 trillion Taiwan dollars ($39.63 billion), beating market expectations ⁠and rising 36% from a year earlier on surging interest in artificial intelligence applications. An LSEG SmartEstimate, drawn from 20 analysts, had expected revenue in ⁠the April-to-June quarter of 1.264 trillion Taiwan dollars. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW), opens new tab, ⁠is a major supplier to companies including ⁠Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab. ($1 = 32.0490 Taiwan dollars) Reporting ⁠by Wen-Yee Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Taiwan chipmaker TSMC reports record quarterly profit

Taipei (AFP) - Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC reported a record net profit for the second quarter on Thursday, fuelled by massive demand for artificial intelligence hardware. TSMC, the biggest contract maker of microchips used in everything from Apple phones to Nvidia processors, has been a major beneficiary of the global AI race. Governments and tech giants are pouring huge sums into building data centres that can train and run AI tools such as chatbots, image generators and agents that can execute tasks. This has turbocharged business for chipmakers such as TSMC, creating shortages and sending prices soaring. "The AI megatrend continues to drive the need for more and more computation," chairman CC Wei told an earnings call. TSMC's net profit for April to June surged 77.4 percent year-on-year to NT$706.6 billion (US$22 billion), smashing analyst estimates of NT$624.4 billion. The result also beat its previous quarterly record of NT$572.48 billion in the first three months of 2026. Quarterly revenue rose 36 percent to NT$1.3 trillion. Ahead of the results, Counterpoint Research senior analyst William Li said TSMC's surge in revenue showed "AI infrastructure investment remains exceptionally strong despite macro uncertainty." "Demand for AI GPUs, AI ASICs and advanced packaging continues to exceed expectations," Li told AFP. Li said "EUV (extreme ultra-violet lithography tools) supply constraints and overseas fab investments may limit capacity expansion and weigh on margins in the near term." Concerns about overstretched valuations in the tech sector have fuelled fears of a market bubble, along with questions over when the eye-watering sums being spent on AI will reap returns. But Omdia principal analyst Simon Chen said those fears were "overstated". "The demand we see is structural, backed by massive, tangible capital expenditures from hyperscalers," Chen said.

TSMC: TSMC expects 'strong, multi-year' demand for AI chips as it ramps up Arizona investment

Speaking after blockbuster second-quarter results on Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company is "very happy" with progress in Arizona, which is why it decided to ramp up investment to $265 billion. TSMC is seeing strong, multi-year demand for its AI chips as it invests a further $100 billion to expand its Arizona facilities, but it needs to address several challenges, such as a shortage of construction workers there, a top executive said. Speaking after blockbuster second-quarter results on Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company is "very happy" with progress in Arizona, which is why it decided to ramp up investment to $265 billion. "We will continue to invest," he said in an interview, adding that the company was very grateful for U.S. government support. "We continue to see customers' strong demand - multi-year structural demand." The world's main producer of advanced AI chips and a major Nvidia ⁠supplier, TSMC's ⁠aggressive capital spending and soaring profit margins have made it a barometer of demand in the global semiconductor industry. The pledge to expand in Arizona is a win for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pushed for more chipmaking at home. Trump has repeatedly accused Taiwan of stealing American semiconductor business. He has said that by the time he leaves office, the U.S. will have 50% of the world's semiconductor manufacturing capacity. ARIZONA FABS TSMC's first Arizona fabrication plant - or fab - is operational and achieving yields "as good as" the flagship fab in Taiwan, Huang said. The second fab will shortly begin moving in equipment, while construction of a third fab is under way and preparatory work has started on a fourth fab and the site's first advanced packaging facility, Huang said. In total, current and ⁠planned projects will bring TSMC's Arizona footprint to 12 fabrication and advanced packaging facilities plus an R&D centre. He did not provide a timeline for the latest investment. However, "there are physical constraints - the number of construction workers available, the infrastructures available," Huang said. "We'll work closely with the government ⁠to solve these issues." At the same time, TSMC continues to invest at home, where it is building 13 leading-edge and advanced packaging fabs over the next several years. "Land is a scarce resource in Taiwan," Huang said. "Therefore, whenever there are available lands, we will use them for the most leading-edge technologies." "When you ramp the most leading-edge technologies, you need very close collaboration between the R&D and operation functions," he added. "It has to be in Taiwan. And after it stabilizes, then we can consider transferring overseas." BOND ISSUANCE Asked if the company would consider raising money by selling new shares in the U.S., Huang said it would "not rule out issuing new bonds" if market conditions are favourable. Despite its aggressive expansion plans, TSMC faces headwinds from geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, with the U.S. seeking to control advanced chip exports to China. Reuters reported last year that TSMC could face a penalty of $1 billion or more to settle a U.S. export control investigation over a chip it made that ended up inside a Huawei AI processor. Huang referred questions about the status of the case and any potential penalty to the U.S. government, but said TSMC's ⁠internal export control system was constantly being reviewed. "I have to say there is (only) so much we can do in terms of complying with all the rules and regulations, but when the customers sell to customers, they sell to customers," he said. "At some point in time, you lose the visibility. That's the reality." Investors worries about the sustainability of the AI boom amid massive infrastructure spending has re-emerged recently. TSMC's Taipei-listed shares fell 7.3% on Friday despite the company's record results. Even so, its shares remain up nearly 50% this year. While TSMC has long been by far the market leader in making the world's most advanced chips, competitors are seeking to narrow the gap, including Samsung Electronics, which has benefited from a recovery in the memory chip market, and Intel, which enjoys backing by the U.S. government. Huang said the company remains confident in its business model. "We do not intend to leave anything on the table," he said. "Our competitors are good, but we are even better."

Taiwan Semiconductor Posts 34% Q2 Revenue Growth; Analyst Raises Price Target On 'Highly Bullish' Investm

While the company announced better-than-expected results for the second quarter, management raised the capital expenditures guidance for the full year. This is "highly bullish," as the capex is planned to meet "continued demand for leading-edge process technologies and the emerging agentic AI market," according to DA Davidson. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Analysis: Analyst Gil Luria reiterated a Buy rating, while raising the price target to $500. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Thesis: The company's total revenue grew 34% year-on-year and 12% sequentially to $40.2 billion in the second quarter, topping consensus of $40.1 billion, Luria said in the note. Check out other analyst stock ratings. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's total revenue was driven by continued demand for its leading-edge technologies across HPC (high-performance computing), which grew 22% sequentially and account for around 66% of the company's revenue, he added. "Management emphasized they continue to see strong demand from customers with conviction in the multi year AI infrastructure build out," the analyst wrote. Outlook: Management guided to total revenue of $44.6-$45.8 billion, higher than consensus of $43.7 billion and implying 37% year-on-year growth at the midpoint, Luria stated. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing raised its full year capex guide to $60-$64 billion, up around $6 billion versus its prior outlook of $52-$56 billion, the analyst noted. "We expect capital expenditures to continue to increase as TSMC invests further to expand capacity in Arizona and its giga-fab cluster in Tainan Science Park," he further wrote. TSM Price Action: Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had declined by 3.18% at $396.71 at the time of publication on Friday. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Global Market: TSMC to invest additional $100 billion in Arizona, raises capex on booming AI demand

TSMC will invest an additional one hundred billion dollars in Arizona facilities. This expansion underscores strong confidence in future artificial intelligence demand. The company also raised its capital expenditure guidance for the coming years. TSMC's robust second-quarter earnings beat analyst expectations significantly. This move signals sustained investment in global AI infrastructure development. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, announced an additional $100 billion investment in Arizona and raised its capital expenditure guidance, underscoring its confidence that artificial intelligence-driven demand will remain robust through the end of the decade. The company said the fresh investment will be added to its previously announced $165 billion commitment in Arizona, expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint as global demand for advanced AI chips continues to surge. US MarketsPowered By As on 16 Jul 2026, 01:30 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers PayPal Holdings55.52(17.20%) BlackRock1,093(6.63%) CBRE Group141.41(6.22%) Invesco30.30(5.46%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Pentair64.33(-15.00%) Erie Indemnity210.19(-11.86%) Dell Technologies412.68(-9.80%) Progressive205.22(-9.43%) Losers" TSMC also increased its capital spending outlook for 2026 to $60 billion-$64 billion, up from its earlier forecast of the higher end of $52 billion-$56 billion, signalling stronger confidence in long-term AI infrastructure spending. According to Reuters, the chipmaker's optimism follows a blockbuster second quarter, with net profit surging 77% year-on-year to a record T$706.6 billion ($22 billion), comfortably beating analysts' expectations of T$632.6 billion. The earnings marked the company's ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit profit growth. The company also lifted its full-year revenue growth forecast in U.S. dollar terms to slightly above 40% for 2026, compared with its earlier expectation of more than 30%. For the current quarter, TSMC expects revenue between $44.6 billion and $45.8 billion, up sharply from $33.1 billion in the same period last year. Demand for TSMC's advanced 3-nanometre and 2-nanometre process technologies, along with its advanced chip packaging technology, CoWoS, continues to remain strong as cloud service providers accelerate investments in AI infrastructure. The company said the additional Arizona investment could include four more facilities, including advanced packaging plants, adding to the eight fabs that are already operational, under construction or planned. The timeline for the new projects will depend on market conditions. TSMC's aggressive investment plans have reinforced its position as a key barometer for global semiconductor demand. The company manufactures advanced chips for leading technology firms, including Nvidia and Apple, and has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom. The latest investment announcement follows the company's disclosure earlier this week of a 36% increase in second-quarter revenue, which also exceeded market expectations. The upbeat outlook from TSMC came a day after Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML raised its own 2026 sales forecast and announced plans to expand manufacturing capacity, suggesting that supply chain constraints in AI chip production may gradually ease. Impact on stocks TSMC's stronger earnings, higher capital spending plans and raised revenue outlook are expected to provide a positive read-through for the global semiconductor sector. Shares of AI-related chipmakers, including Nvidia, as well as semiconductor equipment manufacturers such as ASML, could benefit from renewed confidence in sustained AI infrastructure spending. The outlook is also supportive for companies involved in advanced chip packaging and semiconductor supply chains. TSMC shares listed in Taipei have climbed 59% so far this year, reflecting strong investor confidence in the company's central role in the global AI semiconductor ecosystem.

