TSMC: net profit up 68.7 per cent in the third quarter, with a forecast of over 52 billion dollars for the end of the year

Driven by AI chips, the Taiwanese chipmaker posted revenue of $46.7 billion in the third quarter, exceeding its own guidance, and is aiming even higher by December.

TSMC published its accounts for the quarter ended at the end of September on October 15: 1,494 billion Taiwanese dollars in revenue, or about 46.7 billion US dollars, up 50.9% year-on-year and 17.6% compared to the previous quarter. Net income reached 763 billion Taiwanese dollars, up 68.7%, for earnings per share of 29.43 Taiwanese dollars. The group thus exceeds the top of the range it had announced in July (44.6 to 45.8 billion dollars).

Extraordinary margins

The gross margin was 66.4% and the operating margin was 58.7%: more than half of every dollar invoiced ended up in net profit. The finest engravings now dominate: 3 nm accounts for 33% of wafer sales, 5 nm 28%, 2 nm already 8% and 7 nm 10%, or 79% for so-called advanced technologies, those used by AI accelerators from Nvidia, AMD or Broadcom.

For the fourth quarter, TSMC expects between $52.3 billion and $54.3 billion in revenue, with a gross margin maintained between 65 and 67%. These figures come at a time when several voices, including that of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, are concerned about overheating linked to massive investments in data centers.