U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) rose 4% in premarket trading Thursday after the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and a bullish outlook for artificial intelligence (AI) demand.
TSMC, which supplies tech heavyweights such as Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA), posted profit of 374.68 billion New Taiwan dollars ($11.37 billion), a 57% year-over-year surge, or NT$14.45 ($0.44) per share. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected NT$369.15 billion, or NT$14.20 per share.
The firm, which posted revenue of NT$868.46 billion, up 39% year-over-year, had indicated the top-line number last week when it disclosed its December monthly sales figures. TSMC also said then that its 2024 revenue came to NT$2.89 trillion, a 34% gain.
“Our business in the fourth quarter was supported by strong demand for our industry-leading 3nm and 5nm technologies,” TSMC Chief Financial Officer (CFO)Wendell Huang said. “Moving into first quarter 2025, we expect our business to be impacted …