Taiwan Semi's AI Spending Spree Tests Investor Nerves as Capex Surges - Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM)

* TSM stock is moving lower. See the chart and price action here. Record Profits, but a Costly Growth Plan In the second quarter, TSMC's revenue climbed to $40.2 billion, landing at the high end of guidance and comfortably ahead of Wall Street expectations. The growth was powered by relentless demand for AI processors, which pushed net profit to a record near $22 billion and lifted gross margins to 67.7%, topping management's own forecast. On the surface, it was the textbook AI‑hardware beat: strong top‑line growth, expanding profitability and a backlog of orders tied to the biggest technology shift in a generation. Yet the shares dropped roughly 4.6% in premarket trading as the market zeroed in on the other side of the story -- an aggressive capital‑spending ramp that will test investor patience. Management lifted its 2026 capex guidance to a range of $60 billion-$64 billion, up from a prior range of $52-$56 billion, with most of the incremental spend earmarked for advanced nodes that serve AI and high‑performance computing customers. The earnings report and capex expansion created a "great quarter, scary spend" dynamic in which investors are being asked to underwrite a multi‑year AI build‑out before the cycle's durability is fully proven. Earlier in the AI chip frenzy, the market largely rewarded upside surprises on demand and shrugged off rising capex as the necessary cost of doing business. The reaction to TSM's latest guidance hints at a transition into a more demanding phase, where questions about payback periods, utilization and long‑run margin trajectories matter as much as headline revenue growth. The Takeaway TSM remains the foundry king of the AI era, with financials that reflect extraordinary momentum. But the stock's pullback suggests that, at current valuation levels, investors want a clearer roadmap for how a $60‑plus‑billion capex plan translates into durable returns rather than just a more expensive growth story. TSM Stock Price Activity: Taiwan Semiconductor stock was down 4.5% at $400.60 during premarket trading Thursday, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Over the past month, TSM has declined about 8.1% versus a 0.0% decline in the S&P 500 and is up roughly 28% year-to-date compared to the index's 10.1% gain. This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

TSMC Q2 earnings beat expected as CEO warns AI chip demand will outpace supply for years

Few companies have a clearer view of where the AI boom is heading than TSMC. And of course, with that, investors increasingly look to the company for answers. Earlier in June, speaking at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Hsinchu, Taiwan, CEO C.C. Wei was precise and notably candid. It will be a long time before we can meet customer demand. Wei said this, according to a Bloomberg report, while reiterating a forecast of more than 30% annual sales growth for 2026. The gap between those two statements, extraordinary growth already baked in and demand still exceeding what the company can produce, is the most important thing investors need to understand about TSMC heading into its July 16 second-quarter earnings report. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) trades at $418.93 as of this reporting. Stock is also up 40.35% year to date, according to Yahoo Finance. A fifth consecutive quarter of record earnings is widely and highly expected. The question is by how much. Also Read: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd Latest News and Stories What TSMC's June revenue data is already telling us Before the earnings report arrives, the monthly revenue data has already provided a meaningful preview, and what it shows is unusually constructive. TSMC's June revenue jumped 68% year over year, according to TSMC's report. That is the fastest monthly revenue growth the company has reported all year, well above the 45% year-over-year increase in March, TSMC reports. The sequential behavior even makes it more notable. June revenue grew 6.2% from May. TheStreet's previous report shows TSMC's June revenue has declined sequentially from May in each of the past four years. This year broke that pattern. Yes, quite impressive. The shift matters because it signals that demand is not following seasonal norms. AI infrastructure spending is running hot enough to override what has historically been a slower summer month for the world's largest contract chipmaker. The Zacks consensus estimate for Q2 EPS is at $3.77 per share, up 52.6% year over year. Revenue consensus sits at approximately $39.8 billion, representing 32.2% year-over-year growth. TSMC's own Q2 guidance called for revenue between $39.0 billion and $40.2 billion, with gross margins of 65.5% to 67.5% and operating margins of 56.5% to 58.5%. Given the June revenue momentum, we have a credible case for TSMC beating both the consensus and its own midpoint guidance. Q1 2026 results set the foundation already, and the bar is already high The Q1 2026 results provide the earnings baseline that the Q2 report needs to build on, according to TSMC's earnings release. * Revenue was $35.90 billion in U.S. dollar terms, up 40.6% year over year and 6.4% from Q4 2025. * Net income increased 58.3% year over year. * Gross margin was 66.2%, operating margin was 58.1%, and net profit margin was 50.5%. * Advanced technologies, defined as 7-nanometer and more advanced, accounted for 74% of total wafer revenue, with 3-nanometer chips alone representing 25%. The trailing 12-month revenue through March 2026 reached $131.7 billion, up 38.8% year over year, according to Macrotrends data. For full-year 2025, revenue was $121.4 billion, up 37.6% from 2024. The sequential growth rate has not slowed. If anything, the June data suggests it is accelerating. Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg via Getty Images What Wei is actually saying and why it matters beyond TSMC Looking at comments from the C.C. Wei's shareholders' meeting, my read is that he is simultaneously delivering good news and a warning. The market has not fully absorbed either. The good news is embedded in the supply constraint itself. When a company cannot meet demand, even with such a growing revenue of 40% year over year, pricing power becomes structural rather than negotiable. In an earlier coverage, TheStreet pointed out that the TSMC semiconductor market will reach $1.5 trillion by 2030. Wei addressed the pricing question directly when asked whether TSMC could raise prices. "I'd like to do that. We still need to make money," he said, according to a Seeking Alpha report. But he drew a specific contrast with memory companies, noting TSMC is "focused on long-term, sustainable operations" and not interested in sudden price spikes. That framing itself is telling. TSMC is deliberately leaving pricing upside on the table to protect long-term customer relationships with Nvidia, AMD, Apple, and Broadcom. The constraint on margins is not competitive pressure. It is a strategic restraint. Then the warning is about the industry timeline. Even with TSMC's Arizona fabs expanding, even with the U.S. government subsidizing domestic semiconductor capacity, the supply of advanced AI chips will not catch up to demand for years. "It will be a long time before we can meet customer demand," Wei said, according to reports from the shareholders' meeting. What we need TSMC to show for the bull case to hold The setup heading into July 16 is constructive but carries elevated expectations built in. Yahoo Finance data shows TSMC is up 84.95% over the past year, and the consensus already models 52.6% EPS growth. What would move the stock after earnings? Revenue at or above the $40 billion upper end of TSMC's guidance range, gross margin above 67%, and Q3 guidance that implies continued acceleration rather than deceleration. What would disappoint? Any guidance commentary suggesting the Broadcom-related demand softness that briefly affected TSMC's Taipei shares in early June is spreading. Broadcom's weaker-than-expected Q3 fiscal 2026 outlook spooked investors and triggered a brief TSMC decline, though the June revenue data strongly suggest that concern was temporary. And remember this: The five-year revenue progression from $70.6 billion in 2023, according to Macrotrends, to what could approach $160 billion by the end of 2026 is one of the most remarkable scaling stories in the history of the semiconductor industry. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 6:37 PM.

TSMC to invest another $100 billion in US as Q2 profit blows past forecasts

TSMC will invest an additional $100 billion in Arizona, expecting robust AI demand. The company raised its capital spending forecast significantly for the current year. This investment will bolster the United States semiconductor ecosystem and supply chain. TSMC's second-quarter profit surged 77%, reaching a record high. The firm anticipates over 40% revenue growth by 2026. TSMC, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips and a major supplier to Nvidia, pledged on Thursday to invest a further $100 billion in the U.S. state of Arizona and said AI-driven demand will remain strong up to 2030. Reinforcing its bullish viewpoint on demand, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co raised its forecast for capital spending by up to 14% for this year. "Our customers and customers' customers, who are mainly the cloud service providers, continue to provide us with their very strong signal ⁠and positive ⁠outlook," company CEO C.C. Wei told an earnings conference. "Thus, our conviction in the multi-year AI megatrend remains very high." The upbeat outlook came after TSMC, a bellwether for AI chip demand, posted a 77% jump in second-quarter profit to a record high of T$706.6 billion ($22 billion), beating a market forecast of T$632.6 billion and marking its ninth straight quarter of double-digit percentage growth. Capital expenditure for 2026, a key indicator of management's confidence in the durability of AI demand, is forecast to be between $60 billion and $64 billion, compared with previous guidance of the high end of between $52 billion and $56 ⁠billion, it said. Thriving on surging demand for advanced chips used in AI applications, TSMC's further $100 billion investment in Arizona would add to already-announced investments of $165 billion to build chip factories there. "We believe this investment will help ⁠to further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen the supply chain, and support an increasing number of high-tech, high-paying jobs in the United States," Wei said. An additional four plants would probably be built in Arizona, including for advanced packaging and adding to the eight already being built or planned, though the timeline for the additional ones would depend on the "market situation", he added. TSMC's aggressive capital spending and soaring profit margins have made it a barometer of demand in the global semiconductor industry. The company expects full-year revenue in U.S. dollar terms will increase by slightly more than 40% for 2026, compared with a previous forecast of more than 30%. For the current quarter, it forecasts sales between $44.6 billion and $45.8 billion, up from $33.1 billion a year earlier. Analysts said demand for TSMC's 3-nanometre and 2-nanometre process technologies for AI chips, as well as for ⁠its advanced chip packaging technology, CoWoS, remains strong. That has catapulted Asia's most valuable company, also a key supplier to Apple, to new heights. Its market capitalisation is now nearly double that of South Korean rival Samsung Electronics at around $1.97 trillion. On Monday, the company announced a 36% rise in second-quarter revenue, ahead of market forecasts and a record high. In related news, on Wednesday Dutch company ASML, the world's dominant supplier of equipment needed to make high-tech computer chips, raised its 2026 sales forecasts and pledged a capacity boost that may ease fears a production bottleneck could slow the AI boom. TSMC's Taipei-listed shares have gained 59% so far this year, largely in line with the broader market. ($1 = 32.1340 Taiwan dollars)

