TSMC posts strong third-quarter results, but shares drop amid AI selloff

TSMC posts strong third-quarter results, but shares drop amid AI selloff

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. today posted better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter, but its shares nevertheless dropped 2%.

The dip is tied to a broader selloff in artificial intelligence stocks. Investors started offloading shares on Wednesday in response to an X post about the debt load of CoreWeave Inc., an AI cloud provider. The selloff soon spread to other neoclouds and their hardware suppliers.

TSMC is only one of the affected chipmakers. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. dropped more than 8%, while Intel Corp. was down 6.6% at one point today. Chip stocks recouped some of their losses after Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Jensen Huang told Bloomberg that CoreWeave’s cost of capital is decreasing. A company’s cost of capital influences its ability to manage its debt. 

The AI sector was a major contributor to TSMC’s strong quarterly results. The company’s high-performance computing segment, which includes the graphics cards it makes for clients such as Nvidia, drove 68% of the $46.36 billion in revenue it posted. Wall Street expected $45.4 billion.

TSMC’s most popular manufacturing process is its three-nanometer node, which accounted for 33% of sales. The company started producing three-nanometer chips in 2022 and has since introduced several specialized versions of the technology. Last year, it launched a variant optimized for the data center market. A few months ago, it added a low-cost version geared toward mobile chips.

TSMC revealed today that it has completed the construction of its three-nanometer Fab 2 plant in Arizona. According to CNBC, the company is currently in the process of installing chipmaking equipment. It expects to begin mass production in the third quarter of 2027.

The fab is part of a $265 billion investment plant that previously saw TSMC build a four-nanometer plant nearby. Last year, the company broke ground on a third factory that will make two- and 1.6-nanometer chips. It’s also building a packaging facility. Chip packaging is the technology that links together a graphics card’s computing and memory modules. 

The AI sector isn’t TSMC’s only source of revenue growth. Demand for its auto chips jumped 22% year-over-year, while orders from smartphone makers rose 10%. The company’s top line growth boosted its net income by a hefty 69%, to $23.57 billion. That’s about $500 million more than what analysts projected.

The company’s long-term growth strategy focuses on its newest two-nanometer process. The node, which entered production in the fourth quarter of 2025, accounted for 8% of its revenue during the third quarter. That’s up from just 3% three months earlier.

TSMC is adding more two-nanometer manufacturing capacity to maintain its sales momentum. In parallel, the company is developing a new 1.6-nanometer process called A16. TSMC told investors today that it plans to up its capital expenditures significantly over the next two years to support its growth initiatives.

Image: TSMC