Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a major producer of advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications, is expected to report a 30% rise in second-quarter profit on Thursday, boosted by rising demand.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker, whose customers include Apple and Nvidia, has benefited from a growing trend toward AI, which has pushed TSMC’s shares – and the broader Taiwan market – to record highs. Last week, its American depositary receipts topped a trillion dollars’ market value.
According to LSEG SmartEstimate, which is polled from 20 analysts, TSMC is set to report a net profit of 236.1 billion Taiwanese dollars (US$7.25 billion) for the quarter ended June 30. SmartEstimate gives more weight to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.
This estimate compares with a net profit of Taiwanese dollars 181.8 billion in the second quarter of 2023.
TSMC last week reported a jump in second-quarter revenue, far exceeding market expectations.
“I expect the prospects for all of their products to be very good in the third quarter,” said Lee Fang-kuo, chairman of President Capital Management Co.
TSMC will update its outlook for the current quarter as well as the full year, including its capital expenditure toward ramping up production, in its quarterly earnings call on Thursday at 0600 GMT.
TSMC is spending billions of dollars building new factories overseas, including $65 billion on three plants in the U.S. state of Arizona, though it has said most manufacturing will remain in Taiwan.
In its last earnings announcement in April, TSMC maintained its forecast for capital spending this year at $28 to $32 billion, compared with $30.45 billion last year, and said 70% to 80% of it would be spent on advanced technologies.
“TSMC may increase its capital spending,” said Chu Yen-min, chairman of KGI Securities Investment Advisory Co. “There are many positive factors that will help boost their stock price and support the broader market.”
The AI boom has helped boost the share price of Asia’s most valuable company, with TSMC’s Taipei-listed stock jumping 75% so far this year to a historic high, compared with a 33% rise for the broader market.
TSMC, colloquially known as the “sacred mountain that protects the country” for its crucial role in Taiwan’s export-dependent economy, faces little competition, though both Intel and Samsung are trying to challenge that dominance.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
