Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) has issued first quarter financial results that beat Wall Street expectations due to growing demand for artificial intelligence (A.I.) microchips.
TSMC, as the company is popularly known, reported a Q1 net profit of 225.49 billion New Taiwan dollars ($6.97 billion U.S.), up 9% from the same period a year earlier.
Analysts had expected a Q1 net profit equivalent to $6.65 billion U.S.
TSMC, which is the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, also reported revenue that was the equivalent of $18.87 billion U.S., up 13% from a year ago.
The company said Q1 revenue from its high-performance computing segment, which includes A.I. chips, rose 3% from last year. Revenue from its Internet of Things (IoT) segment grew 5%.
However, those gains were partially offset by smartphone chips that fell 16% in the quarter.
TSMC makes the main processors inside Apple (AAPL) iPhones as well as processors designed by Nvidia (NVDA).
TSMC dominates the microchip manufacturing market, including the 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer chips that power smartphones.
By some estimates, TSMC manufactures three-quarters (75%) of all microchips and semiconductors in the world today.
Looking ahead, the company said that it expects revenue of $19.6 billion U.S. to $20.4 billion U.S. for the current second quarter of the year.
TSMC also said that it anticipates revenue growth this year of at least 20%.
The stock of TSMC is up 58% over the last 12 months and currently trading at $139.03 U.S. per share.
