TSMC held its third quarter earnings conference today and reported an astonishing performance of revenue of 989.92 billion yuan, gross profit margin of 59.5%, and EPS of 17.44 yuan. Looking forward to the fourth quarter of 2025, Chairman Wei Zhejia...
TSMC held its third quarter earnings conference today and reported an astonishing performance of revenue of 989.92 billion yuan, gross profit margin of 59.5%, and EPS of 17.44 yuan. Looking forward to the fourth quarter of 2025, Chairman Wei Zhejia expects that the business will continue to be supported by advanced process technology, and also observes that AI-related demand will remain stable throughout 2025, while the non-AI end market has bottomed out and is showing a slight recovery.
Wei Zhejia pointed out that TSMC will continue to focus on fundamentals, namely technology leadership, manufacturing excellence and customer trust, to strengthen its competitive position. At the same time, it is also optimistic about the recent AI market and believes that it will continue to develop positively. The current explosive growth in Token usage shows that consumers are increasing the adoption rate of AI models, which means that the demand for computing is rising, which in turn drives the demand for advanced process chips. In fact, TSMC is also using AI internally to increase productivity and efficiency and create more value.
At the same time, TSMC has also observed the rise of sovereign AI. In addition to seeing continued strong customer outlook, it has also received very strong signals from customers' clients requiring expansion of production capacity to support the business. In this regard, Wei Zhejia said that he is strengthening his confidence in the overall trend of AI and also believes that semiconductor demand will continue to be fundamental.
Externally, TSMC is closely planning production capacity with customers and customers' customers, and has more than 500 different customers, covering all market areas. As the complexity of process technology increases, contact with customers is now carried out at least 2-3 years in advance; internally, TSMC's planning system involves multiple teams across multiple functions, assessing market demand from top-down and bottom-up methods to determine suitable capacity construction.
Next is the overseas layout. Wei Zhejia said that with the strong cooperation and support of major US customers and the US government, TSMC will continue to accelerate the expansion of production capacity in Arizona and proceed as planned. In view of strong customer demand for AI, TSMC is preparing to accelerate technology upgrades to more advanced processes in Arizona.
Wei Zhejia pointed out that TSMC is about to acquire a second nearby land to support existing expansion plans to support AI demand. This will allow TSMC to establish an independent "gigafab cluster" in Arizona to support leading customer needs for smartphones, AI and HPC applications.
For the Japanese part, the Kumamoto plant has begun mass production in 2024, and the yield rate is very good. The second plant has started construction. The mass production rhythm will be determined by customer demand and market conditions. The European layout has also received strong commitment from the EU and the German government. The construction of the factory in Dresden has also begun and is progressing smoothly. The mass production rhythm will also be determined by customer demand and market conditions.
As for Taiwan, we are preparing to advance the 2nm process in stages in Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, and will continue to invest in Taiwan’s advanced processes and advanced packaging facilities in the future. Wei Zhejia said that by expanding its global presence, it will continue to invest in Taiwan and make TSMC a trustworthy technology and technology provider in the global logic IC industry.
Further reading: TSMC’s third-quarter revenue hits a single-quarter high with gross profit margin of nearly 60%, earning more than 5 billion yuan every day it opens its doors
