TSMC raises sales growth forecast to more than 40% for 2026: Report
Taipei, July 16
Taiwanese chip giant TSMC has forecast a robust sales growth for 2026 on the back of the continued artificial intelligence boom.
The chip maker, which is the world's largest foundry, raised its 2026 sales growth forecast to more than 40 per cent in US dollar terms, according to a report by Focus Taiwan.
Surging demand for AI tools globally has kept the momentum high for chip manufacturers. This is the second time the company has upgraded its forecast this year, even as its chairman CC Wei underlined the challenges presented to the consumer electronics market due to rising prices of memory chips, the report added. In April, the chip maker had forecast that its sales growth would be more than 30 per cent in 2026.
Despite the challenges before the industry, Wei struck a positive note, saying that TSMC's clients and clients' clients have forecast a positive outlook for the year, according to the report.
To meet the surging demand for AI applications, the company has further ramped up the budget for capital expenditure to USD 60-64 billion from its earlier budget of USD 52-56 billion. The move is in line with other AI players who have committed hundreds of billions of dollars for the AI buildout.
For the second quarter, the capex has jumped to USD 15.7 billion, rising around 41 per cent from the first quarter and 63 per cent from the same period last year, the report mentioned.
The chipmaker announced its second-quarter earnings today. The company reported a revenue increase of 36 per cent with net profit rising a robust 77.4 per cent. In US dollar terms, the revenue increased by 33.7 per cent YoY to USD 40.2 billion.
"Our business in the second quarter was supported by strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies," said Wendell Huang, Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer of TSMC.
"Moving into third quarter 2026, we expect our business to be supported by continued strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies, including the steep ramp-up of our 2-nanometer technology," Huang added.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Impressive growth. But with capital expenditure going up to $60+ billion, I wonder how this will affect chip pricing for consumers. We're already seeing higher electronics prices in India.
As someone in the Indian tech sector, this is both exciting and concerning. Great for the industry, but the memory chip price hikes are a real problem for our electronics manufacturing goals. Need more balanced policies.
2-nanometer tech is a game changer. TSMC clearly sees AI as the next wave. I just hope India's chip manufacturing plans under the PLI scheme can catch up somehow. We don't want to be left behind.
Net profit up 77%! WOW. But honestly, are we building too much dependency on one company? China's SMIC is also growing. India needs to diversify its chip sources for strategic security. Just my 2 paise.
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