TSMC’s profit beats estimates amid chip stockpiling in pre-tariff rush

The main chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple reported March-quarter net income of US$11.1 billion

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People walk out of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Museum of Innovation at its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on November 21, 2024. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:16pm, 17 Apr 2025

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) posted better-than-anticipated quarterly earnings after customers scrambled to stock up on advanced chips in anticipation of global trade ructions spurred by US tariffs.

The main chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple reported March-quarter net income of NT$361.6 billion (US$11.1 billion), versus the average analyst estimate for NT$346.8 billion. TSMC reported a better-than-expected 42 per cent revenue rise for that period last week, propelled in part by stockpiling of smartphones, laptops and other electronics in the US ahead of a potential trade war.

Investors are focusing more on TSMC’s 2025 outlook for revenue and spending, which its executives will outline later Thursday. The global tech sector is particularly nervous after a turbulent few days, when US restrictions on the export of Nvidia chips to China and a disappointing report from ASML Holding NV dimmed the outlook for semiconductors. Those two industry linchpins shed US$200 billion in market value Wednesday.

For 2025, the market remains nervous about the impact of tariffs on the global economy and a sector that supplies critical components to just about every industry on the planet. Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to scale back their forecasts for GDP growth worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing.

Even before Washington slapped additional tariffs on much of the world – only to roll them back shortly after – analysts had questioned whether big tech firms from Microsoft to Meta Platforms will continue to buy Nvidia chips at the same pace in 2025. The US chipmaker is TSMC’s largest customer after Apple.

Investors will also be looking for any change in spending plans following TSMC’s surprise announcement of an additional US$100 billion US investment.