Chipmaker TSMC posts sharpest increase in sales since 2022 following AI boom

By Louis Goss

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on Wednesday said its revenues increased more sharply in the first quarter of 2024 than in any previous quarter since 2022 following a surge in demand for microchips driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

TSMC, which supplies semiconductors to top companies including Apple and Nvidia, posted a 16.5% increase in its first quarter sales to NT$ 592.64 billion ($18.54 billion), in a sign the global chip market has now started recovering from the major slump that hit sales in 2023.

The Hsinchu headquartered company, which is now the world's largest chipmaker, previously saw its sales crash in 2023 after a slowdown in demand for consumer electronics led to a microchip market glut.

TSMC's (TW:2330) Taipei listed shares were down by less than 1% on Wednesday having gained 37% in the year-to-date. TSMC's (TSM) New York listed shares were up 1% on Wednesday having gained 40% in 2024 so far.

In its report on Wednesday, TSMC also said it achieved NT$ 195.21 billion worth of sales this March, marking a 34.3% increase compared to March 2023 and the sharpest increase in any single month since November 2022.

In January, TSMC said it expects its sales will be boosted by demand for the AI sector throughout 2024, as the company predicted it will see a low-to-mid 20% increase in its full-year revenue, compared to 2023.

TSMC, which was first established in 1987, previously saw its full-year revenues fall 4.5%, to NT$2.161 trillion, in 2023, in what marked the first drop in the chipmaker's revenues since 2009 when its sales were impacted by the global financial crisis.

Now, as TSMC is preparing to publish its first quarter results on April 18, analysts are expecting the company will provide a positive outlook for 2024, in stating that it is on course to achieve the upper end of its low-to-mid 20% sales guidance and return to solid growth this year.

Earlier this week, the company announced plans to open a new chip making factory in Arizona, after the U.S. government agreed to provide up to $11.6 billion in loans and subsidies, in line with the Biden administration's plans to boost the semiconductor industry in the U.S.

See: Biden administration announces $6.6 billion aid package for Taiwan Semiconductor

-Louis Goss

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04-10-24 0450ET

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