TAIPEI, Taiwan — TSMC reported record third-quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion ($46.71 billion), beating the market forecast and rising 50 percent from the year-earlier period on surging demand for AI applications, according to Reuters.
Key facts
- Third-quarter revenue reached NT$1.49 trillion ($46.71 billion), up 50 percent year over year, against an LSEG SmartEstimate of NT$1.46 trillion drawn from 19 analysts, per Reuters.
- September revenue was NT$511.86 billion, up 54.6 percent from September 2025 and down 0.6 percent from August, per TSMC's monthly disclosure summarized by TechNode.
- Revenue for the first nine months of 2026 reached NT$3.89873 trillion, up 41.1 percent from the same period in 2025, per TechNode.
- At Reuters' conversion, the quarterly total topped TSMC's earlier guidance of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion, per TechNode.
- TSMC is a major supplier to companies including Nvidia and Apple, per Reuters.
The number behind the AI buildout
TSMC makes chips for Nvidia and Apple, according to Reuters. The company reported record third-quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion, up 50 percent from a year earlier, on surging demand for AI applications, Reuters reported.
The quarter also rose from the prior quarter: monthly figures put third-quarter revenue 18 percent above the second quarter, according to AI Stock Wire. The year-earlier quarter totaled NT$989.92 billion, per TechNode.
The September figure shows the pace held through the end of the quarter. September revenue of NT$511.86 billion was up 54.6 percent from a year earlier and down 0.6 percent from August. Nine-month revenue of NT$3.9 trillion, up 41.1 percent, shows the growth is a year-long run rather than a single strong quarter.
The full release will also be watched for updated capital-spending plans, according to TechNode. TSMC's monthly disclosures do not include profit. The company reports full results on Oct. 15, when investors will see margins and updated guidance. Analysts expect net profit to rise 64 percent to NT$740.8 billion, according to an LSEG estimate reported by AI Stock Wire. That forecast is an analyst expectation, not a company figure, and Oct. 15 will test it.
The October 8 statement provided revenue figures only. It included no quarterly profit, margins, operating expenses or updated guidance, all of which are expected with the company's full earnings release, TechNode reported. The $46.71 billion total is Reuters' conversion at the current exchange rate. TSMC guided in U.S. dollars, and its official dollar figure uses the quarter's average rate and comes Oct. 15, AI Stock Wire reported.
What it means back home
Northwest Indiana readers meet this story as a utility question. Data center proposals in the Region turn on power, water and land, and each project assumes years of demand for AI computing. TSMC's quarter puts current numbers on the demand side of that assumption: the company reported record revenue in the quarter and, at Reuters' conversion, topped its own dollar guidance.
None of that decides any single Region proposal. Each one still turns on its own power, water and land numbers, and on who pays for grid upgrades. It does show, in reported dollars, that demand for AI chips is still climbing. The next hard numbers arrive Oct. 15, when TSMC pairs its revenue with profit and a fresh outlook.
Photo credit
- Hero: TSMC Fab 14B in Tainan, Southern Taiwan Science Park, photographed May 27, 2025, by 4300streetcar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
- Inline 1: TSMC Fab 18 in Tainan, Southern Taiwan Science Park, photographed May 27, 2025, by 4300streetcar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
- Inline 2: A semiconductor clean room at NASA's Glenn Research Center (image GRC-1998-C-01261), Wikimedia Commons, public domain.