Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported a record 36% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue for the second quarter of this year, reaching NT$1.27 trillion ($39.5 billion). This performance was significantly bolstered by a strong June, where revenue climbed 67.9% annually and 6.2% monthly, hitting a new monthly high of NT$442.68 billion. The first half of the year saw consolidated revenue rise 35.6% from a year earlier to NT$2.40 trillion.
The surge in revenue and profits is attributed to the robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. TSMC is a key supplier to major technology companies like Nvidia and Apple, and its strong performance is seen as an indicator of global investment in AI servers and data centers. Analysts expect TSMC to report a record net profit of NT$632.6 billion ($19.65 billion) for the second quarter, marking a 59% surge.
TSMC is continuing to focus its capital expenditure on advanced manufacturing processes, particularly the 2-nanometer process and other cutting-edge technologies. The company also anticipates spending more on its advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to meet the fast-growing demand in the AI sector. TSMC had previously forecast capital expenditure for this year to be at the higher end of the $52 billion to $56 billion range. The company is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in Arizona as part of its overseas expansion. TSMC's market capitalization is now estimated at approximately $1.95 trillion, nearly double that of its South Korean rival Samsung Electronics.
