TSMC surpasses market expectations with AI-driven Q2 revenue surge

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported significant revenue growth on Wednesday for the second quarter. The reported revenue beats the market forecasts for the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer.

Revenue for the second quarter this year is reportedly T$673.51 billion, which equals $20.67 billion. This is more than the T$654.27 billion estimated by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) SmartEstimate, which was compiled from 21 analysts. The surge in revenue is said to be on the grounds of increased demand for artificial intelligence in various sectors according to a report by Reuters.

TSMC revenue has increased 32%

TSMC has benefited from the increased interest in artificial intelligence. Nvidia and Apple are two of the main customers of the company, and the surge in sales of their products has helped TSMC to deal with the decrease in demand that was caused by the pandemic. This has also led the TSMC’s stock price to soar to the highest point ever.

Also read: Chipmaker Nvidia overtakes Microsoft as world’s most valuable company

The increase in revenue represents a growth of 32% on a year-on-year basis, if compared to that of the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023. The report also said that TSMC also publishes its monthly revenue data but that is in Taiwan dollars, so it’s not a direct comparison. However, TSMC publishes its quarterly financials and its projections on its earnings calls in US dollars as well.

During its last earnings call in April, TSMC forecasted second-quarter revenues to be in a range of $19.6 billion to $20.4 billion. While the reported revenue of $20.67 billion exceeds the company’s own estimates. 

The Taiwanese contract chipmaker briefly surpassed the $1 trillion market capitalization mark on Monday before closing at $967.88 billion. The company is listed in Taiwan and New York and has left Tesla behind to become the seventh most valuable tech firm.

TSMC briefly surpasses the $1 trillion mark

TSMC, Asia’s most valued company with a market capitalization of $830 billion, said it will announce its second-quarter earnings report on July 18. The company also said it will share its updated projections for the current quarter and its plans for the remaining part of the year.

LSEG SmartEstimate said TSMC is expected to report a 30% increase in net profit for the second quarter. TSMC also said that revenue for the month of June also increased by 33% year-on-year to T$207.87 billion, but it did not provide any details in its statement for the revenue channels. 

Also read: Chinese AI chip startups are reducing performance specs to secure TSMC access

While June’s revenue is up, it is still 9.5% less than May this year. Year-to-date revenue has also increased by 28% compared to last year for the same period.

Morgan Stanley also updated its price target for TSMC shares. It increased the target price from T$1,080 to T$1,180 because of better second quarter reports. This accounts for a 9% increase as Morgan Stanley expects the company will raise its sales forecast for the year.

It is also important to note that TSMC is the producer of 90% of advanced semiconductors for the global market and provides around 60% of the total supply of the chips. The company’s shares have risen by 76% this year,  which is more than double of the broader market gains of 34%. 

Cryptopolitan reporting by Aamir Sheikh