TSMC sees high profits in Q3 as AI chips demand drives earnings up 39%

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported on Thursday a 39.1% year-on-year surge in its profits in the third quarter of 2025, as the demand for AI chips drove the earnings to all-time high.

The company's net income rose to 452.3 billion new Taiwan dollars ($14.75 billion), topping market expectations to reach a record high, according to TSMC's financial results.

TSMC's revenues also surpassed market forecasts, rising 30.3% on an annual basis to $32.3 billion in the third quarter.

The sales were driven by TSMC's high-performance computing segment, which includes 5G and AI applications.

TSMC said 74% of its overall wafer sales during the quarter came from advanced chips, which are defined as chips with diameters of 7 nanometers or less.

In semiconductor technology, transistor designs that are more compact and have smaller nanometer sizes result in more processing power and efficiency.

"In the third quarter, shipments of 3-nanometer accounted for 23% of total wafer revenue; 5-nanometer accounted for 37%; 7-nanometer accounted for 14%," it said.