TSMC posts $16.06 billion in September revenue, up 54.6% year over year

TSMC reported September revenue of $16.06 billion, a 54.6% jump from the same month a year earlier.

The driver is no mystery. AI chips and high-performance computing keep absorbing every advanced wafer the Taiwanese foundry can produce, and September did nothing to break that pattern.

The numbers behind the surge

September’s figure follows a record August. That month TSMC booked NT$514.81 billion, or approximately $16.3 billion, up 53.3% year over year and 10.1% from July.

August was also the first month in which TSMC’s revenue topped NT$500 billion.

TSMC had guided third-quarter 2026 revenue to a range of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion. September’s result was expected to strengthen that forecast as AI server demand continued.

The year-to-date picture adds context. Cumulative revenue from January through August reached NT$3.387 trillion, up 39.3% from the prior year.

September’s 54.6% growth rate runs well ahead of that year-to-date pace.

TSMC reported Q2 2026 revenue of $40.20 billion, up 33.7% year over year, with a 60.3% operating margin.

Where the money is coming from

High-performance computing now accounts for 66% of TSMC’s revenue. That category covers the processors and accelerators powering AI training and inference in data centers.

Advanced nodes, defined as 7nm and smaller, make up 77% of wafer revenue.

Capacity is tight. The company’s 5/4nm and 3nm capacity is fully booked. Its 2nm technology is in the middle of a commercial ramp.

Smartphones also contributed. New handset launches added to demand alongside the AI wave.

Major customers include Nvidia and Apple. Both rely on TSMC to manufacture their most advanced designs, and capacity expansion is aimed squarely at meeting their needs.

Guidance, spending and the bigger bet

TSMC has raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to slightly above 40% in US dollar terms.

The company is backing that optimism with cash. Its 2026 capital spending plan has been raised to a range of $60 billion to $64 billion, aimed at expanding production capacity.

What this means

For investors, the monthly figures act as an early read on AI infrastructure spending. TSMC sits upstream of nearly every major AI chip, so its revenue reflects orders placed by designers before those chips reach data centers.

With HPC at 66% of revenue, TSMC is more exposed than ever to the spending plans of a relatively small group of AI buyers.

Committing $60 billion to $64 billion in a single year raises the stakes if demand cools before new capacity starts generating returns. For now, the 60.3% operating margin from Q2 gives TSMC plenty of cushion.

The next checkpoint is the full third-quarter report. With September in the books, the focus shifts to whether TSMC lands at the top of its $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion range, and what management signals about demand heading into 2027.