TSMC’s reported net income surged 60.3% to NT$361.56 billion in the March quarter, driven by strong demand for AI chips. The company also raised its annual revenue forecast despite facing trade policy headwinds from the US government.
The Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing giant exceeded profit expectations, with net revenue rising 41.6% to NT$839.25 billion. This growth was largely due to its high-performance computing division, which saw a 7% increase in sales and accounted for 59% of total revenue.
TSMC’s CEO C.C. Wei attributed the strong results to continued growth in AI-related demand, but noted that business in the fourth quarter was impacted by smartphone seasonality. For the second quarter of 2025, the company expects its business to be supported by strong growth of its 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer technologies.
However, TSMC faces potential headwinds from US trade policies, including broad tariffs on Taiwan and stricter export controls on clients Nvidia and AMD. The company has maintained its revenue forecast despite these risks, citing continued AI development and diversification efforts.
As the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, TSMC has benefited from the AI boom by producing advanced processors for clients such as Nvidia. However, further trade restrictions could be imposed under the “AI diffusion rules” proposed by the Biden administration.
TSMC plans to invest an additional $100 billion in the US to diversify its supply chains and address these risks. The company has also announced plans to manufacture chips for AMD at one of its new Arizona-based facilities, and Nvidia has started production of its Blackwell chips at TSMC’s Arizona plants.
Despite this, Taiwan-listed shares of TSMC fell nearly 1%, marking a further decline in the company’s performance this year.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/17/tsmc-first-quarter-profit-tops-estimates-rising-60percent-as-trump-trade-policy-threatens-growth-.html