TSMC has seen a notable rise in the latest WSB rankings, climbing to 2nd place, an improvement of five spots from the previous day.
Recently, TSMC reported an impressive quarterly performance, driven by robust demand for its advanced chips. In Q3 2024, TSMC's wafer shipments increased by 6.8% quarter-on-quarter and 15.0% year-on-year, reaching a total of 3.338 million 12-inch equivalent wafers. This contributed to a quarterly revenue rise of 12.8%, achieving NT$759.69 billion, which marks a significant 39.0% increase from the previous year.
The surge in revenue was largely fueled by strong demand for TSMC’s 3nm and 5nm technologies, particularly from the smartphone and AI sectors. In this quarter, 3nm chips accounted for 20% of total revenue, while 5nm and 7nm contributed 32% and 17% respectively. Overall, advanced technologies, defined by TSMC as 7nm and below, made up 69% of total wafer revenue, up significantly from previous periods.
In terms of regional markets, North America accounted for 71% of TSMC's revenues, an increase from the previous quarter. The company has also observed a growth in high-performance computing and smartphone platforms, which continued to dominate sales. However, revenue from IoT showed the highest growth, along with improved operating margins that rose due to better utilization and cost efficiencies, lifting the gross margin to 57.8% and operating margin to 47.5%.
Looking ahead, TSMC is optimistic about its financial prospects. It projects its Q4 revenue to fall between $26.1 billion and $26.9 billion, translating to an annual increase of 33% to 37%. The expected gross margin for the fourth quarter is projected between 57% and 59%, aligning well with market expectations.
TSMC’s positive quarterly results temporarily eased market concerns regarding the AI industry's growth trajectory. TSMC remains a critical supplier for leading AI and tech companies like Nvidia and Apple, ensuring its leadership in advanced semiconductor manufacturing despite challenges faced by the broader semiconductor market.