TSMC Says Q2 Revenue Jumped 36% as AI Hardware Demand Holds Firm
Summary
- TSMC said second-quarter revenue rose 36% to NT$1.27 trillion, showing that AI hardware demand remains firm.
- Demand for AI accelerators and server CPUs has kept 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chip capacity tight, leaving TSMC’s gross margin near the top end of its guidance.
- TSMC set this year’s capital spending at a record $58 billion, though concerns remain over data-center operators’ debt-funded AI infrastructure investment.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, reported a 36% increase in second-quarter revenue, signaling that global demand for artificial intelligence hardware remains strong.
TSMC on July 13 posted preliminary second-quarter revenue of NT$1.27 trillion for the three months ended June 30. The figure matched the average analyst estimate.
The increase was helped by a 68% surge in June revenue from a year earlier, reflecting robust demand for AI hardware.
That brought first-half 2026 revenue to NT$2.4 trillion, up 35.6% from the same period a year earlier.
TSMC, a major supplier to Nvidia and Apple, produces most of the advanced chips used in data-center AI processors and smartphones. The company is widely viewed as a barometer of the global AI infrastructure buildout.
Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei said in June that even with expanded manufacturing capacity in the US, the company would be unable to meet demand from American customers for years to come.
SK Hynix has also said memory chip shortages could persist beyond 2030 as a surge in spending by data-center operators lifts demand for both conventional memory and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, used in AI systems.
Bloomberg reported that demand for AI accelerators and server CPUs continues to exceed available production capacity for 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips. That would leave TSMC’s gross margin near the top end of its guidance.
Still, investors remain concerned that major data-center operators such as Alphabet and other AI companies are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars a year into AI infrastructure, with a significant share financed through borrowing. It is also unclear when those heavy investments will generate clear returns.
TSMC has set this year’s capital spending at about $58 billion, a record high. The company is due to release full earnings, annual guidance and final capital-expenditure figures on July 16.
Kim Jung-a, contributing reporter, Hankyung.com, kja@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
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