TSMC beats own forecasts with bumper Q1 profits
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 16 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - Taiwanese contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has raised its full-year guidance after a bumper first quarter, as the soaring demand for AI chips fuelled a 58% surge in profits.
The company, commonly known as TSMC, which supplies key clients such as Apple and Nvidia, said it now expects annual revenues to grow more than 30% this year, compared with January guidance of around 30%.
Net revenues totalled NT$1,134.1bn (US$35.9bn) in the first quarter, ahead of the $34.6bn-35.8bn company target, representing 40.6% growth in dollar terms and a 6.4% sequential increase from the fourth quarter.
Net income swelled to a record NT$572.5bn, up from NT$361.6bn the year before, while net profit margins improved an impressive 7.4 percentage points to 50.5%. Analysts had expected a figure closer to NT$543.3bn.
"Our business in the first quarter was supported by strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies," said Wendell Huang, TSMC's senior vice president and chief financial officer.
"Moving into second quarter 2026, we expect our business to be supported by continued strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies."
For the second quarter, TSMC expects revenues of $39.0bn-42.2bn, around a 10% increase on the first quarter at the midpoint.
"What I'd really take from this is not just the headline number, but the tone underneath it. TSMC sits right at the centre of the AI ecosystem, so when it posts a result like this, it usually tells us the demand story is still very much real rather than just hype," said Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.
"Customers are still ordering, capacity is still tight, and the industry is still working through a wave of investment that doesn't look close to fading yet."
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