TSMC profit surges 39% to beat estimates and hit yet another record on AI chip demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Thursday reported a 39.1% increase in third-quarter profit from last year, beating estimates and hitting a fresh record as demand for artificial intelligence chips stayed strong.

TSMC’s revenue in the September quarter rose 30.3% from a year ago to NT$989.92 billion, also beating estimates. Net income increased 13.7% from last quarter, which had marked a record high at the time.

As Asia’s largest technology company by market capitalization, TSMC has benefited from the artificial intelligence boom, producing advanced AI processors for clients such as Nvidia and Apple.

“Recent developments in AI market continue to be very positive,” TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said on an earnings call, adding that increasing adoption of AI models by consumers has led to more demand for compute, and by extension, semiconductor products. “Thus, our conviction in the AI megatrend is strengthening,” he added.

Bolstered by this AI strength, Wei said the company had raised its 2025 revenue growth forecast to the mid-30% range. In July, the company had expected full-year revenue growth of about 30%.

TSMC also increased its expected floor for capacity expansion and upgrades to $40 billion for the full year, up from a previous floor of $38 billion.