TSMC aims for a high flight – Record result expected thanks to AI boom

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the leading manufacturer of advanced chips for applications in artificial intelligence, is on the verge of reporting a record profit in the third quarter, driven by the increasing demand in this sector. TSMC, the world's largest contract manufacturer for chips, whose clients include Apple and Nvidia, benefits significantly from the shift towards AI technologies. The expected net profit figure of approximately 9.27 billion US dollars significantly surpasses the profit of the same period in 2023, highlighting the growing importance of AI chips. Recently, TSMC reported surprisingly high revenues in the third quarter and exceeded market forecasts. Their major clients, including Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, and Mediatek, are launching products that rely on TSMC's advanced technologies, as Li Fang-kuo of President Capital Management emphasized. This coming Thursday, during the quarterly conference, TSMC will update its forecasts for the current quarter and the entire year, including planned investments. The company is investing heavily in new production facilities worldwide, yet continues to rely on Taiwan as its main location. In July, TSMC had raised its annual revenue forecast and adjusted its capital expenditures to between 30 and 32 billion US dollars. The AI hype has significantly increased the company's share value this year. As the cornerstone of Taiwan's export economy, TSMC is considered essential nationwide, while competitors like Intel, who wish to expand their production, are currently struggling to keep up.