Taiwan's TSMC logs quarterly net profit jump on AI boom
A man walks past a company logo at the headquarters of the world's largest semiconductor maker TSMC in Hsinchu on Jan. 29, 2021. Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC announced on Jan. 15, 2026 a forecast-busting net profit for the fourth quarter as demand for AI technology skyrockets. AFP-Yonhap
TAIPEI — Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC announced Thursday a forecast-busting net profit for the fourth quarter as demand for AI technology skyrockets.
TSMC is the world's biggest contract maker of chips used in everything from Apple's smartphones to Nvidia's cutting-edge articifical intelligence hardware.
The company has been a massive beneficiary of the AI revolution that has seen US tech giants pour many billions of dollars into chips, servers and data centres.
TSMC said net profit for the three months to December increased 35 percent year-on-year to NT$505.7 billion ($16 billion), beating the NT$466.69 billion forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Net revenue for the fourth quarter rose 20.5 percent from a year ago to NT$1.05 trillion, TSMC said, also beating expectations.
The results came after Taiwan said it had reached a "general consensus" with the United States on a trade deal that the island hopes will reduce its current 20 percent tariff and shield its semiconductor industry from levies.