Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) said its revenue rose 38.8 percent to $26.88 billion in Q4 2024.
TSMC has recorded net income of T$374.68 billion ($11.4 billion) for the fourth quarter, a 57 percent increase year-over-year.
In 2024, TSMC posted revenue of $90.083 billion registering 33.9 percent rise. Net income of TSMC in 2024 has touched $36.491 billion.
HPC (High Performance Computing) business has contributed 53 percent of the total revenue, while smartphone chip business 35 percent, IoT 5 percent, Automotive 4 percent and Digital Consumer Electronics 1 percent.
The main markets for TSMC were North America (75 percent of the sales), China (9 percent), Asia Pacific (9 percent), Japan (4 percent) and EMEA (3 percent).
TSMC forecasts 37 percent revenue growth for the current quarter, expecting $25–$25.8 billion. TSMC projects revenue to rise 20–30 percent, driven by strong AI chip demand, in 2025.
AI
Even after more than tripling in 2024, TSMC forecasts revenue from AI accelerators to double in 2025 as the strong surge in AI-related demand continues.
The recent Gartner report says AI semiconductor revenue is forecast to reach $196.5 billion by 2028, growing by a five-year CAGR of 29.6 percent.
TSMC said revenue from AI accelerators — AI GPU, AI6, and HBM controller for AI training and inference in the data center — accounted for close to mid-teens percent of total revenue in 2024.
TSMC said shipments of 3-nanometer accounted for 26 percent of total wafer revenue; 5-nanometer accounted for 34 percent; 7-nanometer accounted for 14 percent. Advanced technologies, defined as 7-nanometer and more advanced technologies, accounted for 74 percent of total wafer revenue in the fourth quarter.
TSMC faces challenges from U.S. government restrictions on AI chip exports to China, though CEO C.C. Wei expressed confidence in obtaining special permits for affected clients.
TSMC expects business in the first quarter to be impacted by smartphone seasonality. The recent Canalys report said global smartphone shipments grew 7 percent to 1.22 billion units in 2024. Canalys Senior Analyst Toby Zhu indicated that it will be challenging for smartphone major to replicate the market performance of 2024 in 2025.
TSMC is investing $38–$42 billion in capital expenditures this year, up to a 41 percent increase, with construction of new fabs in the U.S., Japan, Germany, and Taiwan proceeding as planned. TSMC said about 70 percent of the capital budget will be allocated for advanced process technologies. TSMC spent $29.8 billion in Capex in 2024.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
