TSMC Posts Record NT$1.49 Trillion Quarter as AI Demand Drives 50% Revenue Jump

Ahead of its Oct. 15 earnings call, TSMC reported September revenue of NT$511.86 billion, topping the NT$500 billion mark for a second straight month, down just 0.6% from August but up 54.6% year on year and the second-highest monthly total on record. That finish propelled third-quarter revenue to a record NT$1.49 trillion, or about US$46.71 billion, up 50% year on year and above the LSEG SmartEstimate of NT$1.46 trillion compiled from 19 analysts. Cumulative revenue for the first nine months of 2026 reached approximately NT$3.899 trillion, up 41.1% from a year earlier.

The result also beat TSMC's own guidance issued at the July earnings call, which had pointed to third-quarter revenue of US$44.6 billion to US$45.8 billion, implying 12% sequential growth and a 37% year-on-year increase at the midpoint, or roughly NT$1.427 trillion to NT$1.466 trillion at an assumed exchange rate of NT$32 per US dollar. On profitability, TSMC had guided for a third-quarter gross margin of 65% to 67% and an operating margin of 56% to 58%, both below the second quarter's 67.7% and 60.3%, while LSEG analysts expect third-quarter net profit to jump 64% year on year to NT$740.8 billion.

Analysts attribute the record to robust AI demand and a pickup in inventory building ahead of new smartphone launches, and expect revenue to climb further in the fourth quarter on demand for NVIDIA's Vera Rubin platform and TSMC's 2nm process technology. Competitive pressure is also reshaping the design landscape: Samsung is reportedly pulling back from automotive application processors as it restructures its chip design business and shifts resources toward mobile application processors and image sensors for a 2027 System LSI turnaround, prioritising areas with stronger profitability and market-share potential.