TSMC Q4 revenue jumps more than 20%, beating forecast

Demand for the company’s products leaps in response to surging interest in AI applications

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, on Friday (Jan 9) reported a 20.5 per cent increase in Q4 revenue from a year before.

Its revenue beat the market forecast, as demand for the company’s products leapt in response to surging interest in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

The company, whose customers include Nvidia and Apple, has been a major beneficiary of advances in AI, which has more than offset the tapering off of pandemic-led demand for chips used in consumer electronics such as tablets.

The revenue for the October to December period was T$1.05 trillion (S$42.7 billion), indicated calculations by Reuters based on monthly data released by the company, against T$868.5 billion in the same period a year before.

The latest result beat a London Stock Exchange Group smart estimate of about T$1.04 trillion drawn from 20 analysts, and was in line with guidance of US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion issued by TSMC in October in its last earnings call.

The company will report full Q4 earnings on Jan 15, when it is expected to provide updated guidance for the current quarter and full year, including its capital expenditure plans and revenue growth outlook.

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TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares gained 44.2 per cent last year, outperforming the 25.7 per cent rise for the broader market.

Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker and Nvidia’s biggest server maker, also reported bumper sales on Monday, logging T$2.6 trillion for the fourth quarter. REUTERS

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