Apple iPhone chip maker TSMC predicting strong demand for rest of 2019

Apple A-series chip partner TSMC anticipates a strong second half of 2019 for its finances based on strong demand for its chips, even after the manufacturer beat both its own revenue forecasts and those of analysts for the most recent quarter.

The marketing of 5G by carriers around the world will help TSMC generate more orders for its chips for the remainder of 2019, caused through the launches of new smartphones using the technology as well as demand for 5G telecommunications equipment. It is further suggested demand for TSMC's wares will increase further in the fourth quarter.

For the quarter, revenue rose 3.3% to T$241 billion ($7.76 billion), but on a U.S. Dollar basis it actually fell 1.4%, Reuters reports. Even so, this is a better performance than TSMC's own forecast for the period, as well as an average from Wall Street analysts. It did however meet analyst estimates for net profit at T$66.77 billion ($2.15 billion), though this is a 7.6-percent decline year-on-year.

As with other suppliers, TSMC is having to navigate a slowing economy and reduced demand for smartphone sales, as well as the effects of the U.S.-China trade war and the US's ban on Huawei technology.

"Although our business continues to be impacted by a glowing slowing economy, we have also passed the bottom of the cycle of our business and again began to see demand increasing," CEO and vice chairman C.C. Wei advised analysts during an earnings call.

TSMC's performance is generally seen as an indicator for the wider tech industry's overall health. While Apple is a major headline client for the company, it also produces chips for many other device vendors at the same time, allowing it to operate as a proxy of sorts for Apple.

TSMC is believed to have already commenced mass production for the Apple-designed "A13" chip, which will be at the heart of the 2019 iPhone refresh due this September.

16 Comments

ksec 1502 comments · 18 Years

About 5 years ago

And it has very little to do with Apple.

5G Modem and SoC as well as AMD's GPU and CPU.

jcs2305 1341 comments · 11 Years

ksec said:

And it has very little to do with Apple.

5G Modem and SoC as well as AMD's GPU and CPU.

TSMC is believed to have already commenced mass production for the Apple-designed "A13" chip, which will be at the heart of the 2019 iPhone refresh due this September.

I think this ^ is a bit more than a little impact. Yes they have other customers, but they aren't making a couple of hundred A13 chips either.

tmay 6455 comments · 11 Years

jcs2305 said:

ksec said:

And it has very little to do with Apple.

5G Modem and SoC as well as AMD's GPU and CPU.

TSMC is believed to have already commenced mass production for the Apple-designed "A13" chip, which will be at the heart of the 2019 iPhone refresh due this September.

I think this ^ is a bit more than a little impact. Yes they have other customers, but they aren't making a couple of hundred A13 chips either.

Apple has the bulk of the early production 7nm+ / euv process for the A13.

https://www.techspot.com/news/80237-tsmc-7nm-production-improves-performance-10.html

avon b7 8008 comments · 20 Years

tmay said:

jcs2305 said:

ksec said:

And it has very little to do with Apple.

5G Modem and SoC as well as AMD's GPU and CPU.

TSMC is believed to have already commenced mass production for the Apple-designed "A13" chip, which will be at the heart of the 2019 iPhone refresh due this September.

I think this ^ is a bit more than a little impact. Yes they have other customers, but they aren't making a couple of hundred A13 chips either.

Apple has the bulk of the early production 7nm+ / euv process for the A13.

https://www.techspot.com/news/80237-tsmc-7nm-production-improves-performance-10.html

The linked article doesn't seem to even mention Apple. Or is my eyesight failing?

avon b7 said:

tmay said:

jcs2305 said:

ksec said:

And it has very little to do with Apple.

5G Modem and SoC as well as AMD's GPU and CPU.

TSMC is believed to have already commenced mass production for the Apple-designed "A13" chip, which will be at the heart of the 2019 iPhone refresh due this September.

I think this ^ is a bit more than a little impact. Yes they have other customers, but they aren't making a couple of hundred A13 chips either.

Apple has the bulk of the early production 7nm+ / euv process for the A13.

https://www.techspot.com/news/80237-tsmc-7nm-production-improves-performance-10.html

The linked article doesn't seem to even mention Apple. Or is my eyesight failing?

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/tsmc-apple-a13-2019-iphone-processor,39315.html

This is from the article on May 10th.

"According to Bloomberg sources, TSMC began test production of the A13 in April, and volume production is expected to begin early this month. The EUV lithography is the successor to the company’s deep ultraviolet (DUV) process. It looks like TSMC is quite confident in its new process, since it’s willing to test the production of chips for a month before jumping into volume production. Furthermore, TSMC was not expected to begin mass production of 7nm EUV chips until next month."

Are you afraid that Huawei won't be first?

Hence why I stated "the bulk of the early production"

Considering that Huawei isn't expected to deliver the Kirin 985 in a product until the end of the year, it looks like Apple will have the bulk of early production, so that it can meet its September deliveries for the new iPhone.

Also, considering the number of A13's that Apple will need this production year, something on the order of 120 to 130 million A13's will be produced.