Why Is Taiwan Semiconductor Stock Falling Thursday? - Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor's AI Spending Spree Tests Investor Nerves Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) stock fell in Thursday's premarket session as investors weighed the company's larger capital spending plans. Taiwan Semiconductor Beats Estimates, Expands Margins Taiwan Semiconductor reported second-quarter revenue of $40.2 billion, topping the analyst consensus of $39.76 billion. The result also reached the high end of the company's guidance range of $39 billion to $40.2 billion. The world's largest contract chipmaker posted record second-quarter net profit of about $22 billion, driven by continued demand for artificial intelligence processors. Gross margin rose to 67.7%, up 150 basis points from the prior quarter and above company guidance. Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said stronger cost performance and higher factory utilization supported margins. However, overseas fabrication plants partially offset those gains. Taiwan Semiconductor generated 783 billion New Taiwan dollars in operating cash flow during the quarter. It spent 496 billion New Taiwan dollars, or about $15.7 billion, on capital expenditures. The company ended the quarter with 3.5 trillion New Taiwan dollars, or about $110 billion, in cash and marketable securities. Raises 2026 Outlook And Capital Spending Taiwan Semiconductor expects third-quarter revenue of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion. It forecast a gross margin of 65% to 67%. Huang said the ramp of its 2-nanometer technology will reduce gross margin by about 3 to 4 percentage points. Still, strong customer demand and ongoing cost improvements should offset part of that impact. The company also raised its full-year 2026 revenue growth outlook to slightly above 40% in U.S. dollar terms. In addition, Taiwan Semiconductor increased its 2026 capital spending plan to $60 billion to $64 billion, up from its previous forecast of $52 billion to $56 billion. Most of that investment will support advanced process technologies. AI Demand Continues To Drive Expansion Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said demand tied to artificial intelligence remains extremely robust and that the company has strong confidence in the long-term AI growth trend. Wei said agentic AI is increasing demand for data center CPUs while also boosting demand for AI accelerators and other advanced chips. He added that Taiwan Semiconductor is working closely with customers developing x86, Arm-based and RISC-V processors to align production capacity with long-term product roadmaps. The company said it does not expect capacity bottlenecks as it expands production. Taiwan Semiconductor plans to invest another $100 billion in its Arizona operations, bringing its total planned investment there to $265 billion. The expansion includes multiple logic wafer fabs for 2-nanometer production and advanced packaging facilities to support long-term demand from major U.S. customers. Taiwan Semiconductor is also building 13 advanced fabrication and packaging facilities in Taiwan while expanding 3-nanometer production capacity in Taiwan, Arizona and Japan. Taiwan Semiconductor CEO Takes Swipe At Rivals Wei used the earnings call to argue that government subsidies alone will not determine long-term leadership in semiconductors, while taking indirect jabs at competitors in South Korea and the U.S. While acknowledging that a South Korean rival is generating "a huge amount of money" and a U.S. competitor has "very strong U.S. government support," Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor's competitive advantage remains rooted in its technology, manufacturing expertise and customer trust. He also argued that customers cannot easily switch foundry partners, comparing the process to something far more complex than "buying milk from 7-Eleven." Price Action TSM Stock Price Activity: Taiwan Semiconductor shares were down 4.60% at $400.19 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

TSMC Revenue Jumps 36% as AI Demand Drives Record Second-Quarter Growth

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported record second-quarter revenue as demand for chips used in artificial intelligence systems lifted sales. The company generated NT$1.27 trillion, or about $39.62 billion, from April through June. Revenue rose 36% from a year earlier and came in slightly above the NT$1.264 trillion estimate drawn from 20 analysts. The result placed TSMC near the upper end of its official revenue forecast of $39 billion to $40.2 billion. The chipmaker supplies advanced processors to major technology companies, including NVIDIA and Apple. Investors now turn to the full earnings report, where profit, margins, spending and the next sales forecast will receive closer attention from investors. TSMC gives its quarterly guidance in US dollars rather than Taiwan dollars, so currency movements can affect direct comparisons with reported sales.

Earnings call transcript: TSMC lifts 2026 outlook as AI demand stays hot in Q2 2026 By Investing.com

