Key Notes
- TSMC generated roughly NT$1.49 trillion, or $46.7 billion, in third-quarter revenue, up about 50% in Taiwan-dollar terms.
- Sales exceeded the NT$1.46 trillion analyst estimate as AI demand supported advanced chip production.
- Full earnings are due October 15, when TSMC will disclose profitability and discuss its outlook.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TWSE: 2330; NYSE: TSM) generated record third-quarter revenue of about NT$1.49 trillion, or roughly $46.7 billion, as demand for artificial intelligence chips continued to drive its business. The total rose roughly 50% from a year earlier in Taiwan-dollar terms and exceeded analysts’ expectations.
The result, compiled from the chipmaker’s monthly disclosures, offers an early measure of sales before its full earnings report next week. It shows the scale of AI-related demand reaching manufacturers, although third-quarter profit, margins and the detailed customer-market breakdown have yet to be released.
September Sales Complete a Record Quarter
TSMC reported September revenue of approximately NT$511.86 billion on October 8. That was 54.6% higher than a year earlier but 0.6% below August, showing that the quarterly record did not depend on another month-on-month increase at the end of the period.
Its monthly disclosures put July sales at NT$467.58 billion and August at NT$514.806 billion. Adding September brings the quarter to approximately NT$1.494 trillion, about 51% above the NT$989.92 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2025 and roughly 17.6% above the preceding quarter. Reuters rounded the annual increase to 50%.
Revenue for January through September reached NT$3.899 trillion, up 41.1% from the same period last year. The monthly figures are unaudited and provide sales data rather than a complete quarterly income statement.
Revenue Beats Expectations
Reuters reported that an LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 19 analysts had put quarterly revenue at NT$1.46 trillion. TSMC’s monthly total therefore came in approximately 2.3% above that forecast. The news agency converted the rounded NT$1.49 trillion result to $46.71 billion.
The currency distinction matters: the roughly 50% annual growth figure is measured in Taiwan dollars. It should not be read as an equivalent increase in dollar-denominated sales, which are affected by exchange rates.
TSMC’s July guidance forecast third-quarter revenue of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion, assuming NT$32 per dollar. At that assumption, the upper end equated to NT$1.466 trillion, below the monthly total. The company’s formal dollar revenue will provide the definitive comparison.
AI Demand Supports Advanced Chip Production
TSMC is a major supplier to Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Its position makes the company a significant link between chip designers’ orders and the manufacturing capacity needed to deliver their products.
In July, Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang pointed to continued demand for leading-edge technologies and a steep ramp in 2-nanometer production. During the second quarter, 2-nanometer chips represented 3% of wafer revenue, while 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer contributed 30% and 33%. Technologies of 7 nanometers and below accounted for 77%.
The AI opportunity also extends to packaging. TSMC’s CoWoS technology integrates processors with high-bandwidth memory stacks, helping provide the computing performance and memory bandwidth required by AI and high-performance computing products. TSMC says it continues to expand advanced packaging capacity as demand grows.
This gives the company exposure to both manufacturing advanced chips and assembling complex systems around them. It also makes production execution important: more demand translates into revenue only when the necessary manufacturing and packaging capacity can deliver finished products.
A Broader AI Investment Cycle
In its July investor presentation, TSMC projected full-year 2026 revenue growth slightly above 40% in dollar terms. The same presentation showed second-quarter capital expenditure of NT$496 billion, illustrating the scale of investment accompanying the expansion.
Other suppliers are setting ambitious targets. As we previously reported, Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL) outlined a roughly $20 billion revenue goal for fiscal 2028, citing AI infrastructure demand. Those are forecasts, while TSMC’s monthly disclosures measure sales already generated.
The consequences extend beyond individual chip stocks. As we reported in May, TSMC’s rally helped Taiwan become the world’s fifth-largest stock market at that time, underlining the company’s influence on the island’s equity market.
Full Earnings Are Due October 15
TSMC is scheduled to discuss its third-quarter results on October 15 at 2 p.m. Taiwan time. Its earlier outlook called for gross margin of 65% to 67% and operating margin of 56% to 58%; these remain forecasts until the results are published.
The distinction between record earnings and share performance remains relevant across the sector. As we reported earlier, Samsung Electronics Co. (KRX: 005930) shares fell despite a record preliminary profit estimate. Strong reported numbers alone do not establish how investors will react.
For TSMC, next week’s release will add profitability and management’s outlook to the revenue picture. The record sales establish that demand remained strong through September; the earnings report will show how much of that growth reached the bottom line.
