Taiwan’s TSMC Beats Market Estimates, Posts 19.4% Quarterly Profit

Thanks to unprecedented demand for high-end chips from people buying the iPhones and other flagship devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has surpassed market expectations by posting a 19.4% rise in Q1 net profit (via Reuters).

Net profit for January-March at TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, was T$139.7 billion ($4.91 billion), which was more than the T$134.01 billion average of 22 analyst estimates.

The chip maker’s impressive earnings come as major automakers and their governments press chip producers to increase production to help alleviate shortages that are affecting everything from cars to personal electronics.

“We actually see that demand will continue to be high. … This shortage will continue throughout this year and may be extended into 2022,” C.C. Wei, TSMC’s CEO, told investors.

The chip shortage has become so severe that earlier this week, the White House hosted a virtual summit which included the world’s top three chip producers, Intel, Samsung and TSMC, to discuss the issue.

TSMC said its high performance computing and automotive segments will grow more than 20%, while its smartphone and IoT platforms will grow by a similar level.