TSMC's third-quarter profit rises 68.7% to record NT$763.1 billion

TSMC reported a sixth consecutive quarterly net-profit record on October 15, with third-quarter earnings up 68.7% from a year earlier to approximately NT$763.1 billion. The result exceeded the NT$746.3 billion consensus compiled by LSEG, according to Yonhap and other South Korean outlets. Revenue rose 50.9% in Taiwan-dollar terms to about NT$1.494 trillion, also a quarterly record. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]

In US-dollar terms, third-quarter revenue reached US$46.72 billion, up 41.2% from a year earlier and above TSMC's prior guidance of US$44.6 billion to US$45.8 billion. High-performance computing, including AI accelerators and data-centre chips, accounted for 68% of revenue. That segment's sales rose 22% from the preceding quarter, compared with 10% growth for smartphones, which represented 21% of revenue. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]

Advanced processes of 7 nanometres and below generated 79% of wafer revenue. The 3-nanometre process accounted for 33%, followed by 5-nanometre at 28%, 7-nanometre at 10% and 2-nanometre at 8%. The 2-nanometre share increased from 3% in the preceding quarter. TSMC attributed growth to strong demand for its advanced process technologies, the reports said. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]

Gross margin reached 66.4% and operating margin 58.7%, both higher than a year earlier but below the preceding quarter's 67.7% and 60.3%, respectively. TSMC said costs associated with the initial expansion of 2-nanometre production affected gross margin. Electronic Times reported fourth-quarter revenue guidance of US$52.3 billion to US$54.3 billion, with the company expecting continued advanced-process demand and a steep 2-nanometre production ramp-up to support results. [ 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]