Record Revenue and AI Demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced record monthly revenue for August on Thursday, fueled by robust demand for chips used in artificial intelligence applications. The world's largest contract chipmaker generated $514.8 billion New Taiwan dollars ($16.35 billion) last month, marking a 53.3% increase from the same period a year earlier and a 10.1% rise from July. Despite the strong results, TSMC shares closed 0.61% lower on Thursday before the revenue figures were released. The company has now seen monthly revenue grow for four consecutive months.[S1]
On its July second-quarter earnings call, TSMC characterized demand tied to artificial intelligence as very strong. The Taiwanese company posted second-quarter profit growth exceeding 77% compared with a year earlier, and guided third-quarter revenue to a range of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion. TrendForce data issued Wednesday showed TSMC still leading the worldwide foundry sector with a 72.5% share in the second quarter. The research firm added that robust appetite for AI server processors kept TSMC's leading-edge 5-, 4- and 3-nanometer capacity fully utilized over that period.[S1]
Market Position and Future Technology
Samsung Foundry took second place at 5.9%, with China's SMIC next at 5.4%. Combined revenue for the ten largest foundries reached a record of roughly $53.49 billion in the second quarter, helped partly by tight supply of advanced processes used in AI and high-performance computing chips. In separate news, TSMC and Dutch equipment maker ASML unveiled a joint effort this week to speed the industry's move to next-generation chipmaking. TSMC said it intends to deploy ASML's High NA technology in mass production for advanced nodes from 2030, with uptake growing as AI workloads demand more intricate transistor designs.[S1]