TSMC said second-quarter revenue rose to $40.2 billion, topping the company's guidance range and coming in slightly above the $39.94 billion analyst forecast, while gross margin reached 67.7%, above expectations. The chip maker also raised its full-year 2026 revenue-growth outlook to slightly above 40% and said demand for advanced semiconductors remains strong, especially from artificial intelligence customers. Shares were little changed during the regular session, closing at $419.48, but fell 1.55% in after-hours trading to $412.99 as investors weighed the company's heavier spending plans and a forecast for lower margins in the current quarter. Key Takeaways * Q2 revenue of $40.2 billion was at the high end of guidance and slightly above the analyst forecast. * Gross margin of 67.7% beat guidance and reflected strong execution and demand for leading-edge chips. * TSMC raised its 2026 revenue-growth outlook to slightly above 40% in U.S. dollar terms. * The company lifted capital spending guidance to TWD 60 billion to TWD 64 billion, or about $18.75 billion to $20 billion. * After-hours trading pointed to a cautious reaction, with the stock down 1.55% after the report. Company Performance TSMC delivered another strong quarter, supported by demand for its most advanced manufacturing nodes. The company said advanced technologies, including 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer production, accounted for the bulk of wafer revenue, while artificial intelligence and high-performance computing remained the main growth engines. The company's performance also showed the benefit of scale and pricing power in a tight supply environment. Operating cash flow reached TWD 783 billion, while cash and marketable securities stood at TWD 3.5 trillion, or about $110 billion. That gives TSMC room to fund large capital projects while continuing to return cash to shareholders. The results also underline how far TSMC has pulled ahead of many rivals in advanced manufacturing. Chief Executive C.C. Wei said the company's edge comes from technology, manufacturing skill and customer trust, not just from government support or capital spending. Financial Highlights * Revenue: $40.2 billion, at the high end of guidance and about 0.7% above the $39.94 billion forecast * Gross margin: 67.7%, up 150 basis points sequentially and above guidance * Operating cash flow: TWD 783 billion * Capital expenditures: TWD 496 billion, or about $15.7 billion, in the quarter * Cash and marketable securities: TWD 3.5 trillion, or about $110 billion * Net cash balance: up TWD 99 billion to TWD 3.1 trillion * Accounts receivable days: 29, up 3 days from the prior quarter * Inventory days: 87, up 7 days, mainly because of the 2-nanometer ramp * Q3 revenue guidance: $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion * Q3 gross margin guidance: 65% to 67% * P/E ratio: 33.15, with a PEG ratio of 0.7 suggesting attractive valuation relative to growth Earnings vs. Forecast TSMC's reported revenue of $40.2 billion was above the $39.94 billion forecast by about $260 million, or roughly 0.7%. That is a modest beat, but it came on top of a quarter that management described as already near the high end of guidance. No actual EPS figure was provided in the supplied data, so a direct comparison with the $3.80 forecast is not possible here. Still, the quarter appears to have been solid rather than merely in line. Gross margin also outperformed expectations, which matters because it suggests the company is still converting strong demand into healthy profitability even as it ramps new technologies. The size of the revenue beat was not large, but the broader message was stronger than the number alone. TSMC raised its full-year revenue outlook, maintained very high profitability, and signaled that demand for advanced chips remains well ahead of supply. Market Reaction The stock finished the regular session unchanged at $419.48, then slipped to $412.99 in after-hours trading, a decline of 1.55%. The move suggests investors were pleased with the quarter but focused on the cost of growth, especially the higher capital spending plan and the expected margin dip in the next quarter. Despite the after-hours dip, shares have delivered a 78% return over the past year. InvestingPro subscribers have access to 19 additional ProTips for TSMC, including insights on valuation and growth prospects. Even after the pullback, the shares remain well above the low end of their 52-week range of $223.70 and below the high of $479. That leaves the stock in the upper part of its trading band, reflecting continued confidence in TSMC's long-term position. The after-hours decline was not large enough to suggest panic. Instead, it looked like a measured response to a report that was strong, but not free of near-term pressure points. Outlook & Guidance For the third quarter, TSMC projected revenue of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion, implying about 12% sequential growth at the midpoint and 37% growth from a year earlier. Gross margin is expected to ease to 65% to 67%, down from 67.7% in the second quarter, largely because of the steep ramp of 2-nanometer technology. The company's revenue growth of 31% over the last twelve months underscores its momentum, while InvestingPro assigns TSMC a "GREAT" Financial Health score of 3.51 out of 5, reflecting strong profitability and cash generation. For full-year 2026, the company raised its revenue-growth outlook to slightly above 40% in U.S. dollar terms. That is a notable upgrade and reflects stronger-than-expected demand, especially from AI-related customers. TSMC also lifted its 2026 capital spending plan to TWD 60 billion to TWD 64 billion. Management said the increase reflects both stronger demand and higher equipment prices. The company said most of the spending will go toward advanced process technologies, with additional funds for advanced packaging, testing and other support work. Looking further ahead, TSMC said it expects the next three years of capital spending to be even higher than the past three years. It also said its A14 technology is on track for pre-production in 2027 and volume production in 2028. Executive Commentary Wei emphasized that the company sees no easy path for rivals trying to catch up in leading-edge manufacturing. "There is no shortcut," he said. "Choosing a technology, ramping it up, is not buying milk from 7-Eleven." He also pointed to the company's confidence in the AI cycle. "Our conviction in the multi-year AI megatrend remains very high," Wei said, adding that agentic AI is bringing CPUs back into a larger role in data centers and increasing silicon demand. On capital spending, Wei said TSMC will keep investing as long as opportunities remain. "The CapEx in the next three years will be even more significantly higher than the past three years," he said. Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the next quarter's margin pressure should be temporary. He noted that the ramp of 2-nanometer technology will dilute gross margin by about 3 to 4 percentage points, partly offset by strong demand and cost improvements. Risks and Challenges * Margin pressure from 2-nanometer ramp-up: New node launches usually carry higher costs before scale efficiencies improve. * Heavy capital spending: The larger investment plan may weigh on free cash flow in the near term. * Supply-demand imbalance: TSMC said demand remains far above supply, but that also means growth depends on how quickly capacity can be added. * Customer and infrastructure constraints: Wei said the company is monitoring data center buildouts and power availability so chips do not end up sitting idle. * Mixed end-market demand: Smartphone and other consumer segments remain softer than AI-related businesses. Q&A Analysts focused heavily on capital spending, competition, AI demand and capacity timing. One key question was whether TSMC could provide a multi-year capex plan similar to earlier periods. Wei declined to give exact numbers, but said spending in the next three years will be "even more significantly higher" than in the past three years. Another major topic was competition from Samsung and Intel. Wei said customer trust, process maturity and manufacturing execution matter more than subsidies or headlines, and he argued that it takes about five years to develop and ramp a leading-edge technology. Analysts also asked about advanced packaging and whether rival technologies could threaten TSMC's position. Wei said the company's packaging capacity is already tight and that more market flexibility would actually help its front-end wafer business. Questions about AI demand centered on whether GPUs, CPUs or other chips are driving the next leg of growth. Wei said all of them matter and that TSMC is working with customers to balance supply across different chip types. Several analysts asked about the supply-demand gap and whether it could persist through 2029 or 2030. Wei said the gap is "very big" and that the AI market is becoming a new industry with broad effects across computing, automotive and robotics. Full transcript - Taiwan Semicond.Manufacturing Co (TSM) Q2 2026: Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to TSMC's second quarter 2026 earnings conference and conference call. This is Jeff Su, TSMC's Director of Investor Relations and your host for today. Today's event is being webcast live through TSMC's website at www.tsmc.com, where you can also download the earnings release materials. If you're joining us through the conference call, your dial-in lines are in listen-only mode. The format for today's event will be as follows. First, TSMC's Senior Vice President and CFO, Mr. Wendell Huang, will summarize our operations in the second quarter 2026, followed by our guidance for the third quarter 2026. Afterwards, Mr. Huang and TSMC's Chairman and CEO, Dr. C.C. Wei, will jointly provide the company's key messages. We will open both the floor and the line for the question and answer session. As usual, I'd like to remind everybody that today's discussions may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the safe harbor notice that appears in our press release. Now, I would like to turn the microphone over to TSMC CFO, Mr. Wendell Huang, for the summary of operations and the current quarter guidance. Wendell Huang, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, TSMC: Thank you, Jeff. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. My presentation will start with financial highlights for the second quarter of 2026. After that, I will provide the guidance for the third quarter of 2026. Let's move on to revenue by technology. 2 nanometer process technology contributed 3% of wafer revenue in the second quarter. 3 nanometer, 5 nanometer, and 7 nanometer accounted for 30%, 33%, and 11% respectively. Advanced technology, defined as 7 nanometer and below, accounted for 77% of wafer revenue. Moving on to revenue contribution by platform. HPC increased 20% quarter-over-quarter to account for 66% of our second quarter revenue. Smartphone decreased 4% to account for 22%. IoT increased 4% to account for 5%. Automotive increased 15% to account for 4%. DCE increased 5% to account for 1%. Moving on to the balance sheet. We ended the second quarter with cash and marketable securities of TWD 3.5 trillion, or $110 billion. On the liability side, current liabilities increased by TWD 144 billion quarter-over-quarter, mainly due to the increase of TWD 58 billion in accounts payable and the increase of TWD 48 billion in accrued liabilities and others. In terms of financial ratios, accounts receivable days increased by three days to 29 days. Inventory days increased seven days to 87 days, primarily due to the ramp of N2 technology. Regarding cash flow and CapEx, during the second quarter, we generated about TWD 783 billion in cash from operations, spent TWD 496 billion in CapEx, and distributed TWD 156 billion for third quarter 2025 cash dividends. Overall, our cash balance increased TWD 99 billion to TWD 3.1 trillion at the end of the quarter. In US dollar terms, our second quarter capital expenditures total $15.7 billion. I finished my financial summary. Let's turn to the current quarter guidance. Based on the current business outlook, we expect our third quarter revenue to be between $44.6 billion and $45.8 billion, which represents a 12% sequential increase or a 37% year-over-year increase at the midpoint. Based on the exchange rate assumption of $1 to TWD 32, gross margin is expected to be between 65% and 67%. Operating margin between 56% and 58%. This concludes my financial presentation. Let me turn to our key messages. I will start by talking about our second quarter 2026 and third quarter 2026 profitability. Compared to the first quarter, our second quarter gross margin increased by 150 basis points sequentially to 67.7%, slightly ahead of our guidance, primarily due to cost improvement efforts and a slightly higher overall capacity utilization rate, partially offset by dilution from our overseas fabs. We have just guided our third quarter gross margin to decrease by 1.7 percentage point to 66% at the midpoint. Primarily as we expect the steep ramp-up of our 2-nanometer technology to dilute our gross margin by about 3-4 percentage points. This dilution is expected to be partially offset by very strong demand for our leading-edge technologies and continued cost improvement efforts, including productivity gains and across-node capacity optimization. Looking at the second half of the year, given the 6 factors that determine our profitability, there are a few puts and takes that I would like to share. First, we expect the steep ramp-up of our 2-nanometer to dilute our gross margin by about 3-4 percentage points in the second half of the year. As the scale of our overseas expansion grows, we continue to forecast the gross margin dilution from the ramp-up of overseas fabs in the next several years to be 2%-3% in the early stages and widen to 3%-4% in the latter stages. On the other hand, demand for our leading-edge technologies is very strong. In addition, we continue to leverage our manufacturing excellence to generate more wafer output and drive greater across-node capacity optimization in our fab operations to support our profitability. Finally, we have no control over the foreign exchange rate, but that may be another factor. Let me talk about our 2026 capital budget. At TSMC, a higher level of capital expenditures is always correlated to higher growth opportunities in the following years. With our strong technology leadership and differentiation, we are well-positioned to capture the multi-year structural demand from the industry megatrends of 5G, AI, and HPC. Given the continued strong structural demand from our customers, including the newly emerging agentic AI market, we have decided to raise our full year 2026 capital budget to be between $60 billion and $64 billion as we continue to invest heavily to support our customers' growth. We always collaborate closely with the tool suppliers well in advance to prepare the capacity, whether it is a strong upcycle or downcycle, just like our customers collaborate with us well in advance to plan our capacity. We do not foresee any bottlenecks to our capacity expansion plans. About 70%-80% of the 2026 capital budget will be allocated for advanced process technologies. About 10% will be spent for specialty technologies, and about 10%-20% will be spent for advanced packaging, testing, mask making, and others. Even as we invest for the future growth with this level of CapEx spending in 2026, we remain committed to delivering profitable growth to our shareholders. We also remain committed to a sustainable and steadily increased cash dividend per share on both an annual and quarterly basis. In 2025, we paid TWD 467 billion in cash dividends, up 28.6% year-over-year, as TSMC shareholders receive a total of TWD 18 cash dividend per share. In 2026, they will receive TWD 24 per share, up another 33% year-over-year. We expect a continued and increasing cash dividends per share in 2027 as well. Now let me turn the microphone over to CC. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Thank you, Window. Good afternoon, everyone. First, let me start with our near-term demand outlook. We concluded our second quarter with revenue of $40.2 billion at the high end of our guidance in U.S. dollar terms, driven by strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies. Moving into third quarter, we expect our business to be supported by continuous strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies, including the steep ramp of our 2 nanometer technology. Looking ahead, we observe consumer and the price-sensitive end market segment are being challenged due to the impact of rising component prices and macroeconomic uncertainties. As such, we are being prudent in our business planning while focusing on our fundamentals of our business to further strengthen our competitive position. Having said that, AI related demand continues to be extremely robust. The AI megatrend continue to drive the need for more and more computation, which supports the robust demand for leading-edge silicon. Our customers and customers' customer, who are mainly the cloud service provider, continue to provide us with their very strong signal and positive outlook. Thus, our conviction in the multi-year AI megatrend remains very high. Supported by our robust technology differentiation and broad customer base, we now expect our full year 2026 revenue growth to be slightly above 40% year-over-year in U.S. dollar terms. Let me talk about the acceleration of agentic AI. The AI market continue to be very dynamic. The emergence of agentic AI is leading to a resurgence in the role of CPUs in AI data centers, which drive more silicon demand in addition to AI accelerators. We believe this is positive for TSMC, as no matter what CPU approach is taken, whether it's a x86, Arm-based, or RISC-V architecture, they are almost all TSMC's customers. We are already collaborating closely with our CPU customers and working to support them with the most advanced technologies and necessary capacity so they can capture the agentic AI market opportunities. Let me talk about TSMC's capacity expansion strategies. To address the structural increase in overall long-term semiconductor market demand profile, TSMC collaborate closely with our customer and our customer's customer to plan our capacity. Given the fundamental complexity of leading-edge technologies and the design-in and lead time involved, we also have a very good idea of their multi-year product roadmap and production plans. This is important because it takes more than 5 years to develop the technology and product, prepare the capacity, and ramp it up to high volume production. Internally, TSMC employs a disciplined capacity planning system to assess the market demand from both a top-down and bottom-up approach. This is a continuous and ongoing process. Based on our assessment, we are stepping up our CapEx investment to increase our capacity to support our customers' future growth. With the strong collaboration and support from our leading U.S. customers and the U.S. federal, state, and city government, we would like to announce an additional $100 billion investment in Arizona. This is to build several more semiconductor logical wafer fab for 2 nanometer and below technologies, as well as advanced packaging fabs to support the strong multi-year demand from our leading U.S. customers. We believe this investment will help to further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen the supply chain, and support an increasing number of high-tech, high-paying jobs in the United States. At the same time, we are building 13 leading-edge and advanced packaging fab in Taiwan over the next several years, and we will continue to further invest in Taiwan. Therefore, TSMC's semiconductor technology and manufacturing will continue to play a pivotal role in supporting the global semiconductor industry while unleashing our customers' innovations. Let me talk about the current N3 capacity expansion. We are executing well on our global plan to add 3 additional 3 nanometer fabs, one in Taiwan, one in Arizona, and one in Japan to support the robust multi-year pipeline of demand for 3 nanometer technologies. In addition to all the new fabs, we continue to convert 5 nanometer tools to support 3 nanometer capacity in Taiwan. We are also leveraging our manufacturing excellence to drive greater productivity across our fab in all locations to generate more wafer output. We are also focusing on capacity optimization across node, which including flexible capacity support among N7, N5, and N3 nodes. In summary, we are using multiple levers to do everything we can, wherever we can, however we can to maximize the support to all our customers. Let me talk about our mature node strategies. TSMC's strategy at mature node has not changed. Our first priority is to fully support our customer, we continue to increase, not decrease, our mature node capacity in the higher value added segment. For example, we are increasing our mature node capacity through JASM Fab 1 in Japan for CMOS image sensor application and ESMC in Germany for automotive and industrial applications. In today's market, outside of specific areas such as power management IC and CMOS image sensor, the mature node demand in other commodity areas is not as strong. Thus, TSMC will continue to focus on the higher value-added and strategic segment by ensuring we have the necessary capacity to support our customers' growth. Let me talk about our A14 status. