TSMC revenue shoots up amid global demand for chips

10 Apr 2024

Image: © MichaelVi/Stock.adobe.com

Revenue at the Asian chip giant was more than a third higher last month than it was in March 2023.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has seen its revenue surge by 16.5pc in its latest earnings report as the AI race increases global demand for chip manufacturing.

Published today (10 April), earnings figures at TSMC show the Asian chip giant raked in more than NT$195bn in consolidated revenue in March, which represents a 7.5pc growth over the previous month. The figure is also more than a third higher than it was in March last year.

Total revenue for the first quarter of the year between January and March stood at more than NT$592bn, an increase of 16.5pc compared to the same period in 2023.

TSMC is the main chipmaker to major global tech companies currently participating in the AI rush, including Nvidia and Apple. Nvidia has had recent success in producing graphics processing units or GPUs that power AI models, seeing its revenue skyrocket and making it the world’s third most valuable tech company by market cap.

The growth also comes in the context of PC sales making a comeback after a two-year slump following the supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A new report from research company IDC this week stated that global PC sales reached 59.8m shipments in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 1.5pc compared to the same period in 2023. The report claims global PC shipments have finally returned to pre-pandemic levels as the shipments rivalled those seen in the first quarter of 2019.

According to Bloomberg, TSMC expects revenue to grow by at least 20pc in 2024 thanks to an increasing demand for chips across the world. The company is one of the world’s leading chipmakers and a strong Asian competitor to US counterparts such as Intel.

Just yesterday, Intel unveiled a new AI chip called Gaudi 3 that it claims has better performance and energy efficiency than its Nvidia counterpart, the popular H100. Google also revealed its latest AI chip this week as major tech companies race to make the most advanced AI offerings.

Earlier this week, the US said it is awarding TSMC billions of dollars in subsidies and loans to boost semiconductor production in the country, as part of a broader goal of improving its share in the chips market. Last month, the US government said it would give Intel $8.5bn to help the chipmaker boost domestic production.

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Vish Gain was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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