TSMC, the Taiwanese chip maker and the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, reported in the fourth quarter a net income of 374.68 billion New Taiwan dollars, about 11.37 billion U.S. dollars, marking a 57 percent year over year increase and a quarterly record. The figure matched analysts’ expectations and rose 15.2 percent from the prior quarter, which posted net income of 325.26 billion New Taiwan dollars, or roughly 9.87 billion dollars.
Historically, chipmakers tend to see stronger results in the second half of the year as major product launches sweep through Western markets, but the surge in demand for advanced chips used in artificial intelligence and high performance computing has lifted TSMC’s revenue and profit beyond typical seasonal patterns in this period.
The company did not disclose a full year profit figure for 2024, but the total of its quarterly results points to annual earnings above 1.17 trillion New Taiwan dollars, roughly 35.61 billion U.S. dollars, signaling a substantial year over year gain of about 39.9 percent compared with 2023.
In a release on its website, TSMC noted that revenue measured in U.S. dollars rose by 37 percent in the fourth quarter year over year, reaching 26.88 billion dollars. The figure was in line with the firm’s guidance, which had projected fourth quarter revenues between 26.1 and 26.9 billion dollars.
During this period, shipments of three nanometer chips — the company’s most advanced process — represented 26 percent of total revenue, while five nanometer and seven nanometer products comprised 34 percent and 14 percent of revenue, respectively.
According to the company, its net profit margin for the fourth quarter stood at 43.1 percent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the figure at the end of September.
Shares of TSMC listed on the Taipei Stock Exchange rose 3.76 percent on Thursday, closing at 1,105 New Taiwan dollars (about 33.54 dollars), delivering a year-long gain of roughly 90.5 percent.
As a supplier to Apple, Nvidia and AMD, TSMC has benefited in recent months from the AI software and devices that rely on extremely small semiconductors. The company is advancing an international expansion plan that includes three new facilities in Arizona with an investment of 65 billion dollars, plus two more in Kumamoto, Japan, and another in Dresden, Germany. Company leaders have repeatedly stressed that the bulk of the most advanced production will remain in Taiwan, a economy heavily dependent on electronics and semiconductor exports.
Market research from TrendForce shows TSMC closing the third quarter of 2024 with a global share near 65 percent in semiconductor manufacturing, well ahead of its two main rivals, Samsung of South Korea and SMIC of China, which held about 9.3 percent and 6 percent respectively.