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, the complexity of leading-edge technology continues to increase. The lead time to develop a new technology such as A14, building the capacity, and then ramping it up now takes five to seven years. There are no shortcuts. Our A14 technology, representing the second generation of nanosheet transistors, and delivers another full node stride from N2 with performance and power benefit to address the incessant need for high-performance and energy-efficient computing. Compared with N2, A14 will provide a 10-15 speed improvement at the same power or 25-30 power improvement at the same speed and close to 20% chip density gain. A14 technology development is on track and progressing well. Internal product line vehicle demonstrate close to 90% device performance and close to 90% 256 megabit SRAM yield. We are observing a strong level of customer interest and engagement from both smartphone and HPC AI applications. Customer now tape-out activity is ongoing and ahead of schedule. Pre-production will start in 2027, and volume production is scheduled for 2028. With our strategy of continuous enhancement, we also introduce the A13 and A12 as an extension of the A14 family. A13 represents a further advancement over A14, achieving an over 6% die area saving through an innovative 97% optical shrink. Through continuous design technology co-optimization, A13 also drives further performance and power efficient improvement. A13 design rules are backward compatible with A14 to ensure smooth IP migration. We also introduce A12, which will bring our innovative Super Power Rail technology to the A14 platform for superior performance, power, and area benefit. Both A13 and A12 are scheduled for volume production in 2029. We believe A14 and its derivative technologies will prepare our A14 family to be an even larger and long-lasting node for TSMC than N2. Just like a two nanometer technology is a larger and longer-lasting node than three nanometer, here further extend our technology leadership position well into the future. This concludes our key messages, and thank you for your attention. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Thank you, CC. This does conclude our prepared statements. Before we begin the Q&A session, again, I would like to remind everybody to please limit your questions to two at a time to allow all the participants an opportunity to ask their questions. Questions will be taken both from the floor and from the call online. Should you wish to raise your question in Chinese, I will translate it to English before our management answers the question. For those of you on the call, if you'd like to ask the question, please press star then one on your telephone keypad now. If at any time you'd like to remove yourself from the questioning queue, please press star two. Please note that we will try to conclude today's meeting at around 3:10 P.M. or so. We will try to get in as many participants' questions as possible. If we're not able to, we do apologize in advance. Thank you everyone for your patience. Operator, well, let's begin the Q&A session. We'll take the first few questions from the floor. Then we'll go online. Maybe again, left, center, right. Maybe we'll take the first question. Sunny Lin from UBS, please. Sunny Lin, Analyst, UBS: Thank you very much. Congrats on the very strong performance and outlook. Number one, I'll do a double click on the CapEx. Very encouraging CapEx outlook. I do think it's essential that TSMC showcase a stronger determination in capacity expansion, given the stronger demand and the very tight supply. Beyond 2026, I think every large client also wonders how aggressive TSMC is planning for CapEx. Back in the COVID super cycle, TSMC did provide a three-year CapEx outlook back then. I wonder at this point, will it be possible for you to share any color, maybe for the coming three years' CapEx? Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Sunny's first question is regarding CapEx. She does believe it's important, essential, to show our determination to support our customers with these large CapEx investments. She wants to know, do we have a three-year CapEx guidance 2026, 2027, 2028, similar to what we did back in 2021? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Okay, Sunny. We do not have a number to share with you, but as you know, we invest CapEx this year for the future business opportunity. As long as there are business opportunities, we will not hesitate to invest. As you can hear from our prepared remarks, that our conviction in the megatrend, AI megatrend, multi-year, is very strong, and we are stepping up the CapEx, including increasing this year's CapEx. Last time we said our CapEx in the next three years will be significantly higher than the CapEx in the past three years. The CapEx in the next three years will be even more significantly higher than the past three years. Okay. Sunny Lin, Analyst, UBS: Yeah. Well, sorry, maybe let me follow up on CapEx from another- Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Second question. Sunny Lin, Analyst, UBS: Oh, yeah, sure. You just announced additional TWD 100 billion CapEx in the U.S., I think that's pretty important for you to secure the business in the U.S. as well. Now with total TWD 265 billion CapEx in Arizona, what's your current plan to bring on the capacities in Arizona in the coming few years? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Sunny's second question is on to, CC said, investing an additional TWD 100 billion in Arizona based on the strong demand from our customers. The total investment now is TWD 265 billion. What is the schedule, time frame, or the plan for this investment? Is that correct, Sunny? Yeah. Okay. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Sunny Lin, the schedule will depend on the market situation. You know that. Today's situation, the megatrend is so strong so that we announce additional TWD 100 billion investment in Arizona. How many fabs? Many. Actually, let me say that. It probably additional four more fabs will be built. Sunny Lin, Analyst, UBS: That's combining front and back-end? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Yes. Sunny Lin, Analyst, UBS: Okay, thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay, thank you. Let's go to the middle. We have Charlie Chan from Morgan Stanley. We'll go left, middle, right from where I sit. Thank you. Charlie Chan, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Thanks for taking my question. Good afternoon. First of all, congrats for a very strong outlook. My first question is really about the foundry competition. I understand that there's no shortcut for a newcomer like Terrafirma, but how about Samsung Foundry, right? They got a huge profit from memory business. Intel got a U.S. policy support. I'm not sure how TSMC is going to address those competition, because apparently, several U.S. companies are engaging with those industry peers. Recently, actually yesterday, ASML just announced to expand the EUV capacity for 2028. Would TSMC worry that your competitors to take more slots and build a large capacity in the future to compete with you in the leading-edge business? Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Charlie's question is competition from two angles. One, he does note, CC said foundry competition, no shortcuts, but he says, according to the news, many of our customers are engaging with our foundry competitors. One of them in Korea is making huge amounts of money these days. Another one may have the U.S. government policy support. The first part of his question, how do we see the competition and threat of customers moving to our competitors, number one? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Well, let me say that. Yes. One of my competitor in South Korea, they make a huge amount of money, and I'm jealousy about it. The other one in the U.S., they got a very strong U.S. government support. We also got the government support, by the way, although we don't announce it. However, let me share with you, as we said, there is no shortcuts. What does that mean? Meaning that in this semiconductor industry, you have to go back to fundamental. Government's help is welcome. Really, we also appreciate that. A lot of money, of course, that's nice to have. The most important thing, as we continue to say, is the technology, manufacturing, and customer trust. These three fundamental never change. For my 30-some, 40 years career, it always the most important thing. That always the TSMC's secret recipe to win the business. From the competition point of view, choosing a technology, ramping it up, is not buying a milk from 7-Eleven. Well, I'm quoting the sentence from my customer, anyway. It says that you're choosing a kind of technology partner. It is no shortcut. You need to understand the technology. You need to really utilize it using the test chip, and then something, and work together, and then prepare the capacity and ramp it up. That's why I say it takes about five years. It's not that today you think this milk is better, you go to the next store, it's a 7-Eleven. You don't like it, you go to another store. No. That's my answer. Charlie, is agree? Charlie Chan, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Yeah. Hope you can buy more milk so other people can get it. Thank you. Yeah. Let me switch gear to a more exciting side. CC just said you see a very strong signal from customers. You also revised up the full-year revenue guide. Are you ready to revise up the five-year revenue CAGR, especially this AI semi CAGR? I remember it was high 50%. Here comes the question. That generative AI demand is so strong, CPU is a great opportunity for TSMC, but how about those memory cost increase? This big chunk of this AI CapEx. What's the update of the AI semi CAGR, and how should we look at the contents of this AI semi related to TSMC's growth? Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Charlie, second question is regarding the AI-related demand. We do continue to see very strong and positive signals from our customers. We've revised up our full year. His question is around our AI CAGR guidance that we gave in January on a five-year period, mid to high 50s CAGR growth. He's wondering if there's any update to that. Agentic AI, a new opportunity, what is our definition of AI accelerator? Do we include that, and what is the CAGR? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Charlie, if you read our message that we continue to invest more. We increase the CapEx with a good reason. If you asking about the AI's CAGR, let me give you not a number, but it's stronger and stronger. We don't give you the number today because it continue to increase, so we don't know how to answer this question. Stronger than what we said before. Charlie Chan, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Okay. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Okay. Charlie Chan, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Great. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Yeah. Charlie Chan, Analyst, Morgan Stanley: Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Thank you, Charlie. All right. Let's move to this side. Maybe we'll take the question from Arthur from Macquarie. Arthur, Analyst, Macquarie: Hi. First, congrats on the strong execution and performance. My question is regarding the new advanced packaging technology. We noticed that especially the EMIB-T is gaining traction. How will TSMC react this request? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Sorry. Arthur's first question is on advanced packaging and competition. I guess very simply put, EMIB-T, in his view, is gaining traction, how do we see the competitive threat from this? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Well, let me say that our packaging capacity is so tight that now it's limiting my customers' growth. We welcome that additional flexibility in the market. That will help TSMC's front-end wafer business growth, which is a majority part of TSMC's business. The technology looks good, according to the newspaper. We hope they will be successful, that share some of the loading from TSMC. Today, we're working very hard to shorten the gap between the demand and the capacity. As I said, we welcome have this additional alternative, the flexibility for my customer. Arthur, Analyst, Macquarie: Thank you. That make a lot of sense. A follow-up. As this is a new technology, if your clients ask your support, and our value is support our customer success, how TSMC will handle this special request? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Sorry, your question is- Arthur, Analyst, Macquarie: If these technologies have some small problem, and then ask our company to support, how our company accommodate it? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Arthur's question is, if there is some issues with this technology, is there an alternative plan? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Let me answer the question. Our number one is to support our customers' success. Whatever that we can help our customers' business, we want to win. Does that answer your question? Okay. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Let's come back. We'll take one more here, and then we'll go online and then back to the room. All right. Yeah. Go, go. Gokul, Analyst: Yeah. Hi. Thanks C.C., and Wendell, and Jeff. First question on, maybe since you're not wanting to give a longer term numerical guidance, could you talk a little bit about the philosophy of how you are expanding capacity? Obviously, customer feedback, customers' feedback is important. Do you also consider competitive pressure? As an outright market leader, having under supply for a very long period of time is not really desirable for TSMC, right? You probably want a market which is more balanced. When you think about your capacity expansion, how long do you think it takes to fulfill the demand as you see right now? That's one. Second, chips obviously is the current shortage, but there is also a lot of discussion about data center delay, power capacity being available. Could you also share some thoughts on how you are layering in that kind of concerns? You don't want your chips to be available, but having to wait for the data center deployment to happen. Just to understand how that goes into your planning framework as well. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Thank you. Gokul's first question is, again, how do we plan our capacity and determine the capacity expansion plan? Certainly, we take into consideration the demand, multi-year demand from our customers and customers' customers. Do we also consider the competitive pressures from competitors building capacity? Is that part of our calculus to expand the capacity, one. What about things outside of chips, like data center delays or power, these type of deals? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Gokul, that's a good question. Definitely, every time when we think about the business, we consider the competition. That's number one. We look at where we are, we decide a bottom-up, top-down assessment of those demand. Those are the typical thing, I mean, in our daily life. We make a lot of judgment, we be more careful. We talk to customer, and customer's customer. Those are the CSPs. We get all their input for the demand. We make a judgment. Now, remember that I believe every customer tell me the truth. Everyone. You put all the truths together, it's not the truth. We have to make some of the judgment, you know what I mean. Since you are laughing. Because all the customer are very aggressive, right? That's a CEO's job. CEO got to be aggressive. They give me the number of their demand, and I believe they try their best to tell me the truth. I put all together, all the truths together is not a truth. Mark down that word. Yes, we do a very careful judgment. Might not be correct. We did carefully, and because this is a big money, right? This year, we say we increase the CapEx from TWD 52-TWD 56, now TWD 60-TWD 64. You bet that will continue to increase. It's a big money, so we do it carefully. We did all the assessment, and that lead to your second question. Are we sure that we deliver the chips to our customer, and they will not put into inventory? Actually, we are checking the AI data centers of progress, the building, the location, the demand, the rest. We checking all that to make sure that TSMC's chips will not be put in inventory. That answer your question? Gokul, Analyst: Yeah. That's clear. CC, do you still believe even end of next year, we are still going to be running short of supply even with this elevated capacity build-out plans? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: You want me to give you a guarantee, right? Let me say that I believe from this day on all the way to probably 2029, 2030, the demand is very strong. Whether in between there's a dip or not, I'm not very sure. The trend is so robust that I believe we are witnessing a kind of a new industry. I would like to say the new industry called AI industry, which is so common in our daily life because you're going to affect our automotive, affect the humanoids, robot, and also impact to all the industry. By the amount of money we put in, I mean, including all the CSPs, this alone is a very important new industry to the world. The demand will be there. The fundamental thing is semiconductor chips, and most of them in TSMC. Gokul, Analyst: Thanks, CC. My second question is on your profitability. CC, you joke that you are definitely jealous of your memory competitor on their margins, it definitely feels like profitability-wise, longer term foundry, especially leading-edge foundry, should be higher than memory, looking at number of competitors out there. As you are investing for a lot of your customers, how is that discussion going? Because you are no longer the most profitable semiconductor manufacturing company at this point in time. You probably have less pressure in terms of passing on your value and capturing your value right now compared to maybe one year back. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Gokul's second question is on profitability and pricing to a certain extent. Of course, some of the memory makers are making very good profitability and margins today, he notes the role of foundry could be even more value, and TSMC's role as well. What should be the right way to think about the long-term profitability for a foundry? Should it be better? I guess really pricing into this, what type of pricing approach do we want to take? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Yeah, Gokul, your question actually is simple. What is the wafer pricing strategy for TSMC, and what kind of gross margin we should have? The higher the better, of course. We are a partner, a partner meaning that I said many times, our customer got to be successful. I don't want to squeeze them out from the market. Besides, we are very trustable company with our customers. We don't suddenly increase our price by, which I like to have, a 4X or 5X. For your customer to survive for that kind of a price increase. We earn our value, and we make sure that our profit, our gross margin, is enough for our long-term sustaining expansion that's to the benefit of my customer and TSMC also. That's our philosophy. Yes, I'm really jealous about memory companies, 86% gross margin. 86%? About 68%, I would be happy about that. All right. Anyway, I answered the question. We are very trustable. Gokul, Analyst: Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay, thank you. Operator, can we take the next two questions from participants on the line, please? Operator, Conference Operator: Yes. Now it's Jim Fontanelli from RTTNews. Jim Fontanelli, Analyst, RTTNews: Thank you. Could I ask about the risk that you see around customer concentration, as AI demand continues to significantly outgrow other end markets? I think your exposure to your top five customers is becoming meaningfully larger than at any point in your history. I'd just like to understand how you see that risk. