TSMC January sales growth slows after DeepSeek roils market

TSMC’s outlook is overshadowed by US President Donald Trump’s threats to slap tariffs on semiconductor imports

TAIWAN Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) sales growth decelerated from the December quarter as Nvidia’s main chipmaker grapples with industry-wide questions surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) spending.

Revenue in January grew 36 per cent to NT$293.3 billion (S$12 billion), compared to a 38.8 per cent increase in the October to December period. Analysts on average are looking for a 41 per cent increase in sales from the go-to chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple in the current quarter to March.

Deciphering Taiwanese companies’ sales during the first months of the year is complicated by the multi-day Chinese New Year holiday, which can fall on either January or February.

Major tech companies including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms have all announced plans to invest tens of billions of US dollars this year in AI and appeared unfazed by the success of the seemingly lower-cost models from Chinese startup DeepSeek. Amazon.com alone is aiming to spend US$100 billion on AI.

Before DeepSeek roiled the market in January, TSMC said its capital expenditure may hit a record US$42 billion this year on AI demand. That optimism was amplified by key TSMC equipment supplier ASML Holding after the DeepSeek saga.

TSMC’s outlook is overshadowed by US President Donald Trump’s threats to slap tariffs on semiconductor imports, although it is unclear whether that may indeed happen. The company is expected to hold its board meeting in Arizona, home to its most advanced plant in the US, this week, according to Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs J W Kuo. BLOOMBERG

Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services