TSMC achieves record revenue and doesn't believe in a bursting AI bubble
The world's largest chip contract manufacturer TSMC is breaking all expectations. The stock market is nevertheless dissatisfied.
(Image: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.)
TSMC generated approximately 33 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2025, slightly exceeding its forecast. Compared to the previous quarter, revenue increased by a good ten percent. Operating and net profit rose even more sharply, with good 16.7 billion (+12 percent) and 15.1 billion US dollars (+18 percent), respectively.
The growth is primarily driven by the production of AI chips, for example, for Nvidia and AMD. TSMC is continuously expanding its manufacturing capacity, but at the same time is expected to charge higher prices. This increases the margin, which explains the disproportionately strong profit. TSMC's operating margin is now 50.6 percent, and the gross margin is 59.5 percent, according to the business report.
3 nanometers stagnate
In particular, AI accelerators for data centers are keeping TSMC's revenue high with 5-nanometer technology. It continues to account for more than a third of revenue. Slightly improved 4nm variants such as N4 and N4P are counted by TSMC in the 5nm generation, including Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs and AMD's Instinct MI300 series.
3nm chips, for example, for Apple and Mediatek, are stagnating at less than a quarter of revenue share. 2nm variants have not yet appeared in the business report.
TSMCs Umsatz aufgeschlĂĽsselt (2 Bilder)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
)No bursting AI bubble in sight
In the analyst conference on the business report, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei already assured a rosy outlook for 2026. The chip contract manufacturer does not expect the AI hype to subside so far.
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“The demand for AI is indeed still very strong, even stronger than we thought three months ago,” said Wei. “We are also pleased with the continued positive outlook of our customers. Furthermore, we have received very strong signals directly from our customers' customers, requesting capacities to support them.”
The stock market, meanwhile, seems to be fixated on the short-term outlook: in the current fourth quarter, TSMC expects revenue of 32.2 to 33.4 billion US dollars. In the worst case, this corresponds to a slight decline, and in the best case, minimal growth. TSMC's stock fell by about three percent after the business figures were announced.
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