TSMC beats revenue estimates as AI chip boom continues

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. posted revenue that beat analysts' estimates within the December quarter as the corporate continues to profit from the AI ​​boom.

The world's largest chipmaker reported fourth-quarter revenue of 868.5 billion recent Taiwan dollars ($26.3 billion), in keeping with CNBC calculations, up 38.8% from a 12 months earlier.

That beat Refinitiv consensus estimates of 850.1 billion recent Taiwan dollars.

In 2024, TSMC's revenue was 2.9 trillion New Taiwan dollars, its highest annual revenue since its IPO in 1994.

TSMC makes semiconductors for among the world's largest corporations, including Apple And Nvidia.

Due to its ability to provide cutting-edge semiconductors, TSMC is taken into account probably the most advanced chipmaker on this planet. The company was supported by strong demand for AI chips, especially from Nvidia, in addition to for ever-improving smartphone semiconductors.

“TSMC has benefited significantly from strong demand for AI,” Brady Wang, deputy director at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.

Wang said “capacity utilization” for TSMC's 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer processes – its most advanced chips – has “consistently exceeded 100%.”

AI graphics processing units (GPUs), akin to those developed by Nvidia, and other artificial intelligence chips are driving this demand, Wang said.

TSMC's Taiwan-listed shares have risen 88% prior to now 12 months.

TSMC's latest sales figures could also give investors hope that demand for artificial intelligence chips and services could proceed into 2025.

Foxconnwhich assembles Apple's iPhones, this week reported its highest-ever fourth-quarter revenue as the corporate saw strong demand for AI servers.

In the meantime, Microsoft This month, the corporate said it plans to spend $80 billion within the fiscal 12 months ending in June to construct data centers that may handle artificial intelligence workloads.

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