TSMC has reported a higher than predicted Q4 revenue increase, chiefly because of demand for AI processors such as those in the iPhone.
Two years after TSMC had a dramatic drop in revenue, its latest report says that AI demand has proven to be a huge boost. According to Reuters the company saw a 20.45% year over year increase in fourth-quarter revenue.
TSMC will not publish its full earnings report until January 15, 2025, when it is also to provide guidance for both the current quarter and the full year. That guidance will include capital expenditure plans and revenue forecasts.
Based on accumulated month to date records, it's estimated that TSMC's October-December revenue was $33.11 billion. That compares to approximately $27.6 billion for the same period in 2024, and $20.13 billion in Q4 2023.
The figure was greater than the average predicted by a group of 20 analysts, who expected $32.79 billion. It was in line, though, with TSMC's own guidance of between $32.2 billion and $33.4 billion.
While specific sales breakdowns are not yet known, it's presumed that TSMC's growth is down to demand for AI processors. Apple is a major customer for AI processors with the iPhone's and Mac's Neural Engines, as is Nvidia with its buying of server processors.
Business demand for AI processors is again said to have helped compensate for the drop off of consumer demand. That demand rose sharply during COVID, but has since tapered off as consumers return to work, or don't update their devices.
Separately, TSMC is now expected to provide 2-nanometer processors for Apple's forthcoming iPhone 18 range. The new processor design brings performance and power efficiency gains, but the manufacturing cost could be double that of the processors in the iPhone 17 range.
For 2028, TSMC is now expected to use a 1.4-nanometer processor for the iPhone 19 range.