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Jim's first question is risk around customer concentration. We have large customers that are getting larger. Are we worried that we have too many big customers or the customer concentration? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: No, that's not our concern. Besides, what you say, the customers are growing bigger and bigger, we are very happy about it. Some of the customer also growing very fast. Jim, it's not what you said that the bigger customer is growing bigger and bigger. No. There's a lot of new player in the AI industry. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Do you have a second question? Jim Fontanelli, Analyst, RTTNews: Thank you. Yes. We're seeing your direct customers put capital into both financing, and investing in AI demand. Is that something that TSMC is considering? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Jim's second question, he knows some of our customers are helping to invest in their customers. Jim, if I understand you correctly, you're asking if TSMC, this is an approach we would take to invest in our customers. Is that correct? Or financing and investing. Jim Fontanelli, Analyst, RTTNews: Yeah. In the end customers, not your direct customers. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Right. In customer's customers as well. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: To answer, Jim, to answer your question directly, every company has a different consideration, and every company has a different strategy. So far, no, TSMC don't do this kind of financial arrangement because of we think we are working with current customer with the current model smoothly and also successfully. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Thank you. Operator, can we move on to the next participant on the line, then we'll come back to the floor. Operator, Conference Operator: Next one to ask question, Mehdi Hosseini from KGI. Mehdi Hosseini, Analyst, KGI: Yes. Thanks for taking my question. I want to go back to the TWD 100 billion investment in the U.S. Is there any way you can give us some timeline? Is it over the next 3 years, 5 years? How should we think about the progression of this TWD 100 billion investment in the U.S.? I have a follow-up. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Madee's first question is around the announcement today, additional TWD 100 billion investment in the U.S. In terms of the CapEx timeframe, is it in the next 3 years, in the 5 years? Do we have any schedule or timeframe to share about this additional TWD 100 billion? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: We do have a plan, but let me share with you actually the progress or the schedule. Most of the time, it depends on the market situation and our customers' demand. If you ask me to give you a firm schedule, no, we don't have it today, but we do have a plan. We speed it up. We try to speed it up as fast as possible. Mehdi Hosseini, Analyst, KGI: Okay. The message is, you're flexible, but also you're expediting the investment in the U.S. Is that correct? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: I think C.C. said we're trying to move as fast as we can, but everything is based on our customer needs. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: We're also moving the new fabs and the facilities in Taiwan as fast as possible. The same thing, we try to bring up a new fab in Japan as fast as possible. The situation today is the demand and the supply, the gap is so big, so we are working very hard to narrow the gap. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Do you have? Mehdi Hosseini, Analyst, KGI: Thank you. I want to as a follow-up, actually, I want to dive into the compute part of the HPC, and I want to ask you about the networking switches. In that context, when should we expect the COUPE platform to have a material contribution to your top line? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay, Mehdi's second question, very specific. He wants to know for our COUPE platform, when will it have a very meaningful contribution to the business? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: We start the production right now, and it will be ramped up. As time goes by, I think the AI data center need to lower down the power consumption and increase the bandwidth of the communication channel. I believe the COUPE will continue to increase the demand, and then will become a very important technology in the next few years. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Thank you. Let's come back to the floor. We'll take the next question from Citibank, Laura Chen. Laura Chen, Analyst, Citibank: Thank you. Thank you very much for taking my questions. My first question is also about very promising outlook as TSMC raised the CapEx and also the growth outlook for this year. Particularly, I think, C.C., you mentioned about the agentic AI and the CPU growth potential. Can you give us more update among that AI, different kind of chips between GPU, accelerators, or CPU? What you see the growth potential and your visibility? Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Laura's first question is around sort of the outlook. We obviously raised the CapEx and growth outlook for this year. She wants to know within the AI, the outlook for agentic AI and CPUs versus AI accelerators, GPUs, et cetera. How do we see these segments? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Laura, I don't think I can give you a very specific number, but let me share with you, all of them are in TSMC, and they're also using the same kind of leading-edge technologies. We working with our customer to allocate the wafer, the supply, to balance the CPU, GPU, XPUs ratio. Okay. Laura Chen, Analyst, Citibank: Okay. Thank you. That makes sense. My second question is also about the advanced packaging. We know that during the symposium, TSMC previously already announced a 14 times reticle CoWoS roadmap to enable larger AI packaging. At the same time, we also noted that TSMC, maybe last month in Japan, you showed the substrate developments for CoWoS to enable some of the glass technology. I'm just wondering if you can give us more technologies progress update on the different kind of technology for glass core or glass substrates or glass carrier. What's the progress at TSMC right now? Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Laura's second question is on advanced packaging. She notes, as we said, we roadmap to even larger than 14X reticle size with CoWoS. She also wants to know the technology process in newer areas like glass substrates, glass cores. What is the progress and status? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Let me say that today, the majority is still CoWoS, right? We are developing that alternative, try to lower down the cost. We also work with a substrate vendor so that our customer can have their product be in the market. The progress, we're building a pilot line that I announced a few quarters ago, and it will take about another one year to be mature so we can put it into the production with our customer. Okay. Laura Chen, Analyst, Citibank: Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Thank you. Let's move to this side of the room. Bank of America, Ha Lu. Sorry. Ha Lu, Analyst, Bank of America: Yes. Thanks, C.C., Wendell, and Jeff for taking my questions, and congrats on the great results. My first question is regarding your CapEx and sales. You gave a pretty solid CapEx outlook for this year, also said the CapEx outlook in the next couple of years will continue to be pretty significant. You also raised this year at 40%+. Would you be able to provide your next couple of years' sales growth outlook, try to quantify it? Relatedly, I think also on that topic is whether you can just try to break down which part of the demand you are seeing as the key driver for you to raise your CapEx and also for this year's demand. Is this still mostly driven by cloud computing, or it is proliferating to edge computing? To some extent, is it also related to your equipment supply chain is raising their price as well? Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. That's several questions in one. I'm going to take that as one and a half questions at least. Basically, Haas is asking, with the CapEx increase and the revenue increase this year, I think he's trying to look at intensity, but he wants to know what about the revenue guidance for the next several years. Yeah, I'll stop there for now. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Okay. Let me answer that question. Because of the revenue corresponding to our investment, right? We know, we forecast our demand, and then we make an assessment, and then we do the CapEx. Next few years is going to be a very good business for TSMC. That's all I can say. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: The other part, what's the key driver? Is it cloud AI? Is it edge AI? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Oh, okay. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Is it because tool vendors are increasing the price? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: It's all AI related. Everything. Ha Lu, Analyst, Bank of America: Okay. Yeah. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: You have a quick follow-up? Ha Lu, Analyst, Bank of America: Yes. I think it is more on your long-term strategy because a lot of people have actually been asking about your CapEx and also competition on the front end. I would actually say that if on the back end competition is rising, especially coming from Intel EMIB-T, are you worried that your value add for your overall foundry business across front-end manufacturing to the back-end packaging business, the value add could actually be cannibalized with growing competition? Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Thank you. Haas's second question is around the competition in advanced packaging. If our competitors are able to gain traction or business with things like EMIB-T, would that be the gateway or an entryway into more competitive threat on the front-end logic wafer side? Does advanced packaging lead to front-end wafer? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Haas, let me answer that. The front end's wafer business and the back end's business are two different things, right? If they are the same, you can expect ASE become the front-end competitor also. It's two different things. I also say that since our capacity in the back end is so in shortage mode, the gap is bigger. I welcome that the competitor offers some of the flexibility to my customer so that their front-end wafer can be put into the package, and that help TSMC's front-end wafer business. That's our attitude. Ha Lu, Analyst, Bank of America: Okay. Thank you. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Thank you. Operator, let's take one more from the online, and then we'll wrap up with back in person. Operator, Conference Operator: Next one to ask question, Robert Sanders from Deutsche Bank. Robert Sanders, Analyst, Deutsche Bank: Yeah. Thanks for taking my question. You recently stated that High-NA tools were too expensive, but could you please discuss how your customers are considering the impact of die stitching challenges from a smaller field size with High-NA? Could that actually slow the adoption of High-NA even if the tech improves or the tech gets more productive? I have a follow-up. Thanks. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Rob's first question is a very specific technology around High-NA adoption. He wants to know the customer's feedback on the challenges with die stitching. Is this an impediment or barrier to High-NA adoption in our view? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: You got a very detailed understanding of the High-NA. Today, the field size is only one half, we put that one into our consideration of the manufacturing cost and something. Let me answer this question quickly. Whether we use a High-NA or not, actually, one, High-NA is a very good tool. Let's assume that, all right? We understand it's a very high performance. TSMC make it clear that we work with ASML and try to make it more suitable for manufacturing in terms of the cost and in terms of the maturity. We always consider that technology maturity and the cost, and whether we use it or not. Okay. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Thank you, CC. Do you have a second question, Robert? Robert Sanders, Analyst, Deutsche Bank: Just a quick follow-up. I think all of us on this call are assuming that the unconstrained demand for three nanometer and below is sort of 30%-50% above your ability to supply. Is it in fact much larger than 30%-50% above? It feels like it might be based on what you're saying here, because I think all of us are assuming it sort of solvable over the next three, four years. It sounds like the number could be much larger. Thanks. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Well, those are your numbers. Robert is asking the demand in excess of supply, is it 30%-50%? Is it something even larger? Do we have a number to share? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: No, we don't have a number to share. Let me say that the gap is very big. Sorry, I don't want to make a comment on the memory, a very big gap. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. We have about nine minutes left. We'll come back to the floor with any question. Let's take one from here. Evelyn Yu from Goldman. Evelyn Yu, Analyst, Goldman Sachs: Thank you for taking my question. We mentioned a lot on that we're going to step up our capacity growth. I'm just trying to quantify here. I noticed that during your symposium that you actually mentioned about two nanometer family capacity growth will be growing at around 70% CAGR from 2026 to 2028, N3 plus and N5 to grow by 25% CAGR from 2022 to 2027. I was just wondering, are those numbers still right assumptions today? Are we seeing actually any changes over the past quarter? How should we compare with the non-supporting demand out there? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Evelyn's first question is around capacity growth. She knows during the Symposium, we did share some 5-year CAGR growth numbers for 2 nanometer, around 70% CAGR, and then 3 nanometer around, but 25%. Are those numbers still the same, or has it changed now that our CapEx and stuff? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Did we say that in Technology Symposium? Oh, we show the chart. Okay, now is bigger. That's all I say. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: You have a second question. Evelyn Yu, Analyst, Goldman Sachs: Okay, thank you. Very good direction. All right. My other questions touch base on the advanced packaging side. You always bundle the advanced packaging CapEx together with testing, mask making, and others. That's around 10%-20% of total CapEx. One thing I'm trying to figure out here is that how much of that actually goes to advanced packaging alone? Given that advanced packaging is capital intensive, less capital intensive versus front-end, how should we think about a gap between its price and revenue share and its CapEx share over the next few years? What I think finally is that as it becomes more important, how should we think of, maybe you should consider breaking it out as a separate CapEx item going forward? Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Evelyn's question is around advanced packaging. She wants to know, when we guide for the CapEx, of course, we guide it in a bucket of packaging, testing, mask making, and others together. Why do we not separate out just into packaging specifically? Her suggestion is we should. That's part of it, number one, the CapEx breakdown. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Evelyn, let me say that we try very hard to make sure that our CapEx, the number is correct, with the flexibility between the front end and the back end. Sometimes we have a bottleneck, we put more money to buy the bottleneck tools, sometimes it's in the front end, sometimes it's in the back end. In the ballpark, the percentage is just like a Window share with everybody. For long term, that's a back end, is about- Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: 10, 20 Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: 10 to 20. Oh, that's a big range. Anyway, all I can say is that's still 10 to 20. As I said, actually, I'm very honest to tell you that as time goes by, some of the CapEx in the tester or in the packaging or in other areas. That's why we cannot very specifically say which area we put how much of the CapEx. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: That's too specific. Yeah. Okay. With the last participant, KGI, Felix Pan. Thank you for being patient. Felix Pan, Analyst, KGI: Hello, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my question. My first question is regarding to the CapEx revision. From year to date, TSMC raised the CapEx guidance by almost $10 billion. Can you give me some color where is the upside from how you guys see the difference from six months ago? Is that from CPU accelerator or memory components or back-end CoWoS expansion? Just the upside, how we see things differently from six months ago. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Felix is noting, in January, we guided for $52 billion-$56 billion. In April, we said closer to $56 billion, now $60 billion-$64 billion. We have increased the CapEx guidance. What is driving this? Is it agentic AI only? Is it packaging? Is it AI accelerator? Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Well, simply put, the most important reason is because of demand continue to increase, and we feel the pressure from the customer to drive TSMC, not drive actually, to cooperate with TSMC for the capacity increase. That's one of the major reason. The second reason is inflation. Now we buy the tools with inflation price. Okay. You understand what I say? Felix Pan, Analyst, KGI: Okay. Thank you. My second question is about the mature nodes. People always focus on AI leading nodes, but it seems like mature nodes also seeing the very strong demand recovery and also some supply issue as well. How you guys see the demand supply dynamic and pricing and for the mature node? Because apparently, there's some impact from the AI crowding out effect, but mature nodes still largely depends on the consumer demand. Consumer demand is still weak, how you guys see the demand supply dynamic for mature nodes? Thanks. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Thank you. Felix's second question is on mature node. He notes there's lots of talk that mature nodes are seeing a strong demand recovery, and the supply is very tight, mature node pricing is very favorable or strong. He wants to know how do we see the mature node supply demand situation. Dr. C.C. Wei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TSMC: Actually, the mature node cover a lot of different segment. Only the one which are related to AI is in shortage, which is the most important one, is the number 1, is power management IC, because of all the AI data center need a lot of power management. Those are the mature node technology like 0.18 micron, 19 nanometer, or something like that. Those are in shortage, definitely. Also, the sensor portion, because you need a lot of sensor to detect the environmental information and put into the AI data center to analyze it. Other than that, other area, just like you pointed out, the consumer product is not in a high demand, other segment is not so strong demand. As I pointed out in my statement, other area, no, it's not so much of, say, in a lot of shortage. Not at all. Jeff Su, Director of Investor Relations, TSMC: Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Cici. Thank you, Wendell. Thank you, everyone. This does conclude our Q&A session. Before we conclude today's conference, please be advised that the replay of the conference will be accessible within 30 minutes from now. The transcript will become available 24 hours from now, both are going to be available through our website, again, at www.tsmc.com. If some of you were not able to ask your question, please feel free to reach out to TSMC IR, and we will follow up with you. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. We hope everyone continues to stay well. Have a good summer, and we hope you'll join us again next quarter. Thank you and have a good day This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

