TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, announced on Friday a 35% jump in its first-quarter revenue. This result beat market predictions, thanks to the continuous high interest in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
From January to March, revenue reached
134trillion(1.134 trillion (1.134trillion(35.71 billion). This is a significant increase compared to T$839.3 billion in the same period last year, TSMC stated without giving more details.This figure was higher than an LSEG SmartEstimate of T$1.125 trillion from 20 analysts. It also fell within TSMC’s own guidance of $34.6 billion to $35.8 billion given during its last earnings call. TSMC only provides its financial guidance in U.S. dollars.
TSMC’s latest record-breaking quarterly revenue comes at a time when conflict in the Middle East is driving up energy costs and shaking global markets. These factors threaten to disrupt the supply of materials needed for semiconductors, which analysts say could force companies to delay investments in AI data centers.
Despite these concerns, analysts have raised their forecast for TSMC’s April-June revenue by 2.3% over the last 30 days to a record T$1.2 trillion, according to LSEG data. They are betting that the limited capacity for advanced AI chip production will boost the company’s earnings. TSMC will release its full first-quarter earnings report on April 16. This report will also include updated predictions for the current quarter and the entire year.
The chipmaker, which counts Nvidia among its customers, has greatly benefited from advancements in AI. This growth has more than made up for the fading demand for chips used in consumer electronics like tablet computers, a demand surge that happened during the pandemic.
TSMC’s shares, listed in Taipei, have climbed 29% this year. This compares to a 22% rise in the benchmark share price index. The stock closed up 2.3% on Friday before the sales announcement. Another Taiwanese company, Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker and Nvidia’s biggest server manufacturer, also reported excellent first-quarter sales with a 30% increase year-over-year.