TSMC posts 77% profit jump for Q2, surging past market expectations

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reported a record profit surge. This growth was fueled by strong demand for advanced artificial intelligence chips. The company's net profit climbed significantly, exceeding market expectations. Analysts anticipate TSMC will raise its full-year revenue growth outlook. Future capital spending will indicate management's confidence in AI demand durability. TSMC, the world's main producer of advanced AI chips and a major supplier to Nvidia, on Thursday posted a 77% jump in second-quarter profit to a record that was far ahead of market forecasts. Benefiting from surging demand for advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications, Taiwan ⁠Semiconductor ⁠Manufacturing Co said net profit for April to June climbed to T$706.6 billion ($21.99 billion), its ninth straight quarter of double-digit percentage growth. US MarketsPowered By As on 16 Jul 2026, 01:30 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers PayPal Holdings55.52(17.20%) BlackRock1,093(6.63%) CBRE Group141.41(6.22%) Invesco30.30(5.46%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Pentair64.33(-15.00%) Erie Indemnity210.19(-11.86%) Dell Technologies412.68(-9.80%) Progressive205.22(-9.43%) Losers" That was well ahead of a forecast T$632.6 billion for the second quarter, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate compiled from 18 analysts. SmartEstimates place greater weight on forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate. Analysts said demand for Taiwan Semiconductor ⁠Manufacturing Co's (TSMC) 3-nanometre and 2-nanometre process technologies for AI chips, as well as for its advanced chip packaging technology, CoWoS, remains ⁠strong. That has catapulted Asia's most valuable company, a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, to new heights. Its market capitalisation is now nearly double that of South Korean rival Samsung Electronics at around $1.97 trillion. On Monday, the company announced a 36% rise in second-quarter revenue, ahead of market forecasts and a record high. The company has scheduled an earnings call for 0600 GMT to give third-quarter and full-year guidance. Analysts broadly expect TSMC to raise its full-year revenue growth outlook and will be watching whether it also increases capital spending, a key ⁠indicator of management's confidence in the durability of AI demand. On its last earnings call in April, the company said 2026 capital expenditure would be at the high end of its earlier guidance of $52 billion to $56 billion. TSMC is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona. TSMC's Taipei-listed shares have gained 59% so far this year, largely in line with the broader market. ($1 = 32.1340 Taiwan dollars)

TSMC Q2 profit blows past estimates on robust AI-fueled demand By Investing.com

Investing.com-- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, or TSMC (NYSE:TSM), clocked a record-high second-quarter profit on Thursday, as the world's biggest contract chipmaker continued to benefit from outsized AI-driven demand. TSMC's net income for the three months to June 30 hit a record high of T$706.56 billion ($21.98 billion), much higher than Bloomberg estimates of T$623.73 billion. The figure was a 77.4% jump from the same period a year ago. Get more breaking news on the biggest AI winners by subscribing to InvestingPro-- 60% off for a limited period The chipmaker clocked a record quarterly revenue of T$1.27 trillion, up 36% from a year ago. The results indicated that demand for TSMC's advanced 3-nanometre and 2-nm processes showed little signs of slowing, especially as the artificial intelligence buildout continued at a grand scale. The AI trade has solidified TSMC's place in the global chip supply chain, and has also greatly boosted the value of Asia's most valuable company. TSMC is a key supplier to majors such as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). The company is set to provide more insights on its earnings with an investor call scheduled later in the day.

Global Market: TSMC likely to post record Q2 profit as AI chip demand powers growth

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is expected to report another record quarterly profit. Robust global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to fuel advanced semiconductor orders. Analysts anticipate a significant year-on-year jump in net profit for the April-June quarter. This sustained momentum underscores the ongoing strength in AI-driven semiconductor demand. TSMC's market value has surged, making it Asia's most valuable listed company. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, is expected to report another record quarterly profit on Thursday, extending its earnings growth streak as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure continues to fuel advanced semiconductor orders. According to a Reuters report, analysts expect TSMC's net profit for the April-June quarter to jump nearly 59% year-on-year to T$632.6 billion ($19.65 billion), based on an LSEG SmartEstimate compiled from 18 analysts. The estimate reflects greater weight given to forecasts from analysts with stronger historical accuracy. US MarketsPowered By As on 16 Jul 2026, 01:30 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers PayPal Holdings55.52(17.20%) BlackRock1,093(6.63%) CBRE Group141.41(6.22%) Invesco30.30(5.46%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Pentair64.33(-15.00%) Erie Indemnity210.19(-11.86%) Dell Technologies412.68(-9.80%) Progressive205.22(-9.43%) Losers" If the company reports earnings above NT$572.5 billion, it would mark TSMC's highest-ever quarterly net income and its 10th consecutive quarter of profit growth, underscoring the sustained momentum in AI-driven semiconductor demand. The earnings are being supported by strong customer demand for TSMC's cutting-edge 3-nanometre and 2-nanometre manufacturing technologies, widely used in AI processors. Demand also remains robust for the company's advanced CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) packaging technology, which is critical for high-performance AI chips. TSMC has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, serving as a key manufacturing partner for major technology companies including Nvidia and Apple. The surge in AI-related chip demand has lifted the company's market value to around $1.95 trillion, making it Asia's most valuable listed company and nearly doubling the market capitalisation of South Korean rival Samsung Electronics. Earlier this week, TSMC reported a 36% increase in second-quarter revenue, surpassing market expectations and setting a new quarterly record. The strong sales performance has further strengthened expectations of another robust earnings report. According to Reuters, investors will closely watch the company's earnings call scheduled for 0600 GMT, where management is expected to provide guidance for the third quarter and update its full-year outlook. Market participants broadly expect TSMC to raise its full-year revenue growth forecast, reflecting continued strength in AI-related demand. Analysts will also monitor whether the company increases its planned capital expenditure, which is viewed as a key indicator of management's confidence in the longevity of the AI investment cycle. During its previous earnings announcement in April, TSMC had indicated that its 2026 capital expenditure would likely come in at the upper end of its earlier guidance range of $52 billion to $56 billion. The company is also pressing ahead with its global manufacturing expansion, including a $165 billion investment to build semiconductor fabrication facilities in Arizona, United States, as it seeks to diversify production and meet growing customer demand. TSMC's shares listed in Taipei have risen 57.4% so far this year, broadly matching gains in the wider Taiwanese equity market, reflecting investor optimism over the company's dominant position in the rapidly expanding AI semiconductor industry.

TSMC Plans Record Spending, $100 Billion U.S. Investment as AI Fuels Earnings Beat -- Update

By Sherry Qin and Yang Jie Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. just delivered another earnings beat. It has also pledged to invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S. and plans to spend a record amount cementing its position atop the global semiconductor supply chain, sending one of the strongest signals yet that the artificial-intelligence boom is alive and kicking. The chip giant raised its global capital expenditure budget for this year to a historic $60 billion to $64 billion, a roughly 7% to 14% increase pointing to continued demand for the advanced chips that power AI. TSMC's extra $100 billion commitment brings its total planned investment in the U.S. to $265 billion, Chairman C.C. Wei said, "adding to the largest foreign direct investment in U.S. history." The ramped-up spending caters to robust multi-year demand from top U.S. customers, and could fund the addition of four more advanced facilities to TSMC's existing Arizona site, Wei said on an earnings call Thursday. The move comes months after Taiwan and the U.S. reached a trade and investment agreement that aligns with the Trump administration's bid to revive manufacturing capacity. In a statement, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said TSMC's announcement "will create tens of thousands of American jobs and bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing back to America." Industry experts say that TSMC's financial commitments in the U.S. could serve as a political olive branch, but serve a business purpose too. By deepening its footprint in the world's largest economy, TSMC can secure American clients while keeping its most advanced manufacturing technology at home. Wei said the U.S. expansion is a carefully calibrated move that addresses real-world market needs and requires years of planning. Chip factories cost tens of billions of dollars to build and take years to become operational, requiring semiconductor firms to forecast demand years in advance before they start construction. As AI keeps feeding global appetite for the chips TSMC makes, Wei said the company is doing whatever it takes to meet demand. "We are using multiple levers to do everything we can, wherever we can, however we can, to maximize support to all our customers," he said. Despite market concerns that rampant AI-related spending could be nearing its limit, projections from industry giants like TSMC suggest otherwise. After posting second-quarter earnings that blew past market expectations, the Taiwanese firm raised its full-year revenue growth to slightly above 40% in dollar terms, up from its earlier estimate of above 30%. Earlier this week, semiconductor-equipment giant ASML raised its annual sales outlook, pointing to extremely strong AI-driven orders. TSMC's earnings strength during a traditionally weaker quarter adds to the case to stay bullish on its prospects this year. Demand for AI infrastructure and consumer-electronics stockpiling drove a 77% on-year rise in net profit to 706.56 billion New Taiwan dollars, equivalent to US$21.98 billion, while quarterly revenue rose 36%. Still, that might not be enough to please a market characterized by stretched valuations and ever-higher expectations. TSMC's U.S.-listed shares were trading 3% lower after the results. If any of those doubts are troubling TSMC's leadership, it wasn't apparent in the company's guidance. Besides doubling down on investment in the U.S., TSMC is building 13 leading-edge and advanced packaging plants in Taiwan over the next several years, and will continue to invest there too, Wei said. Asked if he was concerned about competition from rivals like Samsung Electronics or Intel, Wei said TSMC's technology, manufacturing capabilities and customer trust is its "secret recipe" for success. In the semiconductor industry, clients put a lot of thought into who they partner with, he said. It isn't like "buying milk from the 7-11."

TSMC Q2 revenue surges 36% amid robust AI demand By Investing.com

Investing.com-- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, or TSMC, clocked a sharp increase in its second-quarter revenue on Monday, as the world's largest contract chipmaker continued to benefit from outsized artificial intelligence-fueled demand. TSMC's revenue in the three months to June 30 rose 36% year-on-year to T$1.270 trillion ($39.63 billion), Investing.com calculations showed. Get more breaking news on the biggest AI stocks by subscribing to InvestingPro TSMC's June revenue jumped nearly 68% year-on-year to T$442.68 billion, while its revenue for the first six months of 2026 rose nearly 36% to T$2.40 trillion. The company had delayed the release of its June revenue figures to Monday from Friday due to disruptions caused by Typhoon Bavi. The strong revenue figures come just days before TSMC's second-quarter earnings, with the chipmaker likely to report another bumper quarter. The company has benefited greatly from soaring demand for advanced chips from the AI industry, and is a key supplier to majors such as Nvidia. Beyond its earnings, focus will be squarely on TSMC's forecast for the coming quarters, with the company widely seen as a bellwether for the chipmaking industry.

TSMC's Earnings Streak Continues on Robust AI Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. posted its fifth straight quarter of record earnings amid voracious global appetite for artificial-intelligence infrastructure, showing that its optimism about the industry's prospects isn't misplaced. The world's largest contract chip maker said Thursday that its quarterly net profit jumped 77% from a year earlier to 706.56 billion New Taiwan dollars, equivalent to US$21.98 billion. That far exceeded analysts' expectation of NT$624.00 billion, according to a FactSet consensus estimate. Revenue climbed 36% to NT$1.270 trillion, in line with the company's guidance. The robust results for Asia's most valuable company, a major advanced chip manufacturer for technology heavyweights like Apple and Nvidia, are the latest sign that AI demand remains healthy, and might be what the market needs to quell mounting concerns about AI overspending. TSMC's margins reached another milestone after hitting their highest level in more than 20 years in the first three months of the year. Its gross margin rose to 67.7% in the second quarter as high utilization rates and improved efficiency offset rising depreciation and dilution from its 2-nanometer production ramp-up. The Taiwanese company's strong performance echoed a similar result at semiconductor-equipment giant ASML. The Dutch group, which makes the extreme ultraviolet lithography machines required to manufacture the industry's most cutting-edge chips, on Wednesday raised its annual sales outlook to the equivalent of between US$49.3 billion and US$51.6 billion, pointing to "extremely strong" AI-driven tool orders. Shares of Taipei-listed TSMC gained momentum in the second quarter, rising 37% to take year-to-date gains to nearly 60%. Citi Research raised TSMC's target price to NT$3,800 from NT$2,875 earlier this month, citing sustained demand for its leading-edge chips and improving visibility in the longer term. TSMC has said it is capacity-constrained, and that it is accelerating capacity expansion in both advanced nodes and chip packaging. Addressing concerns about losing advanced-node market share to major rivals like Samsung and Intel, Chief Executive C.C. Wei in June said TSMC's technological leadership, manufacturing efficiency and customer trust will keep it firmly in the lead.

TSMC posts record revenue in second quarter on AI demand

Revenue in the second quarter rose 36% from a year earlier to a record high on surging interest in artificial intelligence applications. On its last earnings call in April, the company predicted second-quarter revenue of between $39 billion and $40.2 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is a major supplier to companies including Nvidia and Apple. TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported on Monday second-quarter revenue that rose 36% from a year earlier to a record high on surging interest in artificial intelligence applications. Revenue in the April-June period of this year came in at T$1.27 trillion ($39.62 billion), according to ⁠Reuters calculations, ⁠slightly above a T$1.264 trillion LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 20 analysts. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is a major supplier to companies including Nvidia and Apple. On its last earnings call in April, the company predicted second-quarter revenue of between $39 billion and $40.2 billion. The company gives its forecast only in U.S. dollars and not Taiwan dollars. For ⁠June alone, TSMC reported that revenue rose 67.9% year-on-year to T$442.68 billion, which was up 6.2% compared with ⁠the previous month. The data was originally due last Friday, but it was delayed due to the impending arrival of Typhoon Bavi, which shut financial markets in Taipei that day. TSMC, Asia's most valuable publicly listed company with a market capitalisation of $1.955 trillion, did not provide any details or forward guidance in its brief revenue statement. It is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on Thursday, when it will also update its outlook and plans for the current quarter and the rest ⁠of the year. TSMC is expected to report a 58.8% on-year rise in second-quarter net profit, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate. TSMC's Taipei-listed shares closed up 1% on Monday ahead of the release of the sales data. The broader market closed flat. The company's shares have risen 57% so far this year, in line with the broader market. ($1 = 32.0530 Taiwan dollars)